Makersan India aims to be single-source supplier of mechatronics solutions

Company focus on electronics backed by strong tech support

Turkish supplier Makersan made its second appearance at Busworld India, this time with its Indian subsidiary Makersan India Pvt. Ltd.

A global player in the design and manufacture of mechatronics solutions such as accelerator pedals with contactless sensor, throttle levers, pressure sensors, rotary position sensors, speed sensors and temperature sensors, Makersan presented a number of innovative solutions for the Indian market including its one-key solution and an India-specific emergency door handle.

Mr. Oktay Pehlivanoglu, Global Marketing Director, Makersan Makina Otomotiv, (right) and Mr. Vikram Kalaskar, Director, Makersan India Pvt. Ltd.

Says Mr. Oktay Pehlivanoglu, Global Marketing Director, Makersan Makina Otomotiv: “We are a global player and have a strong foothold in handles and bus-entry systems. At this show, we are presenting our novelties and innovations such as the one-key solution for buses along with the new emergency handle that we have specially designed and developed for the Indian market. The handle can be connected to alarm systems with different functions to indicate open door, latch open, etc., thereby adding to the safety of the vehicles.”

Mr. Vikram Kalaskar, Director, Makersan India Pvt. Ltd., adds: “Our new emergency door handle has been designed with a practical approach. We have removed the glass because it often cuts the hand when broken during emergency. Instead, we have a plastic casing that can be easily removed. The handle can be seen in the Prakash bus here at the show and is also a standard fitment in BharatBenz school buses.”

Single-source supplier

Apart from supplying mechanical parts, Makersan is keen on stepping up its presence on the electronics front with its range of sensors, keypads, electronic pedals and other related products in which it has proven expertise and sound know-how.

The company is ready to offer its differentiated electronic solutions such as temperature sensors, pressure sensors and controllers including its Central Controlling Unit that can be used to centrally control its handles using electrical or pneumatic actuators. It is also coming up with capacitive touch buttons for city buses in the Indian market, along with another new product that is popular in Europe and the US – keypads, that are fast replacing buttons in buses.

Makersan keypads come with CAN connections that need only four cables and as a result, one keypad can replace around 15 keys which helps reduce the number of cables, cut down labour involved in installing the product and makes maintenance a lot easier.

As part of its versatile product portfolio, Makersan also has joystick keypads with HMI screens that can be used as I/O (Input / Output) module to control electronic functions within the bus. The joystick keypad is one of Makersan’s most acclaimed products and comes with features that have been patented by the company.

“We are trying to provide everything needed for a bus and want to be seen as a single-source supplier. We are working with customers in the European, American, Turkish and other global markets and are committed to bringing in new products that are suited for the Indian market. We are currently importing our products from Turkey but if we have a steady high demand for certain products, we are ready to gradually localize them”, states Mr. Pehlivanoglu.

And, Makersan’s India plans don’t stop with just developing new products and offering them to customers. The company is known for the strong engineering support it provides to its customers around the world and is keen on taking the same path in India too.

“We would like to emphasize that we are ready to extend engineering support to our customers in India. We would be happy to send our engineer from Turkey during installations of electronic solutions to ensure the product is properly integrated into their system and provide training at the customer site. One of our main USPs in offering electronic solutions is the support we provide and that makes us a preferred partner for our customers in markets like Germany, the US, Turkey and others.”

Talking about the response to its products from the Indian market, Mr. Kalaskar shares: “We are currently working with the likes of Daimler, MG Group and S. M. Kannappa in India and are in talks with other OEMs, bus builders and fleet operators as well. We have got very good response from the market especially from bus body builders in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu who appreciate the quality difference between our components and cheaper Chinese ones; we are confident that it is just a matter of time that more customers will go for our products.”