RBL is India’s leading manufacturer of friction parts and the flagship company of the Rane Group. The new facility, which is the fourth major facility for RBL in its 44-year history, is a major milestone as it has truly set up a state-of-the-art and environment-friendly factory for manufacturing brake pads. The plant was inaugurated by Mr. M. S. Maitra, Executive Director & Managing Executive Officer (Supply Chain), Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., in the presence of Mr. L. Lakshman, Executive Chairman, Rane Holdings Ltd., Mr. L. Ganesh, Chairman, Rane Group, Mr. Viji, Managing Director, Brakes India, and others.
The trend in the global technology is changing from asbestos to asbestos-free brake products. Globally the change is happening due to legislation, but in India it is changing faster because of the entry of global vehicle manufacturers who adopt global standards and also of higher customer expectations on braking. Today customers are getting used to a superior braking performance in terms of lower noise levels and smoothness in braking. Considering all these factors RBL has established a technology intensive manufacturing facility in close co-operation with its collaborator Nisshinbo.
RBL’s current capacity for manufacturing disc pads is 10 million units at its Chennai and Puducherry facilities. The new plant is built for a capacity to manufacture 10 million units, which will be achieved by 2001-12. The company proposes an investment of Rs. 60 crores for this project. Once this plant fully operational, RBL will have a capacity to manufacture 20 million disc pads by 2011-12. The company clocked a turnover of Rs. 180 crores for 2007-08.
Mr. PS Rao, President, RBL, cited two major reasons for the expansion: “The first is to invest in latest manufacturing technology in close co-operation with our collaborator, Nisshinbo Industries Inc., Japan, in order to provide high quality products meeting emerging customer requirements. The second is to increase capacity ahead of market requirements in order to meet our customers’ growing demand. This facility will remain testimony to our relentless drive to improve all aspects of our operations and to maintain our status as one of the best suppliers in the industry”.
“The new facility is born out of extensive interaction and participation by Nisshinbo executives. Some of the critical equipments have been imported from Japan to match manufacturing processes between RBL & Nisshinbo”, said Mr. Bheemsingh Melchisedec, Plant Head of the RBL, Trichy Plant. “We also improved the overall layout of the various functional areas of the factory to ensure a more efficient flow of materials, from receiving and storage to assembly, packaging and finally shipment. The facility emphasizes on poka yoke (mistake proofing) in all manufacturing processes to ensure defect-free products to our customers”, he added.
RBL produces world-class brake friction products for automotive, industrial and railway applications. It also makes clutch friction products, including clutch facings and sintered ceramic clutch buttons. The products are sold in export and domestic markets.
A Rane Group company, it is a leading supplier of friction material products to major vehicle OEMs through its Tier-1 customers, namely brake assembly and clutch assembly manufacturers in the domestic market. RBL has a strong distribution network for sales & distribution of replacement parts for automobiles. It exports its products to the SAARC countries, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. RBL generates around Rs. 180 crores in annual revenue, with eight per cent of it coming from exports.
“Manufacturing Excellence and Benchmarking of Quality will continue to contribute strongly to our business growth as a group,” said Mr. Ganesh. “By expanding our capacities and capabilities, our constant endeavour is to continually improve the supply chain and better serve customers locally as well as globally. The new RBL plant in Trichy is a state-of-the-art facility. This will be the most modern asbestos-free disc pad plant in India”.
