Rajesh Rajgor spoke with Suresh J. Williams, Managing Director, Bezares Alpha Drives India (P) Ltd. to learn more about their EXCON 2022 exhibits and medium to long-term business plans
Alpha Drives, a major PTO manufacturer in India, has teamed up with Bezares S.A. of Spain, a global pioneer in the manufacture of PTOs and pumps, to provide mobile hydraulic solutions for earthmoving equipment, trailers, tippers, and vacuum and jetting applications.
EXCON 2022 Highlights
“We have been open to responding to client needs; each consumer desires a highly customised product and we deliver on that promise. Vehicles are increasingly aiming for higher torques as BS VI engines are more powerful and capable of faster speeds. Our JetVac device is appropriate for ICV and HCV vehicles with up to 160 horsepower. There are four outputs on the PTO: two to the front and two to the back. We also showed off a clever innovation that turns SUVs and SCVs into multifunctional platforms with four outputs. It can execute multiple programmes at the same time. Municipal rubbish collection vehicles, such as small trucks or SUVs, must use the narrow lane to pick up stuff,” says Suresh Williams, Managing Director, Bezares Alpha Drives India.
Another product is for cranes and garbage compactors, which may be mounted on larger trucks and used with smaller pumps. These vehicles can get the same volume of discharge by running smaller pumps at faster rpm. “Our vertical split shaft, which is made in India, is appropriate for vehicles with up to 200 Bhp. It’s made of a high-strength aluminium alloy, which makes the PTO lighter while still being sturdy, making mounting and maintenance considerably easier,” Suresh explains. The company is developing power take-off solutions for a variety of applications, including driving jetting machines, vacuum pumps, and fire-fighting equipment. “We have shown heavy-duty split shaft PTO versions HDV 125 and HDV 190, which are appropriate for trucks with up to 400 Bhp,” shares Suresh. It is equipped with auxiliary torque capacity up to 110 Kgm at 1,500 rpm.
Growing Partnership
The joint venture with Bezares S.A. is assisting Alpha Drives in improving its design skills and, as a result, assisting clients in expanding their product range. “Instead of just tippers, we now have solutions for fire trucks, municipal vehicles and construction equipment on the market. The increased range has improved the unit value of our products as well offers a value addition to our customers. Our recent partnership with Bezares S.A. has provided us with access to the most cutting-edge European technologies, and it is modernising our total firm,” Suresh says.
“We are going to places where we haven’t been before. Everything we do is in discussion with them. Between the partners, there is a constant flow of research, ideas, drawings and manufacturing processes. Apart from improving our designs and our product range, implementing their stringent requirements has enhanced our current providers’ performance and output quality. New markets have also opened up for us through Bezares. We have already started the manufacture and export of some critical components for them,” he adds.
Bezares Alpha Drives, based in the South Indian city of Coimbatore, has a well-equipped factory with advanced CNC machinery for the production of PTOs. A research and development centre with strong design and testing capabilities supports the manufacturing system. It began by producing transmission-mounted PTOs for the truck hydraulic industry and has now expanded to include driveline PTOs and transfer cases and specialty PTOs such as clutch PTOs.
“We have the capacity to produce 2,500 PTOs per month and plan to produce up to 2,000 PTOs this year. Because we are involved in various mission important applications for defence and construction equipment, we anticipate it will be stable and continuing growth. Special vehicles and municipal trash application vehicles such as fire trucks, road sweepers and garbage compactors are also contributing to our growth,” Suresh informs.
Given the partnership, Bezares Alpha Drives India expects double-digit growth in the future. “We are certain that we will meet the market’s challenges and requirements. We are boosting production, hiring new talent, reorganising and strengthening our team, and we expect our CAGR to reach 20% YoY in the next few years. At our manufacturing facility, we are already running two shifts and have grown 30% this year over last year,” he summarises.