The Indian operations of Hwasung Thermo involve 465 staff managing the nationwide road network on which Hwasung Thermo units ply. The machines are manufactured at its Mother Plant in South Korea, which has all ISO and TS quality systems and ATP certifications and are being supplied as OE to Hyundai and Kia Motors / Daewoo. Mr. Shatrughan Kumar, Managing Director, Trans ACNR (India Office of Hwasung Thermo), apprises the domain insights.
Excerpts:
Brief us your manufacturing program, salient product features & the recent developments.
Hwasung Thermo caters to the demands of hot dusty tropical conditions and manufactures units which are vehicle engine powered as well as units which are powered by an independent engine. Both these options come with a plug-in electric standby feature, should the end customer want such. Hwasung also manufactures units suitable for long haul carry which work on inverter technology, which implies that the diesel engine used as the prime mover, now works as generator, instead of directly powering the reefer unit. This allows for stable precise temperature management as well as capacity control, depending on the set point temperature as well as the ambient.
Here in India, Hwasung units are being channeled for the ACE mini delivery vans for Tata Motors. Ashok Leyland have been sourcing our units for their export requirements. Apart from this, our units are very extensively being chosen for delivery vans such as Mahindra Bolero, Isuzu, and Force Motors. For long haul reefer applications our units have found wide acceptance on use of Tata, Ashok Leyland, BharatBenz and Eicher trucks. The annual sale of Hwasung in India has been averaging 600 units, and we see these numbers increasing, with the Cold Chain sector now witnessing a revival. In rupee terms the sales turn over translates to about Rs. 18 crores.
Inform us the input drive power modes (electric/diesel/PTO) for the unit & the popular models.
As mentioned earlier Hwasung Thermo comes equipped with option of vehicle powered, as well as independent diesel engine driven units. It also provides inverter technology as well as 12/24V DC driven electric units for mini delivery vans suitable for positive temperature applications.
Hwasung enjoys a good share in the vehicle powered segment in India, primarily because other brands have been offering oversized units for this segment owing to challenging issues of bringing their over low/medium ambient temperature units for Indian conditions. Hwasung has weathered all the storms of Indian road and climatic conditions and successfully continues providing specifically designed units in relation to the internal volume of the refrigerated container and the cargo to be carried. The drive of such units are taken from the vehicle engine crank pulley and electrical requirements of the reefer units are met either by upgrading the vehicle alternator or by providing an additional alternator. Hwasung Thermo machines have its own vehicle power train systems to drive its reefer units. These drive systems are not sourced from the open market, but instead are designed and manufactured by Hwasung Thermo’s Indian operations flag ship, Trans ACNR. This is a distinctive features that sets us apart, and has furthered the reliability and dependability of the performance of our units.
In independent driven engine or self-powered units, Hwasung has become popular in the market over the recent years, since the end customers as well as B2B clients have realised that the cost of owning and maintaining Hwasung Thermo units are much more acceptable and manageable as compared to other brands. This took some time, but the change is tangible now and we are maintaining sizeable inventories in responding to this demand.
Highlight product USPs, after sales service & technical support to body builders/end customers.
Apart from Hwasung Thermo units being specifically designed and manufactured for hot tropical conditions, we provide seamless end to end solutions, with reefer units supplied having a choice of comprehensive 3, 5, 7 and 9 year warranty option that not only covers spare parts and service cost, but also canopies consumable costs, viz., filters, engine oil, belts, bearing and lubricants. This goes on to highlight out the ownership and responsibility of our units that we take pride in. Also, our customers are kept insulated from unexpected spike in foreign exchange fluctuations that impact spare parts pricing, thus transporters can bag consistent contracts knowing that revenues will be stable and steady. Our company owned nationwide service set up ensures that container builders can confidently provide the choice of our units to their customers, wherever their containers may travel across India.
We have seen the market demanding supply of refrigerated containers as well as refrigeration units from a single point source. Though vehicle manufactures/container builders have come with the option of a single window supply, the gap between reefer unit service maintenance and the critical breakdown response, across any part of India, in a tripartite agreement remains quite challenging and frustrating to navigate for the end customer. To bridge this gap, Hwasung Thermo in India also provides a single supply refrigerated container solution under the brand name “Cold Seal”, which is another flag ship brand of Trans ACNR. Such a one turn, turnkey solution is not only advantageous to customers, but also to OEM’s since the ownership and responsibility of containers as well as refrigeration equipment falls upon the equipment supplier, having pan India service support both for container as well equipment. Further a single ownership of containers as well as reefer units, translates to faster delivery time lines, as well as making meaningful and accountable responsibility of such a kind of turnkey supply. We also very much encourage customers to have their own choice of container builders, since Cold Seal, our refrigerated container division has been a natural progression to our business verticals, driven by the market, and also more the gamut and choice of quality of refrigerated containers, the better it is for the customer, as well as for health of the unit and the vehicle. We are also in the process of setting up accredited testing facility and chamber for reefer container certification, as per ATP guidelines.
Tell us the reefer vehicle market size and the plans to increase your share in future.
The annual estimate may total up to about 2000 units. Over the next 5 years we may witness an average annual growth of 30 to 40 %. Hwasung Thermo in India has a market share of 35 to 40% in the vehicle powered units and about 15-20% in the diesel powered units. As conveyed, we are focussing in providing OEM’s and end to end customers a seamless experience, from the erstwhile two part/three party purchase. Such an engagement will further the supply and apply protocol which is the most singular factor of the refrigeration transport industry. We intend to double our share in the next 5 years by engaging in a healthy and transparent level playing field both for containers as well as their machines.
Comment on technology impact over the reefer vehicle and the refrigeration unit.
Technology in refrigerated transport industry has seen rapid strides. Electric driven DC compressors for chill temperature applications has seen good market acceptance and penetration. The inverter technology for long haul transport for non-trailer applications is currently being tested by us, and we will be making a feasibility study of the same shortly. Hwasung also manufactures and supplies battery powered AC units for long haul truck and trailers for driver cabin air conditioning. These find preference and use where high powered vehicle engine are best avoided to be switched on for driver cabin air-conditioning. In the US and European markets, there is an anti-idle law which forces such truck/trailer engines are not used for powering air-conditioning, while stationary.