Fasching Salzburg GmbH, a leading supplier of safety seat belts for coaches, buses and LCVs worldwide, has been closely following the Indian market for long and is currently in close discussions with potential partners for long-term cooperation. A regular exhibitor at not only Busworld India but also many of the Busworld shows globally, Fasching is ready for the Bengaluru event this year. Mr. Harald Pessl, Sales Director and Authorized Officer, Fasching Salzburg GmbH, shares details.
Excerpts:
What is Fasching trying to communicate to the industry by participating at Busworld India this year?
Safety is a big issue for the present and future of the commercial vehicle business. It is great to recognize that the safety belt has become mandatory for personal cars, however for public transport like travelling in long distance coaches, safety is a very important demand and right for all passengers and users. Detailed discussions in the past gives us the hope that official regulations will take care of the safety of passengers; we believe in the responsibility of the government to make safety belts mandatory in coaches and probably in three-wheelers as well, to reduce the death rate on roads.
As a company, we want to be present at the right time and extend the best support for existing and future demands with the best products and services. We believe in the Indian market, we believe in the people and the industry and we see the potential of the existing and the future of this growing market as well.
What are the products you would be showcasing at the fair?
In India, mostly ‘older’ systems are requested: in trucks we find static belts, in coaches we find mostly no belts. This should change and new, comfortable and safer systems should be implemented. Therefore, we are showcasing all different kinds of 2-point as well as 3-point belts, in static version, in ALR (Automatic Locking Retractor) version for 2-point belts, in duo-sensitive ELR (Emergency Locking Retractor) version for 2-point as well as 3-point version, a Flex-Sensor 3-point belt for integration in a tiltable backrest, and our patented ARBS system for ELR 2-point belts. We are also presenting a so-called ALR/ELR 3-point belt which has both functions of locking mechanism. This system is a complete new development from our side and becomes mandatory in the US market by the end of November this year.
In addition, we will also show specific 4- and 5-point harness systems which are used mainly for special vehicles such as fire trucks, ambulances and military vehicles.
What is the status of your plans for India and what would your contribution be towards the future of the Indian bus and coach industry?
As announced recently, we want to set up a facility in India. We are still in discussion with some potential partners and remain focused on our target to produce safety belts in India in 2018.
As for the future of the Indian market, we are well prepared to fulfill the OEMs’ and customers’ requirements; the upcoming regulations are mostly standards in Europe with some specific deviations for the Indian market. Furthermore, as producer of a safety product, we are used to fulfilling the highest standards such as the traceability of products, the COP in our processes and production and correct homologation.
However our mission will be to motivate and persuade our Indian customers towards the necessity for higher and better protection for passengers, simply because our personal life is the highest value we have.
We will extend our best support in explaining about the products and their use and consider ourselves as a long-term partner with high responsibility and flexibility for service and support with state-of-the-art products of the highest quality.