Vasant Fabricators Pvt. Ltd. (VFPL) has become a name to be reckoned with in the automotive industry. It started business by manufacturing cages, small tankers and vessels and is now a market leader with its technical know-how turning out specialized heavy bodies.
Mr. Nikhil J. Panchal, the company’s Technical Director and part of the third generation, has a legacy from his father and grandfather to carry on. He says: “The year 2015-16 was really good for Vasant Fabricators. Right now we are focusing on dry bulk, bulk liquid tankers and trailer market. Dry bulk tankers are produced from high-tensile steel, mild and stainless steel. Now major States in India are restricting overload hauls. So we would like to produce aluminum bulkers by 2020 to achieve maximum loading capacity and more earnings for transporters. For the future we are targeting heavy trailers.”
Major oil companies are now moving towards bottom loading terminals because transportation of explosive liquids in bottom loading tanks is much safer than top loading tanks. Under the new regulations, now fuel tankers can be made of aluminium which will allow transporters to carry more load. Aluminium melts at lower temperatures. As a result, at the time of explosion the damage done to nearby properties and projects is comparatively less as compared to steel tanks.
“We are planning at least 30 to 40 units of fuel tanker production by 2020 and our main focus will be on light-weight aluminum tankers. With up to 3 crore LPG cylinder connections likely to be issued soon, we find a good opportunity in LPG tankers and are planning to establish market for LPG road tankers by 2020”, adds Mr. Panchal.
There are several heavy engineering units, metro coach manufacturers and wind mill industries in Gujarat. For transportation of these heavy and over-sized goods special trailers are required with a modified special mechanism. VFPL is planning to launch its first modular trailer and wind mill trailer range by 2020 after successful trial runs.
Commenting on the development, he says: “For this special trailer we are planning to get suspension and stirring system from TRIDEC of the Netherlands. We will design and analyse our source for these trailers, if needed. We have also tied up with a German company to produce portable silo systems in India. By 2020 we are expecting to supply our silo system to our esteemed customers”.
VFPL has already started producing bottom loading tankers in mild steel and stainless steel. In 2018 it is planning to produce fuel tanker lorry by using aluminum. The LPG tanker production will start next year, and the company is aiming to achieve a production capacity of up to 60 to 70 units by 2020. It also plans to make a prototype modular trailer by 2018. Trial runs will be completed by 2019, and production will start by 2020.
Outlining his company’s prime focus areas, Mr. Panchal observes: “Our main focus for the next few years will be catering to the market requirement. We always keep in with the customers and end-users and, based on their feedback, we try to supply them the best products relevant to their application. We shall have constant upgradation in the manufacturing process and adopt new technologies to achieve the desired results. Last but not the least, customer satisfaction is most important to us. We will increase our marketshare with timely delivery of products and strong aftersales service.”