Winner: BorgWarner
Innovative E-Mobility Solution – Component Supplier Of The Year
SiC Inverter
The Nominees are:
BorgWarner
Dual Sided-Cooled Silicon Carbide Inverter
Nipsea Group Automotive Refinish Unit (Nippon Paint Group, Japan)
Paint Partner (Digital Colour Software Solutions)
Tapco Pneumatics Ltd.
Elektra (Electric Auto Door Controller)
Driven by the climate change commitments of the Indian Government during the COP21 Summit, in Paris, to reduce emission intensity by 33-35 per cent by 2030 from the 2005 levels, electric mobility continues to be high on the agenda for the Government of India and the stakeholders of the components industry. Improving upon the erstwhile generation of inverters, the winning company eventually raced ahead, scoring the winning points with its product – ‘Dual-Sided-Cooled Silicon Carbide Inverter’. Claimed to be the first-to-market inverter to use Silicon Carbide (SiC)-based power switch for an 800-volt application, the BorgWarner component can deliver increased efficiency for enhanced voltage flexibility besides offering improved recharging times, better range and smaller battery size for cost reductions. In effect, the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) stand to gain room for creating more compelling consumer propositions for hybrid and electric vehicles. The additional room is believed to have the potential to lead to a broader acceptance of e-mobility in compliance with the government-mandated emissions targets.
Winner: NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Green Practice of The Year
Ignition Coil
The Nominees are:
Advantek Fuel Systems Pvt. Ltd.
A single integrated CNG filling valve
BorgWarner
Diesel Control Module (ECU)
Eaton
Refuelling Vapor Recovery
Jamna Auto Industries Ltd.
BSVI compliant leaf spring series
NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
BSVI spark plugs, two-wheeler fuel injection systems and oxygen sensors
In a pandemic marred 2020, the one thing that the world working from home valued was nature healing itself. A phenomenon across the globe, people sat back and took notice of their immediate surroundings in full glory. With the cries like “How Dare You?” finding resonance, climate change, the defining issue of our times gained much-needed attention. For it, economies had to come to a standstill. With a clear action plan to adhere to green practices and give back to society, this year, the winning company was picked by the jury for its integrated offerings benefitting the environment. As the first company to launch BSVI compliant ‘Spark plugs’ and two-wheeler ‘Fuel injection’ and ‘Oxygen Sensors’., the sheer impact of its application multiplied to the volume segment known to be an otherwise significant polluter held it above the competition. Its aftermarket offerings for the four-wheeler segment added to the scores.
Winner: Minda Corporation Ltd. (Spark Minda)
Components Shopfloor Management Of The Year
The SPARK focus as part of the ER strategy
The Nominees are:
Laxmi Group (Nahars Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.)
Kanban method
Minda Corporation Ltd. (Spark Minda)
Kaizen method
Shop floor management includes pre-planning, planning, staffing, directing, monitoring and control of activities to enhance efficiency and analysis. It is here that the best practices play a key role in the process of transformation of materials (inputs) into the desired output (product or services). With a vision to follow World Class Manufacturing (WCM), the winner, with an elaborate presentation on its Pune-based Die-Casting Division, compelled the jury to acknowledge several action points. The company successfully prioritised safety, discipline, diversity, CSR, skill mapping, training, employee engagement, JH Time, Kaizen Hour, HR Helpdesk, Cross-Functional Teams with appropriate Covid-19 management. As part of the ER strategy, the company continues to stay focused on supervisor skill development, policies and process adherence, associate life-cycle management, relationship building, knowledge and skill development of associates besides cost and compliance management.
Winner: Nippon Paint India Pvt. Ltd. (Automotive Business)
Supply Chain Management Of The Year
Drop Shipment Model
The Nominees are:
Eaton
Global Supply Chain CoE – Pune
Nippon Paint India Pvt. Ltd. (Automotive Business)
Drop Shipment Model
Tyrolit India Super Abrasive Tools (Swarovski Group, Austria)
Supply of Grinding Wheels with value addition
Supply Chain Management gives a considerable competitive advantage. Correlated to the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) strategic goal, the goal spans improvement of the visibility of information, reduction in-transit damage and or speeding up the flow of parts. The winner, went back to the drawing board to look at the reduction of turnaround time with greater efficiency, commercial compliance and secured realisation. Compared to products being stored in distribution centres and then moved to different regional warehouses before being sold to the channel partners and then billed to the OEM customers, the company used the drop shipment model for managing and executing operations with its OEM partner workshops. In the bill to ship to process, the OEM gets direct orders from its dealerships across India and then the OEM issues purchase orders to Nippon paint for the fulfilment of those orders to the partner workshop. The company then further uses its nearest channel partner to the OEM and issues purchase orders to service the OEM dealership.
Winner: Valeo Friction Materials India Pvt. Ltd.
Auto Component Exporter Of The Year
Clutch Facings
The Nominees are:
Advantek Fuel Systems Pvt. Ltd.
A single integrated CNG filling valve
Valeo Friction Materials India Pvt. Ltd.
Facings for clutches, tractor brakes and friction washer
ZF India Pvt. Ltd.
Commercial vehicle axle shock absorbers
The outbreak of the pandemic aggravated the situation and impacted global trade equations. Indian auto component manufacturers, in the first half of fiscal 2020-21, for the first time ever, witnessed a trade surplus. Auto component exports declined by 23.6 per cent to Rs.39,003 crore (USD 5.2 billion) in H1 2020-21 from Rs.51,028 crore (USD 7.4 billion) in H1 2019-20 to give a backdrop. The winner’s total export sales accounted for seven per cent of total annual business in 2019. In 2020, the company entered new territories such as South America, Balkans, SAARC nations and ASEAN countries. Establishing its exports business, the winner was able to achieve a significant milestone of 145 per cent growth in exports accounting for 19 per cent of the overall annual business. The company attributes the success to key initiatives like strategic pricing of the products, effective negotiation, submitting the samples to prospective customers, rapid testing and validation, proactive and effective planning of deliveries to circumvent the logistic and supply chain challenges, reaching out and re-establishing connect with the existing network to leverage new business opportunities, identification of new customers in new geographies besides participation in overseas automobile/components expo to create awareness around its products and technologies.
Winner: NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Auto Ancillary Of The Year
Ignition Coil
Glow Plug
The Nominees are:
Carrier Wheels Pvt. Ltd.
High-performance styled wheel for tractor application
NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Ignition coil and glow plugs
Adeptus Servo-Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd.
Data acquisition, reporting system for the testing starter motor, alternator and starter solenoids. 4-axis robot automation solution.
On the other side of the automotive industry, ancillaries deal with the manufacturing and selling of intermediate parts, equipment and chemicals among others. Including OEMs, tier1, tier2, tier3 manufacturers and intermediaries, it’s the OEMs that are known to deal in high-value instruments and dominate the market. The unorganised sector is known to serve the aftermarket and deal in low-value products in comparison. The winner made an impact in the aftermarket with its range of ignition coil and glow plugs for the four-wheeler segment.
Winner: Minda Kosei Aluminium Wheel Pvt. Ltd.
Auto Ancillary JV Of The Year
Aluminium alloy wheels for major passenger vehicle OEMs
The Nominees Are:
Minda Kosei Aluminium Wheel Pvt. Ltd.
An alliance between Minda Industries Ltd. and Kosei
Aluminium Co. Ltd.
Valeo Friction Materials India Pvt. Ltd.
An alliance between Valeo France and ANAND Automotive India
Ancillaries with a JV are expected to accomplish their tasks with greater efficacy. Be it access to new territories and distribution networks, joint capacity, equal distribution of risks and liability, or the leverage of a joint knowledge and resource pool. Established in Bawal, Haryana and in Gujarat, the JV under the umbrella of the Uno Minda Group engages in the development, manufacture and sales of aluminium alloy wheels for major passenger vehicle OEMs. On one hand, the majority stakeholder company, Uno Minda Group (70 per cent) brings to the table a rich legacy of multiple strategic alliances including alliances with Tokai Rika, Emer, Toyoda Gosei, Kyoraku, and Torica, Kosei makes available JapaneseGDC technology in aluminium casting. As a business segment, Light Metal Technology (LMT) contributed six per cent, 12 per cent and 15 per cent to the revenue mix over Q1FY2021, Q2FY2021 and Q3FY2021 respectively.
Winner: Arvind Goel, MD & CEO, Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd.
Auto Components Business Leader Of The Year
While a leader is as good as his team, there is no debating how only a good leader can get the best out of an equally good team. The winner, leading a rank nine company (based on consolidated financials) with an elaborate 83-slide presentation, made the task of the jury easier this year. The Business Leader to stand out this year fought with Covid-19; balanced inorganic along with organic growth; covered the spectrum of EV charging to driving, with rupees six lakh worth of components (EV components + existing components) in Tata Nexon EV as a case-in-point; digitised learning and development; prioritised CSR; attained operational excellence through TBEM, TQM and QSM. He also saw through the formation of six Joint Ventures (JV), two technological agreements and one acquisition (acquired Sweden-based TitanX, a global leader in engine and powertrain cooling systems). Growing at a 16 per cent CAGR over the past four years, under his leadership, the company was awarded ‘Emerging Industry Leader’ at the JRD QV Program on July 29 2020. Among several customer accolades received by the company, the 1st Prize for Tata Autocomp GY Batteries – Supplier Quality Improvement Contest 2020 from Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. (KOEL) caught the jury’s attention. The year 2020 also brought in accolades from industry bodies like Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association (ACMA) for group companies: Tata Green Batteries, Tata Ficosa, Tata AutoComp-Composites Division, Tata AutoComp Hendrickson Suspensions and Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd. (Interiors and Plastic Division), in Bengaluru. Attached to various industry bodies, the Auto Components Business Leader Of The Year – 2020 rose to the challenges and simply put, used to good effect his decades of experience across engineering, manufacturing and as head of several business units.
Special Recognition For Technological Excellence
Pursuing ‘Technological Excellence’ is the ability to foresee and eliminate an issue before it has the potential to jeopardise safety, schedule, budget, quality, and most importantly, client satisfaction. Challenged on all fronts in the pandemic marred year, two companies compelled the jury to take notice and acknowledge their product offerings.
Winner: ZF India Pvt. Ltd.
Commercial vehicle shock absorber
The winner ZF India Pvt. Ltd. impressed with its focus on ‘Make In India’ that is expected to help increase revenues, multifold, over the next half a decade. The company invested in its Pune facility and has committed to further incremental investments over the expansion of production capacity and widening of the manufacturing footprint. A significant quantum of this has been invested to uplift suppliers to help attain global standards, best practices and build quality products for the world. The local built of capital equipment to ZF specifications, and development of testing and engineering capabilities impressed as well. Its internal fulfilment by the move to import child parts and assemble a finished CV shock absorber to global ZF locations has paved the way for the development of more global parts numbers from India as a testimony of its technological excellence.
Winner: Advantek Fuel Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Single integrated CNG filling valve
The winner Advantek Fuel Systems Pvt. Ltd. focuses on clean energy solutions for the Medium and Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV) segment. The company addressed a long-standing issue at CNG fuelling stations. Reinventing the erstwhile CNG filling valve panel with 12 different components, 14 joints prone to leakages and risking safety were eliminated. The former arrangement also requires manual intervention. Overcoming the flaws, the company has designed an integrated filling system. The single integrated valve system offers benefits like a monoblock with no joints, automatic functions, a 50 per cent higher filling speed to double the filling capacity at filling stations thereby making the queues redundant. Made through the feedback of stakeholders including that of the actual drivers by studying their usage on the field, the problem-solving capability of the new design and development process is a testimony of its technological excellence.
Winner: Visteon Technical and Services Center Pvt. Ltd.
Auto Components Manufacturer Of The Year
Industry-first Android-based infotainment system for Volkswagen Nivus engineered in India (for Brazil)
Hybrid cluster and Tripper Navigation for Royal Enfield Meteor 350 (for India and 78 other countries)
The Nominees are:
Advantek Fuel Systems Pvt. Ltd.
Continental Automotive India Pvt. Ltd.
Goldseal-Saargummi India Pvt. Ltd.
Jamna Auto Industries Ltd.
Laxmi Group (Nahars Engineering India Pvt. Ltd.)
Minda Corporation Ltd. (Spark Minda)
National Engineering Industries Ltd. (NBC Bearings)
NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Tapco Pneumatics Ltd.
Tata AutoComp Systems Ltd.
Minda Industries Ltd. (Uno Minda Group)
Visteon Technical and Services Center Pvt. Ltd.
ZF India Pvt. Ltd.
The quest for going beyond the call of duty, excellence and 100 per cent localisation against the odds has been the hallmark of the manufacturer nominees this year. Resorting to an inclusive approach in their value chain, the nominees proved themselves yet again as responsible partners to the OEMs when it was required the most to rise to the occasion. The Winner this year impressed the jury with an all-around effort and a mega portfolio. Playing a major role in shaping automotive cockpit electronics, the winner in 2020, launched a remarkable 50 plus products globally with the Indian engineering arm contributing to a majority of these. To name a few, the key launches include the Android-based infotainment system for Volkswagen Nivus. The company also launched the hybrid cluster and tripper navigation for Royal Enfield Meteor 350 for India and 78 other countries. The instrument cluster and Tripper were designed and engineered by Visteon’s technology centres in Chennai and Pune, and are known to have been manufactured at Visteon’s Chennai plant. In an effort to enhance its regional supplier position in the digital cluster segment, in India, the company also launched an instrument cluster for Hyundai Creta, built on 2019 launched, Kia Seltos hybrid instrument cluster. The cluster was designed and engineered by the company’s technical centre in Chennai and manufactured at the Chennai plant.
Auto Component Of The Year
Winner: NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
BSVI compliant spark plug
The Nominees are:
Advantek Fuel Systems Pvt. Ltd.
A single integrated CNG filling valve
Continental Automotive India Pvt. Ltd.
Fully Digital Instrument Cluster
Eaton
Mechanical Locking Differential (M-Locker®)
Eaton
Fuel vapour valves
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies India Pvt. Ltd.
Micronair cabin air filters
Jamna Auto Industries Ltd.
BSVI compliant leaf spring series
Minda Corporation Ltd. (Spark Minda)
Joint 4-Way braking system part (four-wheeler)
Minda Corporation Ltd. (Spark Minda)
Smart key electronic steering column lock
NGK Spark Plugs (India) Pvt. Ltd.
BSVI spark plugs, two-wheeler fuel injection systems and oxygen sensors
Visteon Technical and Services Center Pvt. Ltd.
Android-based infotainment system for Volkswagen Nivus (for Brazil)
Visteon Technical and Services Center Pvt. Ltd.
Hybrid cluster and Tripper Navigation for Royal Enfield Meteor 350 for India and 78 other countries
Visteon Technical and Services Center Pvt. Ltd.
Instrument Cluster for Hyundai Creta (Instrument Cluster for Hyundai Creta)
An auto component is at the heart of any vehicle and it is what an auto component manufacturer strives to excel at all through the year. The coveted award for the year goes to the company that nominated a product suitable for BSVI fuel, the fuel injection system and oxygen sensor. Standing out as a relevant whole in 2020, the jury deemed the winning component as a crucial component for OEMs to meet the stipulated emission compliance norms that came into force on April 01, 2020. The jury, in a unanimous consensus, took cognizance of the component of the year playing an important role in reducing the exhaust gas emissions, especially in the high volume two-wheeler segment in 2020. In a year when OEM exposure reduced for most partner suppliers, the winning company also adjudged the winner in the categories: ‘Green Practice Of The Year’ and ‘Auto Ancillary Of The Year’ stood out as the first company to launch BSVI compliant ‘Spark plugs’ and two-wheeler ‘Fuel injection’ and ‘Oxygen Sensors’. The company also extended its winning impact on the aftermarket with a new range of ‘Glow Plugs’ and ‘Ignition coil’ for the four-wheeler segment. Platinum spark plugs as emissions control device are also known to last much longer.
The nominations this year are a testimony to the industry having ‘Nerves Of Steel. Read on for more at https://bit.ly/3fK1g8V
Congratulations to all the winners and the nominated entries this year. We will be back for the next edition of the ACI Awards in 2022. We thank you for your continued support and look forward to yet another edition with an exciting mix of entries. For those who couldn’t send in their entries and or qualify this year, we look forward to your participation in the next edition.
