SBL aims to become tier I supplier
By Venkatachari Jagannathan | 29 Jan 2002
Chennai: The Rs 81-crore Sundaram Brake Linings (SBL), the Deming prizewinner, is planning to graduate to tier-I by supplying brake-panel assembly instead of just brake linings. "In the initial stage we plan to cater to the two-wheeler industry," says SBL chairman and managing director K Mahesh .
Mahesh says SBL (www.tvsbrakelinings.com) will proceed in stages and it will take two years to supply its brake-panel assembly. The company has already started supplying insitu-bonded brake shoes to the group company TVS Motor. It is also working on asbestos-free, insitu-bonded brake shoes for passenger cars and trucks.
The other domestic strategy is to promote the use of environment-friendly, asbestos-free brake linings in India and abroad and also to penetrate the global commercial vehicle disc-pad market. Exporting 50 per cent of its production, mostly to replacement markets in 55 countries, SBL hopes to increase its overseas presence in over 65 countries. In the US, the largest market for brake linings, the company is now targeting the garbage truck fleet segment, where wear-and-tear cases of brake linings are high. "Our products have a longer life than others, which is our USP," says SBL president V R Janardhanam. In addition, the company is working towards increasing OEM (original equipment manufacturer) approvals abroad. At a time when Chinese products are flooding the Indian market, SBL is likely to strike up a deal in China.
The demand for brake linings is based on the kind of terrain and the kind of performance that is expected. Price is not a major differentiator in major overseas markets, except in Asian countries. However, it is the Asian markets where SBL realises and foresees better margins.
In the domestic market, the company is a major player in the truck segment and has a reasonable presence in the passenger car market. In the two-wheeler segment SBL has a minor presence, supplying only to TVS Motor. "Nearly 40 per cent of the domestic market is dominated by spurious brands, so we do not focus much in that segment," says Mahesh.