S H O P F L O O R mindar ika

MINDARIKA takes technology AS A ROUTE FOR GROWTH The Uno Minda – NK Minda Group has witnessed rapid development in the past few years, primarily due to strategic partnerships and the resulting focus on technology development. A major business unit within the group is Mindarika, a joint venture (JV) with Tokai Rika of Japan, which manufactures automotive switches and wheel covers for OEMs. We visited the company’s Manesar plant and bring to you a detailed report, which reflects the complex technology needed for making something seemingly as simple as switches.

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Technology background

Mindarika was established in 1992 and presently commands a marketshare of more than 45 % in the automotive switches market. The company presently operates manufacturing facilities in Manesar, Pune and Chennai, with the first two mentioned facilities having a R&D setup each. Apart from benefiting from Tokai Rika’s technical expertise, Mindarika has significantly developed its technical abilities over the past few years. And a large part of that is development of human resources. With an eye on the future, the company is already investing in hardware and software engineers, apart from the regular mechanical and electrical engineers. Focusing on technology development has already widened the company’s product portfolio to now include HVAC control panels, clock springs, cigarette lighters and wheel covers. The company has all the mandatory quality standards, including ISO 14002, OHSAS 18002 and TS 16949, and has applied for seven design patents so far.

Production

We spoke to a senior spokesperson, who guided us through the plant and informed us about various production processes. Mindarika’s production is divided broadly into three processes – moulding, assembly

Manual HVAC control panel

Lever combination module

and electronics. As the name suggests, moulding section is where most of the individual parts of a unit/ system are given shape. These parts are then joined together to form the final system at the assembly section. The production environment is quite different for both these sections. The assembly section is air-conditioned, while the moulding section is air-cooled. The primary reason for this is that even small quantities of dust at the time of assembling can cause problem or failure in the operation of switches. An ambient temperature further helps the manufacturing process and systems. The assembly process plays host to multiple processes, which are critical in nature and have been modernised by the company in recent times. These include riveting, soldering and grease dispensing, with the last process being one of the latest to be updated. The grease, earlier dispensed manually is now done automatically through a robot, improving the quantity and positional accuracy. For the

soldering process too, in the last couple of years the company has transitioned from manual to automation. The largest benefit is that the soldering process requires some amount of pre-heating, which can be missed out in manual process, leading to quality issues later. Usage of robotic process almost nullifies such possibility. At the facility there are numerous precautionary steps in place. These steps are designed to eliminate the possibility of the slightest direct/ indirect effect from a foreign particle/ matter. Apart from dust, there is a large focus on keeping away silicon and sweat from the switches as both of these materials can cause failure of switches if they make contact during the manufacturing stages. Riveting is another critical process, since it creates the contact point for all switches and any compromise at this stage can lead to unexpected failure of a switch. For this process, Mindarika uses the same cylinders used to operate the flaps on airplane wings. Imported from Germany, these cylinders cost close to four times more than their Indian counterparts, and are way more durable. These cylinders are offered with a one million strokes warranty for oil leakage. The moulding shop too has been modernised and now benefits from the presence of all-electric manufacturing machines. These machines have been purchased from JSW, Japan, over the toggle-type or hydraulic type machines due to their higher automation rate. Elimination of the need for human intervention significantly improves the quality and production rate.

Technology – today & tomorrow

Assembly section at the Manesar plant operates with minimum human intervention

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In recent times, Mindarika has introduced new products in the market, show-

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S H O P F L O O R MiNdARi KA

casing its developments in the area of technology. We were told that last year the company had developed a waterproof headlamp levelling switch. This switch is aimed at reducing chances of switch failure in case of any liquid from a spray or car perfume coming in contact with the internals of the switch. The other major new product is the Electronic HVAC (climate control) control panel. A complex and critical part to manufacture, this is the first time that Suzuki has outsourced the production of this part outside Japan. Mindarika is already in the development process for it and assembly operations for the same will begin sometime in end-2013. Significantly, the company is carrying out lead-free soldering in its operations. Although there is no defined regulation in automotive manufacturing for lead-free manufacturing in India, Mindarika has initiated this process since it supplies to customers in Europe and Gulf countries, where lead content isn’t allowed. The company considers this as a major technical progress, not just because of being ahead of regulations but also due to the complex nature of the set-up involving lead-free soldering. Lead is primarily used to soften the solder material and lower its melting temperature. Removal of lead results in increase in melting temperature. While lead-soldering can be done at about 300oC, lead-free soldering starts at only about 400oC. In addition, since the

Robotic grease dispenser

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The four cylinders pictured are essentially used for operating airplane wing flaps

replacement for lead such as tin is harder, the flow in molten state isn’t too smooth. In order to smoothen the flow, an ambient surrounding needs to be created using nitrogen. The cost implication hence is quite high and lead-free soldering is about three to four times more expensive than lead-soldering. Speaking about future developments, the Mindarika spokesperson told us that the company is presently working on contact-less switches. The present switches need to have a physical contact within to activate or deactivate. The contact-less switches will do away with the need for this and will use electromagnetic technology instead. Elimination of the need for physical contact will also enhance the life of the switch significantly, translating into greater cost-benefits for OEMs and customers. A diverse new product added by Mindarika to its range is the painted wheel cover, which is manufactured at the Manesar plant. Production started in January 2012, with an initial production run of 120,000 units per annum with the

Robotic soldering machine

installed capacity being 600,000 per annum. The company expects the plant to break-even by 2013-14. The production of the wheel covers will be done by Mindarika, while Tokai Rika Minda India will undertake the responsibility of selling it to the OEMs. The company has already started manufacturing wheel covers for Maruti, including its newest model, Ertiga.

Focus on R&D

As a group, Uno Minda invests about 2.5 % of its revenues in R&D, an above average figure by Indian standards. The company has made significant investments in enhancing its software capabilities in recent times. This move should allow the company to better meet future technical challenges since the electronic content in cars continues to rise. In addition, the company has transitioned from being labour-intensive to a highly automated company. This has allowed the company to deliver better quality at reasonable price and shorten the production time as well. In an effort to improve the skills of its engineers, the company consistently sends Indian engineers to its JV partner in Japan. This knowledge transfer helps the Indian engineers to stay in tune with global technologies and regulations. The R&D set-up in the Manesar plant consists of 30-32 engineers, including those from mechanical, electrical and tooling departwww.autotechreview.com

ments. The Pune plant too has about 20 engineers working on development of new technologies. A strong point about the company is its ability to carry out all processes from product conceptualisation to testing and production. Mindarika plans to build upon this ability further and offer newer and cost-effective solutions by focusing on consistent improvement in its engineering capabilities. Electronics is seen by the company as an opportunity area and it plans to devote its development resources towards further innovation in this field. Electronics division at the Mindarika facility in Manesar

Challenges & opportunities

Although Mindarika commands a strong marketshare, just like every other company, it has some challenges. The company still sees a lot of room for improvement in material quality. Inconsistent quality isn’t a major hindrance for Mindarika presently as the company sources the unavailable material from its JV partners. This, however, increases the cost and hence the company is working closely with its suppliers to help them improve their quality. Towards this cause, the company has recently established another JV company, which will focus on improving the material sourcing process. Presently, Mindarika is using about 70 % local raw material and plans to increase this percentage further. The company’s long-term vision is to

increase localisation of products, which are presently imported or brought in as knocked-down products. These products include products such as shift levers for automatic transmissions. A shift lever is critical to the safety and convenience of the vehicle and its occupants, the main reason why OEMs haven’t yet localised these components. Mindarika believes that it has the technical expertise to manufacture these components and is already in talks with some OEMs regarding this.

Outlook

Uno Minda as a group has taken some significant initiatives in recent times to bring in new technology to India. The lat-

est development was the group’s new JV with Fujitsu Ten Limited to manufacture car infotainment systems. This will expand the company’s wide product range even further and in turn make the business even more diverse. Mindarika’s fast-expanding product range and business is a result of the company and group’s focus on technology development. This testifies our belief in the role technology will play in business development. The Indian auto industry is going global, and will continue to adopt and develop stringent rules and norms. The companies that focus on technology development right now will likely be the ones to enjoy sustainable domestic and global growth in the coming years. Uno Minda as a group and Mindarika as a company are seemingly on the right development track. A stronger inclination on manufacturing more complex products should help the company poise itself for future growth even better. That in our opinion is an area, where the company is ahead of many rivals, yet has a lot of room for further growth. TexT: Arpit Mahendra PhOTO: Bharat Bhushan Upadhyay

Mindarika's Manesar plant compiles with all mandatory quality standards

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