HOSUR: As part of its plans in India to increase its footprint among major Indian OEMs and vehicle manufacturers, Tenneco Clean Air India Ltd, an Indian unit of US-based Tenneco, Inc., is aiming to expand its research & development plant in Hosur and make acquisitions in different sectors.
Tenneco on Thursday launched its flagship product DaVinci DCx, a specially-designed shock absorber for Indian roads, for India’s major OEM and car manufacturer Mahindra & Mahindra. “We are getting queries from other OEMs for this particular product, and in order to cater to this rising demand we might need another plant somewhere in western or southern India. Nothing is finalised yet,” said Arvind Chandra, CEO & Whole-Time Director of Tenneco Clean Air. The supply contract from Mahindra is estimated to be around Rs 220 crore.
However, the company has already begun the construction of a manufacturing plant in Kharkhoda, Haryana, with an investment of Rs 71 crore, aiming to serve northern OEMs and car manufacturers. Production is likely to commence in Q3FY27.
The company is targeting double-digit growth with $2 million investment in the R&D facility in Hosur, a few potential acquisitions within the auto components sector, and also by bringing some patented products out of its 5,000 patents and tweaking them according to the needs of Indian customers. It has R&D facilities in Hosur and Chakan. “We are planning a global state-of-the-art R&D facility here. We want to make India self-sufficient and a hub for the technology. We are at a point where we can make our patents,” said Chandra. The company has around 150 engineers at its R&D facility and wants to raise it to 200.
Chandra said, “The shock absorber market size is nearly Rs 5,000 crore. We are the largest supplier of suspension and struts to all Indian OEMs with our market share standing at 52%. We are also the largest supplier for clean air and powertrain solutions with a market share of over 57%.”
The company has produced nearly 5 million clean air solutions, 51 million spark plugs, 43 million bearings and over 21 million struts and shock absorbers. Over 7 million of suspension alone is manufactured at Hosur. It has 12 plants across India, including in Hosur and Puducherry, producing products in clean air & powertrain solutions and advanced ride technologies segment.
The company is also exploring M&A of underperforming suppliers identified by OEMs and vehicle manufacturers. “We are zero-debt, which helps us to explore acquisition of companies as part of inorganic growth,” he added.