Providing innovative mobility solutions for automotive sector across the globe, Delux Bearings
From humble beginnings in 1956 as one of the first bearing companies of India, Delux Bearings has emerged as one of the largest suppliers of clutch release bearings, concentric slave cylinders, SMART e-pneumatic clutch actuators, steering column bearings, synchronizer cones, double row ball bearings and axial thrust bearings to the automotive industry across the globe. Under the stewardship of Rohan Rathod, the third generation entrepreneur and managing director since last four years, the company had a major turnaround. Rohan, an architect by qualification, has utilized his passion for design to bring a transformation in the company’s approach to technology, application and testing. Today Delux has two modern manufacturing plants in strategic locations and over 100 customers across the globe. A totally technology and R & D-driven company , Delux thrives in developing and supplying customized bearings for critical applications in the automotive sector worldwide. In an interview with Bearing Review, the young MD presents a ringside view of the developments in the bearing industry and its dynamics in sync with the automotive industry which is in for a revolution yet again in a burgeoning economy. Excerpts:
Q. What are the dynamics of the bearing industry? What’s the difference you make?
We are currently witnessing a revolution in the automotive industry, which Peter Thiel would categorize as 0 to 1. Leapfrogging if you will. The last time the world witnessed a change of this magnitude was with the invention of the internal combustion engine, which changed the play book for mobility. The playbook is being re-written today once again – the difference is that there are multiple authors and multiple plays. The trigger for this is the crisis of climate change which is not at our doorstep anymore; it has made its way into our lives. While the debate around the ability of electric vehicles to reduce carbon emissions continues, they are surely here to stay (Europe just announced the blanket ban of new ICE engine production from 2030 for PV) – and while some have bet on electric mobility to curb emissions, others are looking at alternatives such as hydrogen power and hybrids (in any case, it’s a question of ‘when’, not ‘if’ the ICE engine will be laid to rest).
With (the reality of) the scarcity of natural resources staring us in the face, there is a need to do more with less. Efficiency has been the principle challenge that engineers have tackled over a decade, but it matters now more than ever – and this is where the bearing industry steps in. While several components will be meeting their retirement this decade, bearings will be here to stay.
The industry will be more critical of the efficiency of rolling bearings – weight, envelope, power density, torque, high RPM, cleanliness, and losses in the form of heat, vibrations, eddies and noise are taking the forefront of the discussions. Add to this the fact that these bearings are now a part of a drive train that has electricity running through it – they need to perform the additional function of either conducting or insulating the passage of current through them. The bearing is now part of a circuit. And the challenge is to manufacture these new high efficiency and hybrid bearings at an affordable and sustainable cost. The challenge is to help make the new era of vehicles more affordable to the masses, not premium and luxurious. I think this is the challenge for companies of our size – how do we compete on ‘sun-rise’ technologies, and steer away from our product obsolescence, when you have the giants of industries investing billions into R&D like never before. Add to this the fact that the total number of bearings required in a traditional ICE will be cut by more than 2/3rds in EVs. The pie will be shrinking and there is going to be a frantic rush to grab whatever remains of the shrunken pie (at least in the OE space). It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
As always, we have to find our niche within this market transformation and play to our strengths.
Q. What are the standard and customized solutions you offer to the automotive sector?
To be honest, we prefer not to offer standard products. Let someone else do that. Every application is unique and our solutions must be reciprocal. Too often we see OEMs lift products from one application over to another and land up in trouble. We urge our customers to treat each project individually and start from scratch, and obviously, carry forward the learnings from previous ones.
We have our own Technology Center at our headquarters in Mumbai, from where we can address all our customer requirements. The aim is to be as technically close to the customers as possible. Utilizing advanced tools and virtual simulation programs (Romax, Mesys, Ansys, Creo, etc) we are able to confirm that our technical solutions are fit to withstand load conditions, duty cycles, hertzian contact pressures, osculation limits, noise and vibration limits, L10 life, misalignment and several other application requirements.
Our business is built around product differentiation and uniqueness. Ninety percent of the products we make are customized solutions. We test these solutions and hypotheses both virtually and empirically at our dedicated testing centers in Pune and Surendranagar and also work with third party testing labs in Germany. We can conduct various tests on our products across 30 test benches and synthesize these into robust product definitions. We offer modifications and customizations in various parameters such as total packaging size, tribological features, sealing solutions, materials, heat treatment, surface structures and substructures, rolling elements and engineering polymer accessories.
Q. What’s unique about your manufacturing line?
There is a myth that 100% automation is the only way to manufacture bearings. Let us be conscientious of our context. We are in the second most populated country in the world. Job creation is our duty as business owners. I believe in having a mix of automation and semi automation and we design some of our lines to enable operators to work on the machines with minimal skill.
Since our business model caters to a combination of OE and Aftermarket, we need to have a manufacturing set-up that is flexible and adaptable yet places quality at the forefront. We have a mix of high volume continuous and dedicated automatic production lines for OE mass production and some more flexible low volume production lines for batch production.
These lines have been designed keeping in concepts of lean and cellular manufacturing as well as SPPC (Special Product and Process Characteristics), CTQ (Critical to Quality). They are outfitted with several interlocks and error proofing mechanisms to prevent occurrences of NOK parts as well as detect them if they are produced including QR code linked EOL (End of line) performance checks, vision controlled detection of components and their orientation and noise controls. Our most sophisticated automatic line has 75 poka yokes from which we have dispatched more than half a million pieces with a PPM of Zero!
We are piloting IOT enabled lines which monitor OEE and machine status through machine learning and we have also successfully migrated to a 100% paperless Maintenance and Production system.
Q. Tell us more about your infrastructure and resources.
People are our biggest resource and we have a total headcount of approximately 500. Our main factory is in Surendranagar, Gujarat from where we manufacture all types of bearings and precision components. We have a wholly owned subsidiary Infinity Driveline, located in Chakan, Pune from where we manufacture clutch actuators for commercial and passenger vehicles. Our Technology Center in Mumbai staffs 12 application engineers who work closely with the marketing teams to collaborate with customers.
We have recently started our Machine Manufacturing and Automation Center where we design and commission assembly and honing machines ourselves.
To meet growing demand and augment our capacity, we are in the process of establishing a massive state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Rajkot. Strategically, this brings us near to our suppliers and also in the heart of an industrial hub. This facility will be up and running by June 2023 and we will be gradually adding upto 12 manufacturing lines for special application tapered, ball and clutch bearings. These lines will be IoT equipped to meet Industry 4.0 requirements. We already have customer commitments for these products and a heavy order book. Our SAP S4 Hana ERP system is what binds our operations together. Although we are primarily debt-free, this factory will see a capex deployment of 50 Crores.
Q. Please throw some light on your R & D and technological innovations?
One of the projects we are currently working on is quite interesting: We are reducing the total packaging size and weight of a roller bearing by half, while maintaining the power density and weight to capacity ratio. Since there are 6 bearings of this type used in the particular CVT, that means there should be a 12x times improvement in overall efficiency. To achieve this we are exploring a combination of surface treatments and bearing geometries and accuracies.
Another one of the key breakthroughs we have had is on the Dual Mass Flywheel bearing – a very thin section bearing that is used to dampen engine vibrations and protect the transmission while also offering improved NVH comfort. This bearing oscillates at high frequencies and here we had to engineer the lubrication of the rolling elements to prevent them from failing due to brinelling. We supply this to one of the largest SUV manufacturers in India and Europe.
Q. What’s special about your e-Actuators?
We are the first and only company in India to successfully industrialize E-Pneumatic Clutch Actuators. This is a forward integration and evolution of the traditional mechanical clutch release bearings, our core product line. We manufacture these in our specialized unit in Chakan – Infinity Driveline Pvt Ltd. We have been developing these over the past 2 years and within a short period of time have entered long term contracts with 4 European T1s. We are also in the final stages of concluding an OE contract with one of the largest truck manufacturers in Asia.
Our E-actuators are suited for Trucks with AMTs. They utilize the compressed air in the vehicle to engage and disengage the clutch. We use a PLCD or Hall effect based sensor coupled with a magnet to measure the position of the clutch fingers and relay this to the TCU of the AMT. This ensures a correctly calibrated and well-timed clutch actuation and also informs the vehicle operator of the clutch wear to prevent unplanned downtime and improve TCO. They are designed to increase the overall torque of the gearbox (as high as 3200 Nm). Through this technology there is a simplification of the entire clutch system and a total reduction in weight. We have been able to build a mileage of upto 800,000 – 1,000,000km on some of our field vehicles, which are almost 4x the life of traditional release bearings.
Q. Please give some idea of your customer base and market penetration.
We are bearing partners to some of the leading Tier 1s in the industry at a global level such as Valeo, Eaton and ZF. Domestically we cater to OEMs such as Daimler, Ashok Leyland, Tata motors and Force Motors. Recently we have forayed into the passenger vehicle space and started supplying Mahindra, Hyundai and Kia, both directly and as a T2. We have successfully been awarded several localization projects for critical applications such as the Dual Mass Flywheel Bearing, Actuators and Synchromesh Cones for Manual transmissions.
Q. What’s the way forward for Delux and where will you be in five years hence?
When I joined the company in 2017, we were struggling to maintain our revenue of INR 90 Cr and facing tremendous bottom line pressure. I was appointed as Managing Director in 2018 after which the company has seen tremendous transformation. Thanks to the support and faith of our chairman, my father, and my team, we closed FY22 at INR175 Cr (almost doubling the revenue in 4 years). We have had nearly 30% growth YoY for the past 2 years and we anticipate hitting INR 220 Cr in this financial year with a solid EBITDA.
This transformation has been possible as we pivoted in areas of R&D, technology, systems, process and people. We consolidated our manufacturing operations, expanded product lines in the aftermarket, began exporting to new
markets and entered the passenger vehicle segment. From a company known just for release bearings for commercial vehicles, today we are known for ball bearings, precision transmission components, and smart actuators amongst several others.
We have an order book and business plan that aims at revenue of INR 500 Cr by 2025 through an expansion in product lines and new markets, including E-bicycles, reducers for EVs and CVTs.
