Giulio Segneri, Plant Director, ADR Axles India Pvt. Ltd.
Interview by: Deven Lad
Q. What are the range of products SAE-SMB is offering in the Indian Market?
A. An ADR Group company, SAE-SMB Industries manufactures axles and suspension for trailer applications. These include axles and suspension for trailers and semi-trailers as well. SAE-SMB provides axles for 12-, 14-, 15- and 16-tonnes trailers. The company also provides pneumatic suspension for 12-tonnes and mechanical suspension for 12-, 14- and 16-tonnes trailers. A wide and versatile range of mechanical and pneumatic suspensions that are simple yet reliable, and functional and adaptable are also on offer. The drum brakes offered by the company occupy a leading position in the market too. In fact, most products from SAE-SMB meet efficiency and safety requirements of the market and exceed them.
Q. How different do you find the Indian market as compared to the other markets?
A. We are in India for over two years. The Indian market is growing at a good pace. Developing countries like India have a good potential for business where the local market requires good quality and reliable products. With the post-market expected to grow, we are looking to make our presence much stronger. We have our factory in Pune. We are well-placed to produce and distribute our products for the auto sector in India, thus.
Q. How does your company plan to pursue business in India while the country faces a economic slowdown?
A. Like an other economic sector, the auto sector could be facing ups and downs, but we are not worried. We are not worried about what is going on right now. We are more focused on what will happen in the next five to 20 years. What is going on right now depends on the current situation in the local as well as global market. Some equilibrium is expected with the implementation of new regulations like BSVI. All these changes will have an impact. What we are looking at is the long term. In the long term, we are confident that India will turn out to be a promising market for us. It is a big market.
Q. How would you describe SAE-SMB products versus what the competition has to offer?
A. Our products gain from our knowledge base, which has been earned on the back of the European market experience. We are part of the Italian Group, ADR. It is based in Northern Italy, and present in many other countries including China, Brazil, Australia, North America and Canada. The global presence of SAE-SMB gives it the knowledge and experience necessary to turn out superior products. Being new to the Indian market we continue to learn. We have come with a background that dates back more than 60 years. Products for each country are developed as per the customer requirement. We have made improvements and modifications to our products to meet the Indian conditions. To meet the Indian climate and roads, we are creating a niche for our products in the India market.
Q. Where do you see SAE-SMB in India in the next five years?
A. Our aim is to be close to the customer as we are making products that have some specific characteristic requirement of the market. We are not only looking at selling the product but we also want to sell our support and partnership. To meet customer requirement we want to develop a quality product and give the customers the service they desire. It is also important to make the spare parts available when required. We want to be near, be present, and be ready to give answers. We want to be fast in our response. In India, we have our own design department. If any changes are required, we can immediately work on our design and articulate it. We no longer need an expert designer from Europe to give us the feedback. Since our designer is based here, it is easier to pass on the feedback quickly. We are working on a number of parameters to give us a position in the market that is little bit different from others. We want to provide not only good products but also a good service. CV
