MORE GOOD NEWS FROM INDIA

Car, motorbike and bicycle parts in plenty are being successfully plated in large quantities by PAL’s machines. Indeed, visitors to Surface World held in Birmingham, UK in early October were able to see motor bike parts plated in India by Badve Engineering and car wheels from Synergies (as well as fasteners from the UK’s EPC and Euro coins plated by Surface Treatment in The Netherlands). Now an order has been received from Hero Cycles in India for a Tri-Nickel/Chrome plating line for plating motorbike wheel rims.

Kamtress Automation in India is faring particularly well in the “transport stakes”, this is the third order for plating in that industry that they have picked up in a relatively short time and is proof of PAL’s ability to plate everything that is Chrome plated in the world of cars and motorbikes. First came Synergies Dooray Automotive, India’s first global scale manufacturer of aluminium alloy wheels who installed three PAL lines. These are large programmed hoist rack Copper, Nickel and Chromium plating machines for plating 14” to 20” diameter aluminium wheels. The wheels made by Synergies are for Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Telco, Daewoo and SAN Motors in India and are also supplied to the ‘aftermarkets’ of America, Europe, Japan and Korea.

The next order came from Badve Engineering, one of the leading motor bike component manufacturers in India. Their new Tri-Nickel/Chrome line is used for plating silencers and exhaust pipes for a range of motor bikes including Kawasaki. “The challenges in the automobile industry are increasing as never before,” comments Mr Shrikant Badve, Managing Director of Badve Engineering Pvt Ltd, a leading components manufacturer for M/s Bajaj Auto Ltd.

“The demand for quality plated components and parameters for corrosion resistance is also on the increase from the end user. So, it is important for us to meet such challenges unequivocally. In this context and marching towards our goal, we feel we have made the right decision by investing in the Kampal plating line manufactured by Kamtress and ably supported by PAL Hong Kong. We are quite happy with the performance of the machine so far and are continuously studying the possibility of improvements in the plating line.” Mr Badve has one final wish, he would like to see PAL investigate the possibilities of ever-more economical plant believing that “more and more people could then invest and get the feel of the experience of PAL in this field.”

Now comes Hero. They’ve set PAL a fresh challenge – as they needed a horizontal wheel rim plating line. Hero is India’s largest motorbike manufacturer. Collaborating with Honda they manufacture close to 2,500 motorbikes each day. The new PAL line, their first, will be installed in their new world-class facility very close to their existing plant. The new line will produce 6,000 wheel rims a day. In addition to the horizontal loading of the wheel rims, the machine features internal and external anodes. “We’re delighted to have won this order,” says S.R. Chandrashekar of Kamtress Automation

The pictures tell the tale. The first with Hero Chairman (behind the desk) Mr. O.P. Munjal and (on the left) Mr. T.S. Teehal, Mr S.K. Bhatnager (Electroplating General Manager) and Mr S.K. Bhandari (Production V.P.); and further discussions between (left to right) Ronald Yeung (PAL Project Engineer) S.R. Chandrashekar, Tony Evans, Mr. S.K. Rai (Executive Director), and Mr S.K Bhandari (Production V.P).

Right: Mr Shrikant Badve stands proudly in front of the machine with Mr Badeshar of Bajaj Auto and members of the PAL:Kamtress, Badve and Atotech teams, with plated silencers clearly visible.