Automotive News - August 11, 2008 - (Page 36g) INSIGHT AUGUST 11, 2008 • 36G Suppliers size up India, Russia Supplier roundtable CEOs say India is becoming a sizzling market, but they are more cautious about Russia. I’d like to go around the world for a moment. Is India a place of great promise for you? Alapont: During the last three years, we have grown substantially. We are now leaders in most of the powertrain components we do. We have 7,000 people in India. We have, like, a quarter of a billion dollars now. For the Indian market or for export? Alapont: Both. Before, the vehicle manufacturers were going to China, India and Russia with assembly plants and only many years later — like what happened here with the Japanese — arrived at powertrains. That has proven not to be competitive. Powertrains arrive faster to these emerging countries. The customers are going to say, well, we are going to do the same engine in China or in India or in Russia that we do in Europe and the United States. We would like X percent there and X percent to export. China is not questionable; India, in terms of volumes, is there; and Russia, in terms of volumes, is coming fast. Kamsickas: We just opened a commercial and engineering center in Pune (India) two months ago. We’re breaking ground on a plant in the next month or two. It’s with multiple customers, not single customers. We follow the customers, we all do. We believe it’s a good upturn. Kozyra: As our customers become more and more global, unless we’re capable of engineering and producing in those countries where they’re going to produce, we don’t see any chance to get the global platform awards that we need. We recently received a nice award from Toyota as a result of our position in India and our capability there. For domestic and export? Kozyra: Primarily for domestic. Denton: We’ve been there for less than two years. We’ve seen five times the business projection and plan. They’re all joint ventures except for the tech center. Our partner has been able to help us with the entrees where we gained 100 percent sourcing. Some of the Tata and the Mahindra & Mahindra, we’ll ship in the latter part of this year. They’re very fastreacting. Of what we make in India today, 90 percent stays in India. By the way, they have a NAFTAtype agreement with Thailand, so this is a great way to get into the Thai market in a low-cost way. Are you as high on Russia as some are? Alapont: We are. We are basically in all the current manufacturing for passenger cars. Recently we also announced a joint venture with Kamaz for powertrains for commercial vehicles. This is a very sweet market. Denton: We’ve been studying it for a while. We’ll probably announce something by the end of the year. Russia is not a low-cost nation, so you’ve got to look at this differently. And the selection of your first facility, well, you’ve got geography that’s probably 2,000 miles wide. You’ve really got to look hard at where you think your supply is going to be. The issue that is most prevalent, being a publicly traded company, is to make sure that everything you do is, as the press says, transparent. Euphemistically stated. You can’t carry bags of cash. Denton: You keep it transparent. It’s one of our values, and we’re going to maintain that. That obviously plays a very significant role in any selection process. Kozyra: We’re looking to expand our capabilities there to support our customers there. We’re following our customers around the globe. Russia will be next for sure for us. I agree Russia is a very tough environment politically. There are some hints of corruption. What concerns us, too, are declines in population growth there. You want a country whose output and population are growing. Russia is negative population growth. It’s a question mark.c a low-cost nation, so you’ve got to look at this differently. And the selection of your first facility, well, you’ve got geography that’s probably 2,000 miles wide. “ Russia is not LARRY DENTON Dura Automotive Systems Inc. ” JOE WILSSENS EVERYWHERE YOUR BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE. • • • • • • Brazil • China • India • Mexico • Poland • Russia • Thailand ANS-300TTS/ANS-320TTS 2-Turret Automated Shaft Lathe TNW Series - 6-Axis Twin Integrated Gantry Loader VN Series Vertical CNC Lathes ANS Series - Single Spindle CNC Lathes PBS-300TT 4-Axis ID/OD Cutting ANW Series Dual Spindle CNC Lathes FS4 Series High Output CNC Lathes HM Series 5 Face Mill/Drill Cell Fuji worldwide support is everywhere you are. Available in all of the emerging markets, our network of support centers is relied on by world-leading automotive manufacturers. 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