With a vision to drive the traditional trucking industry through high degree of innovative engineering and efficient transport solutions, Anirudh Bhuwalka fuelled the creation of Asia MotorWorks Ltd in 2005. Setting trends in the trucking business, AMW’s core strengths lie in product differentiation and constant customer orientation in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle segment. Anirudh Bhuwalka, MD & CEO expressed his optimism in AMW’s growth.

Founded in 2005, AMW has made a mark in niche segments of the Medium and Heavy Commercial vehicle industry. Can you brief us about your commercial vehicle business?

AMW started production in 2005 and its product portfolio comprises vehicles in 25, 31, 40 and 49 tonne segments in haulage and Fully Built Vehicles like Tippers, Dumpers, Transit Mixers, etc. The mining and construction segments are AMW’s thrust areas for new product introduction.

The fully integrated manufacturing facilities of AMW are spread over 600 acres in Bhuj, in the western region of India. The capacity for commercial vehicles has been planned at 50000 annually. In addition the Company has installed capacity for 24000 tipper bodies, 100000 tonnes of fabricated components, 45000 tonnes pressed metal and 30000 tonnes of frames for chassis production.

What are the biggest advantages of AMW commercial vehicles in comparison to the others offered by big players? Where do your products stand in terms attaining precision performance with cost efficiency?

AMW’s trucks are designed and built with aggregates sourced from the most renowned global suppliers. Customers are able to get higher level of productivity and profitability as payloads are higher, operating costs lower and the trucks are reliable and durable. The trucks are designed with higher horsepower engine and a transmission to give higher fuel efficiency combined with powerful performance. A bogey suspension enables a smooth and stable ride and standard air-conditioned cabins that have set trends in the Indian commercial vehicle industry.

AMW mining tippers are designed to operate on the toughest road conditions encountered in many mines in the country. Most mining sites in the country do not have adequate road facilities and here is where AMW tippers score over competition. AMW tippers are able to withstand the difficult conditions encountered in open pit mining to transportation from pithead to loading.

AMW offers ready to build chassis with technical support for bodybuilding. AMW also offers Fully Built Vehicles from its manufacturing plant at Bhuj, which means operators are able to get productivity from DAY ONE.

What are the major benefits of your recently introduced 3118 haulage trucks?

The 3118 is specially designed to offer the maximum cost-per-tonne performance combined with convenience, safety and comfort features that are the best in class in the industry. The turbo charged diesel engine delivers increased power and a flat torque curve on a larger band of rpm for excellent fuel efficiency. The 6-speed gearshift gives longer life of transmission and reduced maintenance costs, besides the advantage of superb climbing ability. 

The robust chassis construction is ideally suited for the tough Indian road conditions and the vehicle has a high ground clearance and good service accessibility. The ease of body building on the framework is an added advantage.

How do you analyze the potential of commercial vehicle industry in India? Can you highlight the growth drivers for the Indian market?

The Government has planned massive investments in infrastructure in the form of roads and highways, construction, mining, power generation and with the economy projected to grow at over 8.5% annually, we believe that the future of the transportation industry is bright. This sector is closely linked to GDP growth and all growth drivers are in the right direction.

What is the total market size of Indian commercial vehicle segment and what is your market share?

In the HCV space – AMW addressable market size, based on current product portfolio, is approx 110K vehicles, according to SIAM India report for FY 2009 – 2010. AMW has a significant market share in 25 Tonnes - 10 wheel tipper market. The market share is approx 16%. In a few specific geographies like Punjab, TN and AP – AMW is no.2 vis-à-vis competition in this segment.

In the TT’s segment (40T +) AMW is no.3 in terms of market share and the share is approx 8%.

What is your target for current fiscal and how did your company performed during the last two quarters?

AMW has performed above industry growth in the last few years of its presence in the Commercial Vehicles industry and even in 2008, when major industry players suffered negative growth rates; we managed to hold our volumes. We have sold close to 2000 trucks in the first half of the calendar year. We have a major presence in 25 Ton – 10 wheel tipper market. We enjoy more than 16% market share in our chosen segments i.e. tippers and Fully Built Vehicles for mining and construction.

Are you impressed with your company’s performance in India?

We are optimistic about our growth in India, as we believe that we offer products that are aimed at customer profitability and at the same time offer the driver high degree of comfort and safety. We constantly challenge existing norms and truly believe that we are on par with global standards of manufacturer

What are the steps being initiated by AMW to generate more revenue?

We are clearly focused on how we want to grow in this industry and have made a successful move from specialized segments to haulage vehicles, which constitute the large volumes. AMW also manufactures components for the automotive and general engineering industries.

AMW’s capacity of 15 million wheel rims makes it the largest single location plant in Asia and the company supplies pressed metal components to some of the world’s most renowned auto and white goods manufacturers. Our forging unit in Mysore manufactures products for automotive, general engineering, construction, mining and material handling industries. The plant specializes in forgings for extremely critical use in nuclear and defense applications. We believe we are positioned to make a mark in the automotive and general engineering industry in the country.

What is your company’s present order book?

We have an extremely healthy order position and are set to achieve our stiff targets of growth. Our growth has been healthy, least to say.  Q1 2009-10 we sold 495 trucks vis-à-vis Q1 2010-11 where we sold 1350 trucks recoding a growth of 172% over the last year. 

Where do you wish to see AMW by the end this decade?

We would like to be seen as a company that brought a new dimension to the word TRUCKING.