Bayer MaterialScience inaugurated its first integrated Systems House – BaySystems India at Greater Noida near New Delhi recently. Bayer MaterialScience is the world market leader for polyurethanes, and is currently in the process of developing its global network of polyurethane Systems Houses. India is a very important market for Bayer MaterialScience. 

Speaking at the inauguration, Frank Grunert, head of marketing and innovation (business unit polyurethanes), Bayer MaterialScience Asia Pacific said, “BaySystems India will provide ready-to-use solutions for such industry sectors as automotive, footwear and sports equipment, home finishing (mattresses and furniture), and heat insulation foams in the construction, refrigeration and hot water industries.” “The Systems House will cater to an ever increasing number of domestic and foreign players who have diversified their investments and are setting up manufacturing facilities in India. There are also an increasing number of local firms that are aiming to develop overseas markets and we have the experience and global network to support their initiatives. For these customers, we now have even better facilities, expertise and knowledge to serve them, practically at their doorstep.” he added. 

BaySystems India will cater to both local consumption as well as exports to countries in the Indian Subcontinent. The Systems House will combine the strength of superior technology and raw materials with opportunities for regional production and technical service expertise. Stephan Gerlich, Managing Director of Bayer MaterialScience in India and Country Head – Bayer Group in India adds, “With this facility, we are looking to gain a foothold in the promising growth market in India, where demand for polyurethane is growing at over 10per cent annually. The size of the Indian PU market was approximately 120,000 metric tons in 2006 and this is expected to reach 250,000 metric tons by 2014. The Systems House, located in Greater Noida, near New Delhi, will provide customers with a local solution backed up by a global network of expertise. 

”Bayer is confident that with the setting up of BaySystems near New Delhi, the Company can offer every polyurethane processor – irrespective of size or specialization - optimum solutions, technical advice, quality service and polyurethane systems, in a timely way. The Company already has a development center in Greater Noida to support customers in India in several application requirements and the center is capable of handling testing of end applications and fine tuning of PU systems to OEM requirements. Importantly, Bayer is investing significantly in the training and development of local talent to service customers, as well as in the transfer and exchange of knowledge and expertise from Bayer MaterialScience’ global network. The Company is rapidly expanding its team, and is also planning to hire additional resources for sales, marketing and production. The systems house will also promote the use of Bayer MaterialScience´s polyurethane materials on a local basis.

General Motors India launched the Chevrolet Optra TCDi diesel sedan recently. Powering the car is a 2.0-litre TCDi (Turbocharged Common Rail Direct Injection) engine that utilizes second-generation common rail technology. Generating a pressure of up to 1600bar through multi-step injection, the new engine also has an electric vacuum control turbo, which further enhances performance. 

Delivering peak power of 120.5ps and a peak torque of 314Nm the Optra diesel boasts additional technological innovations like a dual mass flywheel, which significantly reduces vibration while idling, and a balanced shaft module, which ensures refined and smooth engine operation. It also helps improve NVH, as less energy is lost due to vibrating parts. Although the Optra diesel was initially launched in Korea and Europe a few months ago much of the testing and fine-tuning was carried out by GM India’s engineering team. Cosmetic changes to the car include restyled bumper, headlamps, grille and side fenders.

The ETAS Group, which was formed by the merger of ETAS, Vetronix and LiveDevices in 2003, has set up its operations in India. The company set up its office at Bangalore recently to extend its sales, marketing, and support activities. The India office will support ETAS customers with its automotive lifecycle solutions for embedded control systems and by providing local tool expertise. Expected to play the role of a competent, reliable, and globally acting partner to the automotive industry, the activities conducted from Bangalore will include sales, marketing and technical support. The Indian operations are called ETAS Automotive India Pvt Ltd. 

The ETAS Group supplies a comprehensive portfolio of standardized development and diagnostic tools that cover the complete development and service life cycles of electronic control units in today's automobiles. The group perceives its role as that of a strong industry partner providing tools and software components for the three basic aspects of electronic control units, i.e., control functions, diagnostic functions, and platform software components. Custom engineering services for individual customers and a sustained commitment to consulting, training, and support add further strength to the group's portfolio.

Balkrishna Mahajan and Nishma Pandit of Ticket design

Pune-based Ticket Design has been awarded a Silver at the 20th International Appliance Design Excellence in Design Award 2007 held at USA. Advanced Telematics—a vehicle tracking device designed by the Ticket Design for Tata Motors was declared a silver winner amongst worldwide entries received in the electronics category beating international competition such as Fujitsu Lifebook A6010 Notebook Computer and Globalstar GSP 1700 Satellite Phone for this position. Ticket Design designed the Advanced Telematics product whereas Tata took care of the electronics design and manufacturing. 

This device is an advanced vehicle tracking system launched by Tata Motors in their Novus Heavy duty trucks. An independent panel of three industrial design experts performed judging of the entries. Evaluation of the entries was based on four criteria: appearance, human factors, innovation and technical merits. The tracking device uses the global positioning satellite and the mobile phone network to achieve this. Indian truck drivers speak different languages, cannot read or write, leads an insecure life being on the road driving day and night. The design serves this user faithfully. The product uses ergonomic icon based controls for an intuitive user interface. There is no other product in the market that communicates that well with the user as well as the fleet owner.

As part of the multi phase PLM adoption project, leading automaker Toyota has deployed Windchill PDMLink 8.0, and as part of a strategic process improvement initiative for its Powertrain division. This initiative is aligned with Toyota’s goal to improve the product development processes that lead to quality improvement, productivity gains and a reduction in powertrain development time. 

The deployment of Windchill PDMLink is one of the achievements of a multi-year joint development project PTC and Toyota began in 2002. PTC and Toyota worked together to carry out analysis for process improvements and then determined which technology should be adopted to achieve the targeted results. Ultimately, Toyota envisions Windchill providing the foundation for engineering data management for its powertrain division. Toyota’s decision to deploy Windchill is based upon the success that they have achieved in design cycle time reduction and process improvements for modeling and simulation with Pro E, PTC’s advanced 3D CAD software.

Stuttgart-based Mahle Group acquired the air intake module and air filtration business division from Siemens VDO, a division of Siemens AG, recently. The acquisition includes all worldwide units of Siemens VDO’s business division “air intake modules and air filtration” with locations in Canada, Mexico, England and China. In 2006, the turnover of the division was approximately Euro 300 million, generated by approximately 1,000 employees. The main products are air intake modules and air filter systems for passenger car gasoline and diesel engines. 

Prof. Dr. Heinz K. Junker, Chairman of the Management Board of the Mahle Group, explained in this regard, that with this acquisition Mahle is further expanding its worldwide activities in the business division air intake systems and air filtration. “In the coming year, we will generate a turnover of more than Euro 1 billion in this business segment and to significantly enhance our worldwide presence. Particularly in North America we will be integrally positioned in the future, but also the regions Europe and Asia will grow further through this acquisition. In order to create the synergy potential which is necessary for the future, we will undertake appropriate restructuring measures during the integration of this business segment into the Mahle Group.” 

The Mahle Group is one of the 30 largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As the leading manufacturer of combustion engine components, systems and peripherals, Mahle is among the top 3 suppliers for piston systems, cylinder components, valve train systems, air management systems and liquid management systems. Mahle employs more than 40,000 employees in 110 production plants and seven research and development centers. In 2006, Mahle generated sales in excess of Euro 4.3 billion (US$ 5.8 billion).

Cooper-Standard Automotive signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Automotive Sealing Systems S.A. recently for the acquisition by Cooper-Standard of Metzeler Automotive Profile Systems (MAPS) sealing systems operations in Germany, Italy, Poland and Belgium, including joint venture interests in India and China. The transaction, which is subject to the execution of a definitive purchase agreement and other conditions including regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the third quarter of 2007. 

The company's principal shareholders, Goldman Sachs Capital Partners and the Cypress Group will invest new equity in Cooper-Standard as part of the financing of the acquisition. The MAPS operations to be acquired include eight manufacturing facilities in Europe and participations in joint ventures in India and China. The consolidated annual sales of these businesses were approximately $ 400 million in 2006. Jim McElya, Chairman and CEO of Cooper-Standard Automotive, said: "The share of our direct sales attributable to our traditional North American original equipment customers will be reduced from approximately 62 percent to 54 percent." The company specializes in the manufacture and marketing of systems and components for the global automotive industry.