Chandigarh BDS Cluster

A team of 19 delegates from the MPC cluster visited Chennai—a hub of engineering industries—from 17^th to 21^st February, 2010. The visit was organized by the project.  The delegates comprised entrepreneurs and BDS providers of the region including office bearers of Mohali Industries Association (MIA), Industry Association of Chandigarh (IAC), Chamber of Chandigarh Industries (CCI), and Haryana Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Panchkula.

During their tour the delegates visited Ambattur Industrial Estate, Chennai, which has a large number of vendors to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Hyundai Motors, Ashok Leyland, Ford Motors, Taffee Tractors, TVS Motors, etc. The delegates interacted with the office bearers of Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association (AIEMA)—a very dynamic and successful association of MSME entrepreneurs of Ambattur, who shared their experiences with the visiting delegates and also inspired the office bearers of the MPC associations to replicate their own successful strategies. The delegates were particularly fascinated by the AIEMA Technology Centre, a state-of-the-art institution established and maintained by AIEMA offering an array of services for the local industry such as training, exhibition, and recreation. The delegates visited Devendra Exports—a renowned vendor of Ashok Leyland, Chennai with a healthy brand image in the replacement part market. They also visited a leading exporter of fuel injection parts and a prominent steel fabrication unit.

The highlight of the Chennai tour was a visit to a large automotive electrical systems plant of Lucas-TVS, Chennai.  Lucas-TVS is the leader in auto electrical systems in India today, with 48 years’ experience in design and manufacturing. Four out of five vehicles rolled out daily are fitted with Lucas-TVS products. The delegates obtained a vivid view of the processes and machineries at the Lucas-TVS plant where products like gear reduction, starter motor, external/internal fan alternator, front/rear wind shield wiper motor, electronic/ mechanical distributor etc. are manufactured. They were deeply impressed by the high level of quality maintained in the plant, and by the exemplary work culture. They witnessed the remarkable application of famous quality control techniques like Kaizen Costing, Kanban, 5S, Six Sigma, etc.

The Chennai tour was indeed a great learning experience for the delegates from the MPC cluster. They have been inspired to bring about a change in the operation and management of their factories and in the way they run their industry associations. The entrepreneurs have also been given an opportunity to become vendors to Lucas-TVS. In this regard they could get in touch with the General Manager, Purchase of Lucas-TVS.

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