HELLA India embarks on electronics localisation strategy

November 15, 2014 12:41 pm

 Hella India Automotive Pvt. Ltd. (HIA), the wholly owned Indian subsidiary of German automotive parts supplier HELLA, has announced the expansion of its production facility in Dhankot with the start of production of its Body Control Module (BCM) and Remote Keyless Entry (RKE) systems for the Indian market.
Global automotive parts supplier, HELLA, has expanded its Dhankot facility in Haryana for its growing Electronics business division. As part of its aggressive growth strategy, with plans to harness its global technologies and customise them for OEMs in India, HIA has introduced state-of-the-art SMT lines for its key focus products- BCM and RKE for Indian customers.
“This expansion aims at fulfilling the increasing need of our local customers based on business contracts we have won with some of the key Indian OEMs,” says Dr Naveen Gautam, Managing Director, Hella India Automotive Pvt. Ltd.
The new BCM/RKE SMT lines include state-of-the-art electro static discharge (ESD) – Barrier Electronics. The facility at Dhankot occupies 900 sq.m of dust and environmentally controlled area supported by 250 KVA UPS and complete traceability system for the entire process and equipment. The new facility houses some of the exclusive imported machines equipped with latest technologies, some of which include laser marking machine, paste printing machine, solder paste inspection machine, pick place machine, reflow oven, auto optical inspection machine and PCB handling machine. This line is almost fully automated with limited human intervention.
“As market prepares itself for more complex products and customer demands in local market increase, HIA is committed to bring in innovative products and futuristic technology to further localise the product portfolio,” adds Mr Gautam.
BCM integrates many solutions to control major loads in the vehicle to optimise energy consumption and downsizing. As per OEM strategy and country specific regulations, it gradually shuts down non-critical loads based on safety and comfort requirements and bring these back based on availability of the charge. Whereas RKE systems for the remote control of central locking systems and passive entry/go systems allow leaving the vehicle key untouched for the operation of car access and engine start/stop functions, thus increasing the comfort and safety factor.
HELLA India’s Dhankot plant has a floor area of about 46,600 sq.m and houses over 800 employees. Apart from these new BCM/RKE production lines, Dhankot plant manufactures accelerator pedal sensors, horns, head light levelling sensors, body actuators, central locking actuators, linear actuators, climate sensors, switches and ECUs for local and export businesses. The manufacturing facility also undertakes testing, analysis, validation as well as development of most of the above mentioned products to ensure meeting customer expectations.