The name Hyva has become synonymous with high quality tippers ...

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HYVA IndIA’s
success story
Mr. Sudhir Prabhu, the architect of Hyva’s success in
India, looks back on the journey so far
By K. Gopalakrishnan
The name Hyva has become synonymous with high quality tippers in the Indian
market. Hyva, a prominent global player in tipper hydraulics, is India’s leading
manufacturer of front-end hydraulics and tippers. It has in many ways been the
leading provider of new generation transportation solution to the Indian market. The
person who has been responsible for Hyva’s success in the Indian market and who in
many ways has been the face of Hyva in India is Mr. Sudhir Prabhu, Managing Director
of Hyva India (Private) Ltd. After spending close 12 years establishing the Indian business,
he is now moving back to the Netherlands and the mantle of taking Hyva India
ahead is given to Mr. Jagadish Bhat (formerly with Schwing Stetter).
In a recent interview to MOTORINDIA, Mr. Sudhir Prabhu traced back the history of
Hyva in India and on how the company has come a long way from being a manufacturer
of tipper hydraulics to becoming a complete transportation solution provider.
22 MOTORINDIA DECEMBER 2008
“In the 1990s when I visited India to explore business
opportunities for Hyva, the tipper manufacturing industry
in India was in its infancy. There was shortage of 6x4 vehicles,
and the existing tipper manufacturers were not having
much experience in designing and manufacturing tippers
for this segment. The fully built vehicle (FBV) concept was
not popular as it was not adopted by the OEMs. Globally,
Hyva had the expertise of designing and fabricating tippers
and hydraulics in largescale and therefore it started
manufacturing tippers apart from the hydraulics and offered
it as a package. During 1997-99 there was no market
for front-end cylinders at that point and our imported tipper
hydraulics were 40 per cent costlier than the products
available in the market”, says Mr. Sudhir Prabhu.
Keeping in view the growing need of fully-built solution
for the country’s leading truck manufacturers, Hyva
started its tipper building activity in India in 1998 for the
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Mr. Sudhir Prabhu, Managing Director, Hyva India (Private) Ltd
Swedish truck giant Volvo India, and
soon the company got the recognition
as a high quality tippers & tipper hydraulic
supplier capable of delivering
durable products for the tough mining
segment.
The success story replicated for the
country’s largest truck manufacturer
Tata Motors and Hyva Tippers made
its strong presence in the multi-axle
tipper segment for construction and
road development projects. Thanks
to the Golden Quadrilateral Project,
Hyva tippers soon became highly visible
on Indian roads. Apart from Volvo
and Tata Motors, today Hyva builds
tippers for all leading truck manufacturing
companies, namely, Ashok
Leyland, Mercedes India, Eicher Motors,
AsiaMotor Works, MAN Force
and Scania.
Hyva tippers have been deployed
on tough terrains in mining areas and
also for fast developing road construction
and irrigation projects. In keeping
with the varying needs, Hyva India
has developed almost 30 different
types of tippers from LCV Range (4 t
- 7 t GVW Trucks), MCV Range (for
24 MOTORINDIA DECEMBER 2008
16 T GVW Trucks) and HCV & Super
HCV Range (25 Ton and above).
Apart from the standard tippers,
Hyva has supplied side tippers (2-way
or 3-way) which are suitable for hilly
terrains, narrow roads as well as rural
roads. It has also introduced ribless
body for its widely popular 14 cu.m.
and 20 cu.m. box. These new generation
tipper bodies ensure less body
weight, resulting in higher payload
and easy flow of materials.
Mr. Sudhir Prabhu said: “Our target
is to be a complete transport efficiency
solutions provider and cater
to growing and varying demands of
our existing and future customers.
We have provided European quality
products at Indian price”.
For the Indian tipper market, Hyva
supplies the complete hydraulics for
tipper trucks or tip trailers, in globally
accepted top quality hydraulic components
like power take off, pumps,
tipping valve, air control valves, etc.
These components are either manufactured
at the Hyva plant or designed
and developed for the company by its
worldwide supplier base.
The company also has hydraulically
operated load covering system called
MULTIKAP for its tipper range.
Considering growing need of environment
friendly tippers, this products
has got a wide application possibility
in India.
Hyva has three manufacturing facilities
for tippers. The first unit is
at Navi Mumbai, the second in Jamshedpur,
and the third in Bangalore.
The proposed fourth unit is coming
up at Pithampur. All the four units are
strategically located in close proximity
to the OEM customers.
Hyva India has an aggregate installed
capacity to manufacture 2,200
tipper units a month with an annual
capacity of 26,000+ units. In the tipper
segment, the company has been
traditionally focusing on the 6X4 and
8X4 heavy-duty tippers. But now
with persistent demand from OEMs,
it is planning to manufacture 6/8/10
cu.m. tippers on 4X2 chassis. So far
tippers on these 4x2 chassis were built
only for Tata Motors’ export vehicles.
In fact, another interesting aspect
about Hyva’s business in India has
been in bringing global technologies
into India by partnering with the
best in the world. Hyva is representing
many leading brands in India, to
name a few Hydraulic Tail Lift (Dhollandia,
Belgium), Bulk Compressor
(Jin Heung, Korea) and Power Pack
(OMFB, Italy).
In 2006, Hyva (India) signed transfer
of technology agreement with the
UK-based Dennis-Eagle for producing
Phoenix 2, garbage compactor for
Indian and export market. Hyva India
is also manufacturing fifth wheel coupler
in technical collaboration with
George Fischer of Germany. Incidentally
George Fischer brand has been
acquired by SAF Holland. Hyva has
established robotic welding facility for
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manufacturing fifth wheel couplers.
After gaining the experience as well
as the know-how in the robotic welding,
the company plans to introduce
elaborate robotic welding systems for
tippers as well.
The company will market the garbage
compactors locally as well as
supply it to other countries through
Dennis Eagle. “We are already executing
an order from Dennis Eagle compactors
for 60+ units for the Bahrain
market, which will be executed by
26 MOTORINDIA DECEMBER 2008
Garbage compactors manufactured in collaboration with Dennis Eagle
the end of the year. We have decided
to use India as a manufacturing base
to cater to the other global markets
of Hyva. We have identified components
like components of the Hyd.
tail doors, truck mounted cranes,
fabricated items of truck mounted
cranes, etc. We will also start manufacturing
double acting single stage
cylinders in India”. Recently Hyva has
acquired Technomet Company in Italy,
a leading manufacturer of double
acting single stage cylinders, added
Mr. Jagadish Bhat has been appointed Managing Director of Hyva India
Pvt. Ltd. He will replace Mr. Sudhir Prabhu who has been instrumental
in establishing its operations and consolidating the company’s position in
India.
Mr. Sudhir plans to return to the Netherlands at the end of 2008 after being
with the Hyva Group for 18 successful years.
“On behalf of the Hyva Group I would like to wish Sudhir good health
and success in his future plans. I would also like to extend a warm welcome
to Jagadish. He is a proven, dynamic manager, fully capable of taking Hyva
India to the next level and making its transition from good to great”, said
Mr. Louwrens Dijkstra, CEO of the Hyva Group.
In his previous role, Mr. Jagadish served as the Vice President - Manufacturing
& Engineering at the German firm Schwing Stetter in Chennai.
He has extensive experience in engineering and sales and holds a Bachelor’s
Degree in Engineering from the MSR Institute of Technology in Bangalore.
Mr. Jagadish took up his new assignment with Hyva on October 1. w
Mr. Pradhu.
As per the study by Hyva
a few years back, it is estimated
that the Indian market
would need 90,000 tippers
by 2010. Hyva has the
capacity to manufacture
25,000 tippers, and hence
there is enough room for all
tipper manufacturers.
In 2007, Hyva’s turnover
was Rs. 345 crores and for
2008 the target is Rs. 520
crores. Globally out of the
total Hyva Group business,
Indian business contributes
close to 20 per cent.
In a span of 12 years, Mr. Sudhir
Prabhu has established Hyva as the
leading manufacturer and supplier of
quality transportation solution company
in India. He has built a strong
foundation for Hyva’s business in India.
Of course the challenges are obvious,
considering the existing state of
the economy. Despite all these challenges
Hyva will continue to remain
in the forefront by providing industry
leading solutions. w
Jagadish Bhat appointed Md of Hyva India
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