Riding the wave of growth in the chemical, food processing and automotive sectors, Ahmedabad-based Saimona Air-Mech (P) Ltd is now gearing up for more innovative compressors, reports Huned Contractor

Back in 1996 when Falgun Pandya of Ahmedabad was trading in machine tools, at the back of his mind was a nagging thought that growth would come only if he got into the manufacturing sector. "Machine tools was our main line of business and we had even entered into import and export but then air compressors began to catch my attention and gradually I started studying the requirements for these products. Eight years later I was convinced enough to get into providing industrial compressed air solutions," says Pandya, who started Saimona Air-Mech (P) Ltd in 2004 with the philosophy that in an already congested market space, the only way to gain a niche position would be to focus on total quality.

Saimona Air-Mech has since then expanded its range of compressors. However, its basic product remains the single stage compressor in the range of 3 HP to 20 HP. These compressors are widely used for water pumping and liquid transfer in glass and chemical industries as well as in the food processing sector and spray and painting shops. "Having established ourselves with a good roster of clients, we then moved into making two-stage compressors in the 2 HP to 30 HP range with constant speed control system to deliver perfect pressure available. These are used where the pressure requirement is more then 100 PSIG, as in pneumatic operations, textiles, plastics, garages, tyre inflation, etc.

Over the years, in-house research and development has led Saimona Air-Mech to get into the area of technologically high-end compressed air solutions so that it now makes multi-stage high pressure compressors which are designed for pressure operations up to 70 kg/cm?. "Our multi-stage compressors are provided with centrifugal unloaders and constant speed controls as these machines are used as high pressure units. These are ideal for a variety of applications in various industries like air blasting, circuit breaking in power utilities, valve and system testing, diesel engine and generator starters, etc," Pandya informs.

Vacuum pumps makes for another domain of the company's operations and it manufactures single and two-stage dry vacuum pumps. These positive displacement piston-type reciprocating pumps achieve vacuum of up to 29.0 HP (737 mm) for single acting and up to 29.7 (754 mm) for two-stage construction at sea level. These are available as bare pump (vacuum), base plate mounted and receiver (tank) mounted and find an application in paper handling, food processing, vacuum forming, liquid transfer, etc.

With a production capacity of manufacturing about 400 compressors each month, Pandya is now planning to make an additional investment of up to Rs 12 crore that will not only ramp up the production to meet the increasing demand but also bring in new technologies with the help of a foreign collaborator.

"Given the fact that the chemical, heavy engineering and automotive sectors are doing well in India, the need for compressors and vacuum pumps has been on the rise. Moreover, the players who will do well in this space will be the ones who can offer customised solutions. This means that both experience and the will to usher in innovative models will help gain a better market share," Pandya says.

As for the marketing of its products, Pandya believes in the dealership model. "For products like these, an extensive pan-India dealership network is very important because it is not only about sales and the immediate availability of the products but also about good after-sales service," Pandya says.

Compressors are critical units and malfunctioning can lead to huge downtime costs. Therefore, according to Pandya, offering product reliability is a crucial aspect of this business. "We have in place a Saimona Management System with emphasis on stringent quality control and the application of the Kaizen culture which helps in continuous improvement in the organisation. Modern techniques that include good manufacturing practice, manufacturing resource planning and risk management are now in-built into our systems," Pandya says.

(Saimona Air-Mech (P) Ltd, 9 Manmohan Complex, Behind Navrangpura Police Station, Ahmedabad 380 009. Tel: 079-26560231. Email: sales@saimona.com)