Klüber Lubrication India targets two-wheelers, CVs

Klüber Lubrication India, which makes specialty automotive synthetic lubricants, is preparing for a big leap forward. Despite the downturn, it expects to grow by over 25 percent in 2013-14 on the back of its strong product portfolio.

Being a predominantly passenger car supplier so far, Klüber now wants to target the two-wheeler and commercial vehicle segments. K R V Parameshwar, president and CEO, Klüber  Lubrication India, told Autocar Professional at the Auto Expo, “The majority of our auto business comes from passenger vehicles though as part of our global strategy we are increasing focus towards the CV and two-wheelers segment not just in India but also in other Asian markets which have huge potential.” The company believes there is demand in the aftermarket segment too.

Klüber, which has a plant in Mysore, gets about 25 percent of its Indian business from the automotive industry. Considering the company’s strong global connect, it has a strong R&D set- up in India and has access to its global product portfolio which consists of over 3,500 different types of products. This can enable the company to offer products across OE segments in India.

Given the product development cycle in automotive industry, Klüber starts working with companies much in advance and works on individual customer-specific solutions. Importantly, every lubricant has to perform in a different way responding to individual product requirements, therefore the demand for specialty lubricants keeps rising as against commodity lubrications.

“About a decade ago, Indian passenger car OEs were using commodity lubrication in their cars but as they started exporting, they realised the importance of high-resistance lubrication,” said Parameshwar.

Klüber has plants in China and India. As part of its overall expansion, it has earmarked Rs 150 crore for investments over a five-year period. “This is one of the largest investments Klüber is making at one time anywhere in the world, underlining the importance of the Indian market as well as export opportunities,” said Parmeshwar. Its larger goal is to make India a hub for supplying not just domestic demand but also exports to Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.