The Council Annual Day programme organized in Jamshedpur was attended by Mr. Anand Sen, Chairman of the Council, Mr. Bhushan Raina, ex-Chairman, CII Eastern Region, Mr. PK Choube, CII Jharkhand State Council, and its other members.

Hyundai Motor India Ltd. (HMIL) has appointed Mr. Rakesh Srivastava as Vice President, National Sales.

Prior to joining HMIL, Mr. Srivastava was Chief General Manager at Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. where he served for 15 years. An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he has 24 years of experience and has also worked in Goodlass Nerolac Paints Ltd. and GTC Industries Ltd.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Arvind Saxena, Director – Marketing and Sales, HMIL, said: “We welcome Mr. Srivastava to HMIL. With his extensive knowledge of the industry we are confident that he will ably contribute with his experience in his new role.”

The International Automotive Components (IAC) Group has appointed Mr. James K. Kamsickas as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 15. Mr. Kamsickas previously served as global co-chief executive officer and president of North America and Asia.

Mr. Jens R. Höhnel, who served as global co-chief executive officer and president of Europe, is retiring after more than 40 years in the automotive and vehicle interiors supplier industry. He will continue with the organization in a special advisory role until April 2013 to ensure a smooth transition.

“We are grateful to Jens for his efforts during the formative period of IAC. The foundation he created and Jim’s prior role as global co-CEO assure a flawless transition of leadership,” said the IAC Group Chairman, Wilbur L. Ross, Jr. “Jim has 23 years of automotive and interiors experience, as well as extensive international business expertise. With his leadership skills and global experience, he is the ideal choice to lead IAC Group’s global business moving forward.”

Mr. Kamsickas and Mr. Höhnel have successfully helped to establish and secure IAC Group’s position as a leading tier-one supplier. With significant international automotive business expertise, their leadership and alignment of the company’s regional operations allowed the IAC Group to thrive and transform into the global vehicle interiors leader that it is today.

Mr. Sunil Sapre, CFO, CEAT of the RPG Group, bagged the Best CFO Award in the Cost Management category at the CFO 100 Awards presentation function held in Mumbai.

After receiving the Award, Mr. Sapre commented: “Receiving this Award proves our constant effort to improve and make a better use of the company’s cost management systems. This Award is a testimony to the untiring efforts made by CEAT to set new standards of excellence in the field of cost management. Our thrust is on cost reduction measures for several years, and a number of innovative steps have been introduced within the organization resulting in substantial benefits.”

The CFO100 is an annual initiative to recognize India’s finance leaders’ extraordinary contributions to the corporate world. Through a process of nomination and jury review, CFO India magazine identifies and brings together 100 CFOs who are clearly a cut above the others to honor their achievements in different areas, including cost management, raising capital, green initiatives, risk management, governance and strategy. It is an annual benchmark for promising CFOs.

At a glittering ceremony at Vigyan Bhavan recently to celebrate the third Public Sector Day, Mrs. Pratibha Patil, President of India, conferred the SCOPE Meritorious Award 2010-11 for R&D, Technology Development & Innovation upon IndianOil. The Award was received by Mr. R.S. Butala, IndianOil Chairman, in the presence of Mr. Praful Patel, Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Mr. OP Rawat, Secretary, Department of Public Enterprises, and Dr. Nitish Sengupta, Chairman, BRPSE.

Senior officials from SCOPE and senor executives from a cross-section of public sector companies were present on the occasion. IndianOil was previously the winner of the Best Practices in Human Resource Management category for 2009-2010.

The Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) is an apex organization of public sector enterprises (PSEs). In its pursuit to promote excellence and competitiveness of public enterprises, it regularly recognises performance in various categories.

The General Assembly of the International Road Transport Union (IRU) has adopted a resolution on Driving the Europe 2020 Growth Strategy, calling upon the European Union and its member-States to lift, without delay, the impediments and barriers imposed on the road transport sector and to recognise the vital role of road transport in driving economic growth.

The IRU President, Janusz Lacny, said: “The European Union’s 2020 Growth Strategy aims to create a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy. Commercial road freight and collective passenger transport have a pivotal role to play in each of these mutually reinforcing principles. To ensure that the road transport sector can play its role in driving EU growth, it is imperative that road transport is facilitated and further promoted, and restrictive barriers on road transport repealed.”

The IRU resolution specifically calls for:

• an end to the indexation and introduction of new taxes, charges and duties on road transport and the earmarking of revenues to support investments in road transport and infrastructure initiatives;

• creation of a level regulatory playing field between transport modes in taxation, excise duty, and VAT;

• an end to the continual subsidies for unprofitable rail freight services and to the discrimination between modes, created by the railways, through the use of public funding to purchase road transport firms;

• adaptation of the legal framework to ensure a return on the investment in innovation, efficient, clean and safe technologies, to encourage further innovation and greening at source;

• facilitation of access for road transport operators to investment funds for the greening at source of their services;

• modification of the EU Customs Code to allow the use of the TIR system in the EU for goods transported under customs control and thereby releasing 600,000 road transport companies from the constraints of the current T system;

• an increase in the efficiency and capacity of the EU’s transport system by promoting the use of the European Modular System (EMS) for all inter- and intramodal applications;

• promotion of an EU policy, based on the Smart Move principle objective of doubling the use of buses and coaches within the next decade.

The IRU President added: “Through simple measures the EU could help to create up to 4 million new green jobs in the bus and coach sector by adopting the IRU lead Smart Move campaign goals and stimulating growth and trade by freeing 600,000 road freight operators from the constraints of the T System by allowing the use of TIR in the EU for goods transported under customs control. Simple actions can have a major impact in creating a growing, dynamic, greener and more efficient Europe.” 

BMC, a leading Turkish commercial vehicle manufacturer, had its distinct presence at Busworld Istanbul. It exhibited seven buses and coaches, including the Procity model developed for the Istanbul Electricity, Tramway and Tunnel General Management (IETT) meeting its specific requirements. Last year BMC won a prestigious contract to supply 279 Procity buses to Istanbul. The project comes with a unique five-year after-sales support package, utilising BMC’s expertise in the area.

BMC, with its customer focused approach, provides tailor-made solutions to end users in the domestic and international markets. To-date it has manufactured more than 300,000 units and is proud to celebrate its 47th anniversary this year. With a clear vision to establish itself as a ‘strong global brand’, the company exports to more than 80 countries, with its special focus on the EU countries.

Employing advanced technology and engineering skills, BMC’s production capacity of 1,800 units enables it to offer extensive bus and coach range from 7.5 metres to 18 metres. The range on offer incorporates diesel, CNG engines and electric/diesel hybrid power technologies. The company philosophy of continuous improvement and innovativeness has set a whole new benchmark in the market place in terms of quality, safety and comfort with value-for-money proposition for passengers and operators.

Having an extensive commercial vehicles distribution network in Turkey, BMC serves its customer base with 47 selling dealers, 134 authorized service points and 172 parts dealers. This strong aftersales support approach is replicated in the 80 export markets by utilising the services of its 37 fully conversant and self-sufficient distributors. 

Mercedes-Benz Türk, with its leadership in the Turkish coach market for 45 years, builds high-tech coaches at its bus plant in Hosdere/Istanbul. The company displayed at Busworld 2012 vehicles like new 2+1 seated Travego 17 with infotainment screen, Travego 15, new 2+1 seated Tourismo 16, Tourismo 15, Conecto Solo, Articulated Conecto, Sprinter service vehicle, Sprinter Dolmus (minibus specially designed for Turkey), and Vito 8+1 Minibus.

Since inception in 1967 till today, the company has made an investment of 710 million Euro and ranks the 15th largest company in Turkey. It produced a total of 62,000 buses and 149,300 of trucks since commencement of production in 1968.

Mercedes-Benz Türk continues to be the market leader with total sales of 3,018 buses. The brand became once again the most preferred one, with a market share of 56.8 per cent. The company exported 1,919 units of buses to foreign markets, especially to Western Europe.

The company started operating in the second-hand vehicle market in 2009. For the purpose, a new company called Mercedes-Benz Tasit Ticaret ve Servis A.S. was set up. Since then, using different brands like “BusStore” for buses and “Used1” for light commercial vehicles, the company achieved commendable success. In the first quarter of the current year, 75 second-hand buses (36 per cent higher than the same period last year), and 202 light commercial vehicles (66 per cent higher than the same period last year) were sold.

Considering the sector’s growing needs, “Mercedes-Benz Tasit Ticaret ve Servis A.S.” has been the first company that provides guarantee service in the second-hand market in Turkey with its “Used1” brand.

Mercedes-Benz Türk was established in Istanbul in 1967 under the name “Otomarsan” with Daimler-Benz AG as the major shareholder with 36 per cent. The company started production of the 302 type buses in 1968. In 1970, only two years after its foundation, the company started exporting its products. In 1986, in view of the growth potential of Turkey, the truck plant started production in Aksaray in Central Anatolia. In November 1990 the name of the company was changed to Mercedes-Benz Türk A.S.

Mercedes-Benz Türk is one of the biggest foreign direct investments in Turkey with an estimated total of Euro 710 million, and employs 4,900 people. Further, 3,500 persons are employed in its nationwide dealer and customer service network. Daimler AG currently holds 67 per cent shares in Mercedes-Benz Türk A.S.

Mercedes-Benz Türk produces city buses and coaches at the Hosdere bus plant in Istanbul and light, medium and heavy duty trucks at the Aksaray truck plant. These facilities are an important part of Daimler AG’s development and production network. The company also sells vehicles which are exclusively produced in Turkey in the domestic and export markets. Further, the company imports and sells Mercedes-Benz vans and all passenger car brands of the Daimler Group. In 2011 it sold 38,291 vehicles.

With a 56.8 per cent market share in the domestic coach market and 37 per cent in the domestic truck market of over 6 tonnes, Mercedes-Benz Türk remains a leader in the segment, thanks to its state-of-the-art products. It is also the top bus and truck exporter in Turkey (in 2011, 1,919 buses and 2,816 trucks were exported), the main export destination being Western Europe.

As a Koç Group company, Otokar exhibited its wide range of buses ranging from 6 metres to 12 metres at Busworld Turkey 2012. Otokar launched Turkey’s first electric bus Doruk (Vectio) Electra and the latest member of the Sultan (Navigo) family, Sultan Mega, at the exhibition.

Otokar General Manager Serdar Görgüç said that during the last two years the company had achieved a leadership in the Turkish bus market. Emphasizing that it had also been the leader in bus manufacturing in Turkey in the first quarter of 2012, he said: “In 2011 we realized a record growth and increased our revenue by 72 per cent. Our group sales increased 38 per cent, reaching a total of 1,190 units in 2011. These successful results enabled us to become the bus market leader of Turkey during the last two years. And when we look at the first quarter of 2012, we see that Otokar is also the top bus manufacturing company of Turkey. Carrying our success in Turkey to international markets has always been our priority. We’re proud that thousands of Otokar vehicles are serving successfully in more than 60 countries on five continents.”

Stating that the company had exhibited its whole product range in city, service and inter-urban transportation areas that carried Otokar to success together at Busworld, Görgüç observed: “At Busworld Turkey we’re exhibiting our two brand new models in segments that we operate as employee transportation, interurban and city transportation. Otokar buses are market leaders within their respective segments in Turkey. We have an extensive product family ranging from 25 passengers to 43 passengers. Our 6 models in various segments are designed to meet the different needs and expectations, and are preferred due to their low operating costs. At Busworld Turkey, we are exhibiting 3 models of our Sultan (Navigo) family which is the leading 7 metres bus in Turkey. Today we’re crowning this family with a new member: Sultan Mega. It is specially developed for rational operators in employee transport and inter-urban market who seek high passenger capacity and low operating costs. We believe that Sultan Mega which we are launching will soon fill a gap in the market.”

Outlining Otokar’s activities related to alternative fuels and Turkey’s first electric powered bus Doruk (Vectio) Electra which was also exhibited for the first time at Busworld Turkey, Görgüç said: “We launched the first hybrid bus in Turkey in 2007. Identifying an increasing demand for CNG-powered buses in Turkey, we designed Doruk CNG bus in 2009 and in 2011 we used CNG in our 12-metre KENT. Today we’re happy and proud to introduce the first electric-powered bus in Turkey, Doruk Electra. Our new electric-powered bus will be referred as a pioneer in the Turkish bus industry. We believe that Doruk Electra will be the choice of many operators who are keen on environment-friendly investments. We hope to see more Doruk Electras on the roads.”

Ashok Leyland, the only Indian exhibitor, showcased a new range of inter-city and intra-city buses for the Middle East, North Africa and CIS markets at Busworld Turkey 2012.

To address the burgeoning transportation needs of these markets, the company has locally tied up with Utikar for the development of 8-metre buses and with Katmerciler & Volkan, a special equipment manufacturer, to produce multi-utility vehicles such as garbage compactors, hook loaders and fire trucks. All these vehicles will be specially built on the proven Ashok Leyland chassis.

Commenting on the latest development, Mr. P.G. Nillson, Executive Director, International Operations, Ashok Leyland, said he was delighted with the company’s global expansion drive. “This is really a moment of pride for Ashok Leyland. We are entering Turkey for the long term and are happy to take initial steps to enter the European market. We have 11 partners all over the world making local bodies on our chassis and are proud to work with an excellent partner here, Utikar. We welcome more partners in Turkey both for bus body-building and building special structures on our truck chassis”.

Ashok Leyland will strongly leverage technology, manufacturing capabilities and skilled labor of its local partners and offer customers well-designed, best-in-class transportation solutions. Due its geostrategic importance, Turkey will become the company’s distribution base to reach markets like Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and the Middle East. These operations will complement bus supplies from the company’s manufacturing facility at Ras Al Khaimah. In addition, AVIA Ashok Leyland Motors very well represents the company in Europe by making and marketing the popular D-Line series of trucks.

The buses which were presented at the Turkey show are built on the 816 chassis which is eight metre long, fitted with a 160 hp engine. The engine is Euro 4 compatible and will soon be available in Euro 5 and Euro 6 versions.

Going forward, the company has plans to produce 6-metre, 7.8-metre and 11-metre bus chassis both for inter-city and intra-city applications and will also develop rear engine buses in partnership with Utikar. Apart from bus chassis, Ashok Leyland will also export truck 9 tonne, 16 tonne and 25 tonne chassis locally built in Turkey. The trucks will cater to the growing demand for municipal application vehicles. Ashok Leyland also plans to set up a branch office in Turkey to streamline operations there.

Mr. Nillson also gave an update on Ashok Leyland’s Optare project. The company plans to export Optare vehicles to Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and a few other markets of Central Europe. The company has also entered the CIS market and is bullish on the prospects of becoming the biggest foreign bus exporter to CIS countries in the next few years.

Over the last decade Turkey has emerged an important commercial vehicle market in Europe with demand increasing for locally manufactured vehicles, thanks to the superior quality. Ashok Leyland is looking to capitalize on this growing demand and establish its presence in the potential market.

The company also presented the keys to the first customer of its newly launched buses and a fleet owner from Azerbaijan who placed an order for 200 buses – a truly confidence-boosting start to its sales.