It is the oldest and the largest bearing manufacturing site of the SKF Group in India. But there's more to the SKF Pune factory in Chinchwad than the ‘oldest' and the ‘biggest' tags.
As Ulrich Selig, Director, SKF Automotive, Asia, says, the Pune factory is an important engineering and manufacturing resource for the Group. Offering a wide spectrum of bearings and hub units, the Pune factory is driven by about 1,000 highly trained and motivated people.
Focus on quality & innovation
Selig says that the Pune factory is driven by a passion for quality. This plant was among the first in the Group to adopt the Six Sigma approach. In fact, more than 50 percent of the Plant's staff is Six Sigma certified and the plant boasts of the highest number of Six Sigma black belts in the entire Group.
This has resulted in a quality culture that is based on ‘Zero Defect'. In line with its emphasis on quality, the Plant regularly upgrades its existing machinery and also invests in new technology. "This total approach has considerably reduced downtime and wastage while improving productivity and efficiency," says Selig.
According to Selig, the Pune factory also has a strong emphasis on in-house capabilities and competence. That's why from critical metallurgical processing to sophisticated product and process testing, all important functions are taken care of in-house. "Our in-house capabilities are well supported by our competent suppliers who are well-aligned with our quality requirements," he says.
Interestingly, while the global quality policy has been a driving force for the Pune factory, many local innovations too have added great value to the plant's operations. In fact, innovation focused on customer requirement has been a key component of the Pune factory's success story and the Global Technical Center India (GTCI) located at Bangalore has also played an important role in this journey. The GTCI helps develop products and solutions for the local as well as global customers faster and more cost effectively.
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