India as a Manufacturing hub
Elaborating on the positive market environment and manufacturing gaining attention, Aroara said, "I am convinced that if India succeeds in unlocking its human capital and vast manufacturing potential through the reforms, it will become one of the growth engines of the world. To achieve this, the country has a long way to go and immense work has to be done. Clearly, investment in infrastructure is critical. We are seeing positive sentiment in India, triggered by the reforms Prime Minister Modi is putting in place. However sustainable changes take time and it may take years. The Schaeffler Group has always taken a long-term view on India. On that basis, we want to take part in this important change process."

With this, Arora sees a great see significant potential in India. He further added, "With our strategic concept ‘Mobility for tomorrow' and the way we are set up in the country, we are well positioned to cease the upcoming opportunities. Already today, India plays a key role in the development of two wheelers and smaller horsepower tractors for global requirements."

Exports
Apart from the serving the Indian market Schaeffler India also caters to other markets in the world. "With advantages of cost-efficiency, engineering & design capability and skilled manpower, India is an important export base for certain niche products from the Schaeffler portfolio," he said.

Currently exports contribute approximately 10 percent to the consolidated turnover of the three Schaeffler brands in India. "The main export markets include Germany, USA, UK, China, Hong Kong, UAE, Singapore, Korea, Brazil and South Africa," he informed. Some of the products that are exported from India are cylindrical roller bearings, ball bearings (to South East Asia), wheel bearings (to Middle East), spherical roller bearings, clutch covers, clutch discs, tractor double clutches, clutch components, bearings and engine parts.

Innovation
With the development of an Engineering Hub for motorcycles < 150 CC, Schaeffler is working on a concept bike with new products such as Wet Clutch, One Way Clutch and Low Friction Ball Bearings. "With ‘Mobility for Tomorrow' as a theme, Schaeffler is arguably present in all segments of mobility. In India, we do enjoy a potent presence even in two wheeler business segment, strategically present with all two wheeler & three wheeler manufacturers both local as well as global OEM's having operations in India," Arora mentioned.

Looking at the future technologies, Arora predicts that while things like connected cars and autonomous driving will clearly emerge, the role of the conventional combustion engine will remain strong for quite some time. "From our point of view, alternative power train concepts like hybrid and electric cars will emerge. However, if we want to reduce CO2 emission in a sustainable manner, it is critical to further optimise the combustion engine in terms of fuel efficiency. The Schaeffler Group with its product brands LuK, INA and FAG are perfectly positioned to offer solutions for all powertrain concepts both in the automotive and industrial division."

(Continued on next page)