Crompton Greaves (CG), part of the $4-billion Avantha Group, said it has set up a high-efficiency, low-voltage rotating machines (LVRM) plant at Goa.
Designed on the lean principle production output, it is the first just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing line in CG.
Traditionally, processes at motor manufacturing plants operate in isolation on the batch principle to generate bulk output.
This integrated JIT line has a TAKT time of three minutes per motor and a lead time of 130 minutes, which represents a gain of 98 per cent over a batch mode. (TAKT time is the rate at which the customer buys your product.)
The new plant capacity has been set at 10,000 additional units each month. This represents a 66 per cent capacity increase to the current production capacity. The unit will handle a three-phase production of induction motors from 0.37 to 9.3 kW.
Further, CG will be able to introduce flexibility and customisation into its product mix to cater to the varying demands of industries such as steel, cement, textile, packaging, machine tools and similar applications.
Laurent Demortier, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, CG, said, “With this unit, CG is now well-equipped to take on the European and American markets. Demand for export motors have increased substantially. We expect to be at full manufacturing capacity by the end of January 2013. The efficiency level reached is at par with best-in-class companies. The benefits of reduced inventories, less floor space, flexibility in product mix, reduced lead and cycle time and the capability to execute rush orders will enable CG to deliver superior results for its LV motors product line.”