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Competitive Edge
November 2024
A New Opportunity
First exports from India
Gunjan Malhotra discusses the new Simandou order at our Marhowra, India plant and what it means for Wabtec.
Gunjan Malhotra, Director, Supply Chain Freight and one of the leaders of the Marhowra plant, is excited about a new order for a brand-new customer, Simandou. The new order gives the Marhowra plant the opportunity to export locomotives out of India for the first time.
Here, he discusses some challenges that come with these opportunities, and how his team is preparing to deliver on them.
New order
Gunjan is enthusiastic about this new opportunity. “We are entering into a very exciting phase for Wabtec in India for locomotives. Our Indian manufacturing facility has been chosen to produce locomotives for two customers which will support iron ore mines in the Simandou mountain range in the Republic of Guinea,” he says. “We are absolutely thrilled about this project, because this will mark the first set of global deliveries from India as part of the global supply chain strategy.”
The product itself will closely resemble the locomotives produced in India today, but with a few changes. Gunjan continues: “In total, there is potential to produce approximately 140–150 locomotives (our Program and Sales teams are in touch with the customer to finalize the number) and we’re confident this product will enhance our capacity to serve standard gauge markets from India. The cost advantages provided by our Indian base offer significant competitive benefits, helping Wabtec to be competitive globally,” he says. “This project represents a tremendous opportunity for both Wabtec as a brand in India and for India as a country to export locomotives internationally — truly embodying the ‘Make in India’ initiative for the world.”
Energy on the ground
Gunjan is not the only person who is excited about this new order. Our team members at the Marhowra plant are looking forward to this new challenge too. “This order is crucial as it scales up our team and facility to serve local, regional, and global customers. So why is the team excited? Because we are setting up new cab subassembly lines, a new truck assembly line, and more to meet future demands, allowing us to extend our customer base,” Gunjan says.
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There are other elements of the order beyond the physical updates to the plant that are compelling. “Working with international private customers helps us learn new requirements, gain skills, and manage variants on weld, paint, and assembly lines. This will increase volumes, improve group competitiveness, and build capabilities in our Indian teams,” Gunjan says. He continues, “For a long time, we’ve been dealing with two products and one customer, which stabilized operations nicely. Now, a new customer onboarding will help to add volume, provide group competitiveness, and build capabilities in our Indian teams.”
The new order also provides the chance for new development opportunities. Gunjan explains: “We are going to hire new production employees, and they will be recruited from engineering colleges all over India. They will be trained at a newly build Wabtec facility named ‘Gurukul,’ which means ‘Institution,’ with learnings derived from our Texas Locomotive Manufacturing facility. This facility will replicate manufacturing processes like talking electronic component assembly, sealant, and cable routing.” These added educational components further contribute to the excitement surrounding the Simandou order.
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One standard of quality
Gunjan recognizes the significance that this order has for Wabtec and his team. He points out, “While our international customers recognize Wabtec as a brand because it’s an international brand, they may not be familiar with India or Indian capabilities.”
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That means the Marhowra employees have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders. “Our delivery capability and quality must impress them. We should be able to give them the best quality at the best cost in the best possible time frame. That will happen only through one global standard of quality. No matter where we produce our products, in any part of the country, in any part of the world, our product quality has to be consistent,” he states. To Gunjan, this order gives us the chance to reinforce that standard.
Gunjan is appreciative for the support from other Wabtec teams across the globe who have helped him and his team prepare. “I want to express my deep gratitude to all the Global Manufacturing support teams and regional teams, which are helping us in building this particular capability. Additionally, special thanks to Matt, Justin, and Greg for guiding us in this particular journey of capability development,” he says.
Owning the outcome
Gunjan has four summary points to remember as we progress toward fulfilling the order: “Simandou is a great opportunity for us. It is up to us now to prove our global delivery capability and quality so that the customers can see India as a delivery location. They should be able to see the difference that we are able to provide. “Secondly, we need to stay proactive to identify and resolve the issues earlier using the global resources as needed. We are one global company, we are One Wabtec. We should not shy away from taking global support wherever it is required. We have all the support from the leadership team to really make it happen.”
“Thirdly, we should remember our competitive edge. We should be able to attract new businesses through quality, cost, and delivery capability,” he continues. “Lastly, we need to continue to invest into our teams for the future. We need to stay unified and grow stronger so that we are always future-ready. If we continue to invest in our organization, we can roll out more products, we can roll out better services. We can do all of this much better.”
Gunjan says in closing: “It is all up to us now to play our game. There is a lot of confidence that the senior leadership team has already demonstrated. Now, it is up to us to make it happen.”