WITH a CAGR of over 15% during the last five to seven years, the automotive sector is aptly described as the next sunrise sector of the Indian economy. Thus, the country’s growing rubber industry and its contribution to the transportation sector was the focus of the Rubber Day held in January and hosted by German speciality firm Lanxess, the world’s largest manufacturer of synthetic rubber, which has production facilities for rubber chemicals at its subsidiary Rhein Chemie’s site in Jhagadia, Gujarat. Lanxess also manufactures polybutadiene rubber, butyl rubber and technical rubber products such as EPDM, HNBR, NBR and chloroprene rubber.
“India is clearly emerging as a global automotive hub. This growth will usher in new needs, new opportunities, and new challenges. We will need to develop technology-driven solutions for a more sustainable future,” said Dr Joerg Strassburger, Managing Director and Country Representative of Lanxess India, in his opening speech.
Titled “High-tech Mobility and Emerging Trends”, the event focused on the potentials of India in terms of
car production and consumption.
Panel discussions also ensued to ponder on timely topics such as “The Future of Mobility in India”, “Innovation in Rubber for a Greener Tomorrow”, “Technological Trends in Automotive Rubber Components”, and “Driving Growth and Delivering Safety”.
Rapid expansion of the automotive sector in India
Dr Rainier van Roessel, Member of the Board of Management of Lanxess, said in his keynote speech that in 12 years India has moved up to sixth place in the global vehicle market. Roessel also shared India’s Automotive Mission Plan, which says that by 2016, the automotive sector will account for more than 10% of India’s GDP and employ 25 million more people than it did in 2006.
However, he also noted that only 1% of Indians own a car, compared with 16% regionally, stating that “it is
only a matter of time before India also catches up on car ownership.”
He went on to say, “If this happens, much more has to be done in our sector to drive down the accident rate in this country’s highways and to make vehicles cleaner and more efficient. And new developments in rubber technology have a great deal to contribute to these improvements.” He added that technologically engineered safer tyres can reduce road accidents by 5%.
Along with the rapid increase of traffic on its roadways, the country’s awareness for road safety needs to be heightened. As the regulatory framework becomes stricter, pressure to improve the environmental and safety performance of vehicles is also growing.
In the “Future of Mobility in Asia” discussion, panelists Dr Wilfried Aulbur, Murali Gopalan, Arup Chandra and Jan Paul de Vries, said that while technology is available, infrastructure needs to be improved, pointing out that only 15% of Indian roads are compliant to standards.
In his speech, MF Farooqui, Secretary, Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Government of India, said, ”In India, we are looking at inclusive growth. This can be done with government funding in the private sector to increase the road network. This will also happen as a result of consumers aspirations to improve their standard of living. Both will contribute to the 7% growth expected as per the current five year plan.”
He also appraised current developments in the automotive sector in the context of growth and integrating safety as “relevant for India”. He said, “Green technology and environment concern is really important since the automotive sector is mainly responsible for carbon emissions.”
In view of this, Farooqui said the government has recently launched the National Electric Mobility plan, which is an ambitious plan to ensure that 6 to 7 million hybrid/electric vehicles (of which 4 million will be two-
wheelers) will be on the roads in India by 2020, to give an added boost to the economy and keep in check
the rising air pollution.
Sustainability and technology are the game changers
Panelists Rabindra Mukhopadhyay, Rajiv Budhraja, Axel Stepken and Joachim Grub agreed that the
industry’s biggest challenge within the next decade will be sustainability.
“A recent survey shows that 95% of individuals and 85% of industries are interested in “Green”, and the
enthusiasm in going green is escalating. The question is how do we walk the talk?”, said the panelists.
The panel also noted, “India needs to move from a market-driven to efficiency-driven to an innovation-driven
industry,” an approach advised by Lanxess to garner Green Mobility.
“Policies have an important role to play, but before policy/legislation is implemented, is there awareness?” Owing to the social media and easier access of information, the panelists said that Indian consumers are well informed now compared to previous years.
Meanwhile, RNK Krishnan, Dr P Thavamani, Luis López-Remón, Ravi S Gupta and Dr Martin Mezger, all panelists for the “Technological Trends in Automotive Rubber Components” segment, averred that improvement in processes, materials and designs of other rubber components, such as hoses and gaskets, must not be overlooked, given that government regulations are only applicable to tyres.
The panelists also emphasised India’s strength in R&D for components (compared to China, which is strong in manufacturing). “Improvements in designs for automotive components include the rubber sealing used in cars, which is now more efficient resulting in low noise and less dust coming into vehicles.”
Meanwhile, the panelists also pointed out the industry’s tendency to use thermoplastics instead of rubber since “the material reduces weight by 20-30% and energy use by 25-30%”.
In terms of retreading and reuse of tyres, the panelists said that retreading treatment is available in the country but there is no technology to reuse and reprocess old tyres. “At the moment, not more than 8% of old tyres can be used in new ones. However, R&D is being undertaken to change properties with the adoption of new material. In Germany, old tyres are burnt in cement making plants, while retreaded tyres are exported to Africa where they are expected to run 20,000-30,000 km,” shared the panelists.
In the “Driving Growth and Delivering Safety” session, presided by panelists Prof. Dinesh Mohan, MK Jain, Dr Ron Commander, Dr Anno Borkowsky and Dr Thomas Gross, it was pointed out that synthetic rubber tyres feature improved braking and grip properties, lower heat build-up and better rolling resistance characteristics.
In his closing remarks, Lanxess MD Strassburger, said that the growth of the automotive industry in India is inevitable. “The industry and consumers are inclined towards green technology, with fuel efficiency norms being introduced. Thus, quality products must be used to reduce risks. To us at Lanxess, it means sowing the seeds for a better brighter future.”
The need for modern tyres
Lanxess was also the lead partner for the 7th India Rubber Expo and Tyre Show held 22-24 January
at the Bombay Exhibition Centre.
In his keynote address during the show’s inauguration, Axel C. Heitmann, Chairman of the Board of Management of Lanxess, surmised that the Indian rubber industry is up for the clover and noted too that as more vehicles are developed, demand for more advanced tyres will surface. “The need for safer, more fuel
-efficient transportation will lead to increased demand for high-performance synthetic rubber that makes possible modern radial tyres that grip the road better and save on fuel,” Heitmann said.
A majority of tyres in India use bias ply tyres with old-fashioned inner tubes while the advanced radialised tyre designs do not need a separate tube.
Only 15% of large commercial vehicles in India use radial tyres, which are categorised as “green tyres”
on the basis of a longer life span, fuel-efficiency and safety.
Lanxess is amongst a handful of companies in the world that can produce halobutyl rubber, a key component in radial tyres. Foreseeing a stronger demand for radial tyres, the German chemical firm is expanding its output via a world-scale plant for high quality butyl rubber set up in Singapore, expected to come on stream during the second quarter of 2013.
The plant will be catering to the Indian and other Asian markets.
Heitmann also said that both the Rubber Day India and the India Rubber Expo and Tyre Show represent
important opportunities for experts in the field to share information and measure the success of the rubber sector in contributing to India’s economic growth. “Lanxess is fortunate to be playing an active and increasingly important role in the rubber industry of India,” concluded Heitmann. (RJA)
Asia's First E-Magazine for the Rubber Industry