Orbital Systems in its new avatar : A global solutions provider for precision assembly automation

Mr. Paramjit Singh Seehra, CEO & MD,
Orbital Systems (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd.

Why does one start a new SSI unit? Because there’s a fire in him to do something unique and wants to tread a path which others haven’t taken. He has a dream to make his idea work and build an enterprise around it. This is precisely what happened to young Paramjit Singh Seehra way back in 1985 when he left a cushy job in Larsen & Toubro in the Switchgear Process Development Division. Having done B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT BHU, he realized his limitation in service, the foremost being that one is not able to take calculated risks. This is what prompted Mr. Seehra to teamup with a couple of like -minded engineers and plunge into business.

Humble beginnings
This was the beginning of Orbital Systems (Bombay) Pvt. Ltd, whose CEO and Managing Director Mr. Seehra happens to be today. His first product was a Riveting Machine which even today is a major breadwinner for the company. Then came the cam indexing tables, screw running systems, clinching machines, safety light curtains and a pallet line for linear automation.

The common thread binding all these products is assembly automation. As a matter of fact, today the niche of Orbital Systems is precision assembly automation comprising feeding and handling systems. What was started as an import substitute for saving precious foreign exchange for the Indian industry has now turned out to be a foreign exchange earner for the country. That’s where Mr.Seehra scores over.

The growth phase
Even three years ago his turnover was lurking around Rs.10 crores.This has now jumped to Rs.35 crores. And his target is to achieve Rs.50 crores by 2015. A major chunk of this would come from exports – that too to Europe and China! Networking is the key to success. China is a big market for assembly automation products. But then they are averse to buying products from India. They prefer to source such systems from Europe. Mr. Seehra was instrumental in forming a consortium comprising five international players – three from Europe (Sacel, Lazzero Technologies and Thor Europe ) one from China(Hangzhou Warm Automation Equipment Co. Ltd) and of course Orbital from India. The consortium called ACT(stands for Assembly, Calibration & Testing )is today a total solutions provider for factory automation offering competencies in assembly, palletizers, robotics,leak testing and camera systems addressed to manufacturing sector. ACT takes the benefit of sharing its members’ long-term based knowhow and portfolio to maximize the offer to the market, achieving design and manufacturing synergies and using most efficient locations to optimize end-user costs. Orbital is the design and manufacturing hub for assembly automation modules which go to Europe and from there to all over the world including China!

Bridging the gap
“Our engineering and manufacturing costs are substantially low as compared to the costs in Europe. If at all there is a gap, it is in technology. Our partners in Europe bridge that gap . We do the design and manufacturing .The marketing and service are taken care by them.” states Mr. Seehra.

Orbital’s Palletizing Line for valve assembly for electronic suspension system

Orbital set-up
Orbital has two manufacturing facilities, one in Mumbai and the other in Nashik. It has acquired another facility ,16 kilometers from Thane for setting up yet another production unit as per its expansion plan. This new unit has a locational advantage due to its proximity to Mumbai. It will be operational very soon. Orbital already has regional offices in strategic locations viz.Pune, Bangalore and New Delhi. It has representatives in Hyderabad, Chennai, Coimbatore and Ahmedabad to provide service support to its customers.

The company is currently busy executing a prestigious order from an automotive supplier in Europe ( end user Fiat) developing and supplying an automation system with a palletizing line for a typical valve assembly for electronic suspension system fitted on shock absorbers of a four-wheeler . This precision assembly has very fine washers with some having a thickness of as low as 0.15 mm. These washers are stacked, dispensed automatically, measured for thickness (tolerance limit is 20 microns) pick and placed and crimped into an assembly. The assembly comprising of 20 parts is completed in a cycle time of 5 seconds! Annual requirement is 1.2 million assemblies. Orbital is working hard to complete the order and ship it within the stipulated time frame of 16 weeks. “Today we make products of international quality and give at a price which no one can match”. Another milestone is that Orbital is in talks with Asmo Japan, a subsidiary of Denso to build machines to their design for assembly of micro motors. Asmo has 23 plants worldwide making micro motors for cars. Auto components manufacturers are looking at India as a potential manufacturing hub. “Our international linkages are going to place us in an advantageous position when the market opens up and looks out for niche players like us,” reveals Mr. Seehra. Orbital systems riveting machines are already in use in advanced countries like Germany, US Japan and Brazil ,a classic example of business acumen and making synergy to work.

Leveraging synergy
Orbital has a strong, dynamic engineering team – each one trained and honed for nothing less than 10-15 years to fit into our mould, states Mr. Seehra. This is a major strength of the company. It already has the technology back-up enabled by the ACT. It is also financially sound. “Every machine we sell is our ambassador. It does the talking for us, underlining our quality and capability That is the reason why almost 60 per cent of our standard product orders on hand are repeat orders.’ One who is very particular about business ethics, Mr. Seehra says, “We are pitted against the giants in the global industrial arena. If we are able to compete with them and keep our neck out, it is simply because of our quality and reliability espoused by the system we have developed and the standards we have maintained, and the company we are keeping.”

“If one has to be successful in business, one must dream big and work relentlessly towards achieving that goal .One should have a strategic planning (both long-term and short term) and remain focused”. Mr. Seehra opines that small units have inherent strengths and capabilities. Their weaker link is the marketing savvy and resources. One can overcome this by forming a small group with activities not competing, but complementing to each other.
This group can offer products and solutions to the international market. This way there is a synergy which is indomitable and we can compete with any multi-national. It will be a win-win situation for every member and a small step to help our country take giant leaps in the international trade – P.K.Balasubramanian

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