Bonfiglioli
We have inaugurated a modern manufacturing facility in Pune and have laid the foundation stone of our third and largest facility in India, coming up in Cheyyar. These investments will further add to our capabilities and enable us to expand our businesses and product lines.
Kennady V Kaippally - Country Manager & Director, Bonfiglioli
How does your company meet the need for advanced technology in power transmission and fluid power solutions in the construction and mining industries?
We partner with OEMs who are leaders in their business and can develop highly customized power transmission solutions as per market requirements. Bonfiglioli, with its local India R&D Centre, is well placed to engage with customers to develop products meeting these specific requirements.
The Bonfiglioli Technology Space, with over 180 engineers with diverse expertise, works from data acquisitions of the equipment in the field to understand the operating conditions, to transforming the information into a customised product. The Centre is designed to create breakthrough solutions by integrating the most advanced mechanical, electrical, electronic, and hydraulic technologies.
How does Bonfiglioli leverage Industry 4.0 technologies such as IoT and data analytics to enhance the performance and efficiency of its power transmission and fluid power solutions?
Internet of things and digitization are becoming important tools for achieving the objectives of enhancing the performance and bringing efficiency in the new age power transmission and fluid power solutions. These digital tools support the operator by providing him with all the necessary parameters in real time, which enables him to have the equipment working in the optimum mode to achieve fuel economy and productivity.
Bonfiglioli has many unique solutions where the electronic and hydraulic features are integrated in a mechanical transmission system to provide the right online feedback mechanism to equipment operators across applications. Patented solutions like integration of load cell with the gearbox allows quick and precise measurement of torque and enables torque monitoring in real time. Connected via an external cable connection, the system provides an automatic engine shutdown to protect the drive or reduce the capacity of the frequency converter, while providing information to the PLC.
The system also has an anti-seize function that prevents blockages. The evaluation of its data also facilitates predictive maintenance. The new integrated load bearing system allows Bonfiglioli (for the first time in the market) to deploy an intelligent solution, combining our historic excellence in transmission manufacturing with new-age digital tools.
What are the recent innovations in your gear and drive systems that contribute to improved energy efficiency and sustainability in heavy machinery applications?
Given the usage of equipment in the Indian market, reliability, productivity, fuel efficiency, and low maintenance are at the top of customers’ expectations. Design of a transmission plays a vital part in delivering these expectations. Bonfiglioli, having worked with all major OEMs across the globe in construction equipment, has decades of experience that enables it to provide solutions meeting these objectives.
One such solution that we have recently launched is the new 710C2K track drive, meant for extremely harsh applications like hydraulic excavators. The product features a heavy-duty driveline, with improved efficiency, designed for easy maintenance and integrated with the reliable Kayaba motor - the best-in-class solution for the industry. All the hydraulic and the mechanical functions like power drive, operating and travel speed, hydraulic and mechanical emergency braking system, and overload protection, are incorporated in a single unit. Extreme ruggedness, reliability, efficiency, and smooth operation and ease of maintenance are the key features of this drive.
How does Bonfiglioli navigate challenges and seize emerging opportunities while ensuring product adaptability for customization and scalability across diverse industries?
We have been present in India for two decades, and over the years of working closely with all the major OEMs in the industry, we have developed an unmatched range of products that have become benchmarks across diverse industries. We are the only manufacturer globally to offer various type of drives in applications like track, wheel, drum, slew, conveyor, winch, mixer, etc. In fact, we are a one-stop-shop for our customers, catering to their diverse requirements for different product ranges. This makes us well accustomed to navigating challenges and in seizing opportunities across industries.
How does Bonfiglioli products support the shift towards electrification and what advancements is the company making in this area?
One of the defining trends we are witnessing in the industry is the electrification of drives for construction and material handling equipment. Bonfiglioli has developed a range of electric drives and axles for various applications like track, wheel, slew etc. These, along with our own high-performance motors and maintenance free brakes, represent the best new generation electric transmission. Growth in electrification of construction and material handling equipment, presents an opportunity for us to increase sale and expand the market.
How does Bonfiglioli collaborate with customers and partners for co-developing tailored solutions?
Our key strength lies in our ability to design and develop customized solutions for a wide range of user applications. Bonfiglioli’s manufacturing plant in Tirumudivakkam, Chennai, housing the country’s largest vertically integrated, planetary gearbox facility is well equipped to produce these highly customized and diverse range of gearboxes. A local R&D facility with a full-fledged test lab to simulate specific customer requirements, enables us to design and test specific solutions for the Indian market. These facilities ensure that we can deliver large and complex projects that have stricter timelines.
Bonfiglioli is in the midst of a Rs 3,200 million Capex in India for its various businesses. We have inaugurated our modern manufacturing facility in Pune in the first phase of expansion, and have laid the foundation stone of our third and largest facility in India, which is coming up in Cheyyar, Tamil Nadu. These investments will further add to our capabilities to fulfill our need for expansion of our businesses and product lines.
