KLINGER is growing in India

KLINGER is strengthening its position in India with a new subsidiary in order to reduce order lead times and improving customer support.

With robust demand for gaskets across multiple industries, customers in India have long been familiar with the KLINGER family of products. The country’s emergence as a global manufacturing hub has challenged suppliers to keep up with high product demand, and post-pandemic supply chain issues have strained resources even further than before. While already holding a minority stake in a manufacturing joint venture in India via Uni Klinger Limited (UKL), KLINGER decided that a subsidiary located just outside Bengaluru would drastically shorten order lead times, additionally providing a service presence for troubleshooting and customer support.

 

Discover KLINGER India’s products

 

Sandeep Basrur, a former International Business Development Consultant for KLINGER Dichtungstechnik and now Managing Director of KLINGER India, is optimistic that the new location will be a boon to India’s manufacturing needs. He says, “It’s a good time to develop this market by stocking products in India, and then supplying them at short notice. Lead times for shipping from plants in Europe are quite long.” Flexible shared warehousing will allow the team to keep up with local product demand, while still adjusting on the fly to changing market needs. Permanent regional KLINGER representatives will be able to monitor and anticipate stocking concerns in real time, creating a steady and consistent inventory that local businesses can rely on.

 

Sandeep Basrur is spearheading KLINGER’s efforts to grow its business in India

 

India: A strong market for Polystrat and KLINGERSIL

India is home to one of the largest motorcycle and automobile manufacturing sectors in the world. This industry relies heavily on rubber coated steel that is used to produce cylinder head gaskets and noise absorbing shims for disc brake pads. KLINGER’s product offering in this sector is Polystrat. Because only a few facilities are set up for the time and cost intensive production process that Polystrat requires, availability in the past was often at the mercy of the global shipping crisis. Local stocking will allow KLINGER to make this key product readily available to the Indian market, with little to no lead time.

 

The worldwide KLINGER network of manufacturing, service and distribution companies.

While Uni Klinger will continue to market its Indian-made products under their own brand such as UniSIL, KLINGER India will be servicing large gasket manufacturers and OEMs with EU-made quality products without intermediates. Another popular product in India, KLINGERSIL, is a fiber reinforced gasket material with high sealability and strong chemical resistance. This sheeting is an essential component for multiple industrial and manufacturing uses, including refineries, oil and gas, and automotive sectors. Because these industries require consistent operation, any source material shortages can lead to costly downtime that wreaks havoc on budgets and schedules. Local stocking through KLINGER India will provide the reliability needed to keep them running smoothly.

 

On-site expert technical support

While the initial stages of this new venture will be focused on the development of a thorough and consistent product library for the Indian market, Sandeep and his team are planning to expand service offerings in the not-so-distant future as well. Technical support and technical services will be standard issue, at some point expanding to on-site expert guidance for plants and refineries. While the support department will take some time to fully flesh out, the team looks to the successful KLINGER Integrity Services group in the UK for inspiration. Eventually, the India team hopes to develop a cooperative effort with the UK team.

With plans in place, the KLINGER India team is eager to begin their journey. The process of creating an entirely new subsidiary is a daunting prospect, but Sandeep and his team are up to the challenging task. His enthusiasm comes through when he discusses the project, saying, “We're setting things up from scratch, which is the exciting part of it. We've got the right elements in place to create a very interesting business.”

 

Discover KLINGER India’s products