Auto Components
Ratan Tata , who personally led the search for the past six months, Forsterâ??s appointment on February 15 as group chief executive officer (CEO) is more than just a badge of honour. It is a part of his larger plan to transform Tata Motors into a serious contender in the international arena.
Forster comes in with top-notch credentials for the job at hand. In his previous job, Forster, who started his career with consulting firm McKinsey, was the group vice president and member of the General Motors (GM) automotive strategy and was responsible for GMâ??s activities in Europe. He has earlier handled restructuring and new product innovations for two of GMâ??s brands, Opel and Saab. Prior to joining GM, Forster was a director on the board of BMW, leading product development during its ownership of MG Rover and Land Rover.
And the manner in which he exited from GM in November last year speaks a lot about the man. For over eight months, Forster had painstakingly led negotiations to sell GMâ??s troubled brands, Opel and Vauxhall, to Magna International, a leading auto components company. GM went back and forth, initially deciding that it will sell to Magna, then asking for another bid before returning to Magna, only to finally call off the deal. Speaking to Germanyâ??s Bild Daily after the deal was called off, Forster said, â??Such a sudden shift isnâ??t comprehensible. I hoped that it would have come to a much different outcome.â?? Forster left GM subsequently.
Full Story: Forbes India: Herr Forster leads Tata Motors - IBNLive.com
Bosch, a key supplier of auto components, has benefited from a strong growth momentum in auto sales. Sustained growth in the commercial vehicle space, which accounts for half of its sales, and a low base helped Bosch record a 39 per cent year-on-year growth in revenues to Rs 1,454 crore for the December 2009 quarter. Sales of its automotive division (accounts for 90 per cent of revenues) improved 40 per cent, while other businesses saw a dip of 8.26 per cent. The improved performance in the last two quarters helped Bosch record a 5 per cent increase in revenues to Rs 5,004 crore for the year ended December 2009.
Higher sales growth helped operating profit improve 42 per cent to Rs 249 crore, but margins rose marginally to 17.15 per cent, as higher raw material costs and other expenditure limited the gains.
For CY2009, margins fell nearly 200 basis points to 16.4 per cent due to lower sales and higher expenditure. The increase in raw material costs has also been a result of the high import content due to the introduction of common rail systems three years ago. Nevertheless, higher sales (and thus operating leverage) and increase in the local content should help in gradual improvement of margins in future.
Full Story: Bosch: Changing fortunes - Business Standard
The workmen resorted to a flash strike over wage revision and also assaulted an officer on duty. The immediate impact of the lock-out is on a Rs 30crore order from Maruti Suzuki, which the company has lost. Orders from M7M, Hyundai, Ford and Tata are also under threat.
According to sources, its Adugodi plant in the same city could also have the impact as workers are already ‘going slow’ over the work.
Bosch Ltd has five auto component manufacturing units in India. Other than the two in Bangalore, it has one each in Goa, Jaipur and Nagpur.
Full Story: Lock-out at Bosch's Naganathapura plant - Car Wale (blog)
1 | 2 | 3