three co's can now supply oec tech

The other day OEC announced the UCAL deal to produce OEC DI systems for motorcycles in India. The advantage of this is that instead of paying $US150 per unit from Synerject the Indian motorcycle makers will be able to source their injectors at a cheaper price from India. You never know, it may even be cheap enough for the Chinese (Sundiro) to buy from India.
Anyway, one very interesing thing about UCAL is its ownership structure. As you can see from the following, a Japanese company called Mikuni of Japan has a 26% stake in the company. What this might mean is that the Japanese may be able to get OEC technology through the back door, so to speak. One thing is for certain, Mikuni will get a good look at it.

The end result of it all is that now three companies can or are making available to the market OEC technology up from one only a year ago. They are Synerject, Delphi and now UCAL.

Expect more products on the market by year end, Cook says about 35, up from 26(?) (can't remember). It is a slow process.

Regards

Desmond



Ucal Fuel Systems Ltd (Ucal) is a leading manufacturer of carburetors
and fuel injection pumps in the country. It is a sole supplier of
carburetors to several models of Maruti Udyog Ltd and has also
started supplying fuel-injection systems to them from last year
onwards. Ucal also supplies carburetors to major two-wheeler
manufacturers. Mikuni of Japan has a 26% stake in the company through
which it has access to world-class technology and to world markets.
Ucal has diversified into electronic fuel injection system components
and oil pumps.

Industry basics

The domestic auto ancillary industry is highly fragmented, with
hardly any global scale capacities. Capital costs for production of
most components is not steep and technology, though a key factor, is
relatively stable. In the price conscious replacement market, small
scale unorganized sector is well entrenched, despite its low quality.
OEMs are mainly catered to by organized sector. The industry is on a
strong growth pedestal, due to a booming auto sector, a growing
replacement market and increased export potential.

The original equipment (OE) market for carburetors accounts for
nearly 90% of total demand as it lasts for the lifetime of a vehicle
and only some parts of carburetor like rings, washers are replaced
frequently. The replacement market accounts for around 9-10% of the
total demand. In terms of volumes, carburetor sales have increased
from 1.775mn units in FY93 to 4.1mn units in FY98. This made for a
CAGR of 18.2%. The major contribution in terms of sales value is from
four wheelers accounting for nearly 60% of total sales. In terms of
technology, the overall picture is set to change once four-wheelers
come to be installed with the more environment-friendly fuel
injection systems. With unleaded petrol now available in some parts
of the country, the shift towards catalytic converters and fuel
injections systems is definitely on. Already some car majors have
installed fuel injection systems in their vehicles and this trend
will gain further momentum from FY2000 onwards. However, potential
lies in the two-wheeler segment, which has seen significant growth
(especially in motorcycles).

The carburetor supply in the country is controlled by Ucal for four
wheelers and Spaco carburetors in the two wheelers market. The other
players in the carburetor industry are Jetex Carburettors, Nutex
Carburettors and Escorts Employees Ancillaries. The industry
presently has nine players which makes for a combined capacity of
6.762mn units. With volume sales of 4.1mn units, the industry suffers
from an over capacity of around 40%.