Randeep Singh Jauhar: Unflinching Customer Focus
Randeep Singh Jauhar is credited for building the fortunes of Jamna Auto Industries (JAI); transforming the company from a single-location, single-product, Rs 6 crore company into a Rs 3,500-crore market capitalisation, multi-location, multinational, multi-product company. He now leads a global manufacturing company of leaf and parabolic springs that has 70 per cent of India’s truck market and is now the largest automotive suspension spring manufacturer in India and among the top two in the world. Founded in 1954, Jamna Auto has its manufacturing facilities in Yamuna Nagar, Malanpur (near Gwalior), Chennai, Bangalore, Rudrapur and Jamshedpur and its products are sold in over 30 countries.
According to Jauhar, “Customer focus has enabled Jamna to achieve major market share in the spring business with OEMs (original equipment manufacturer). It’s all about adding value for customers through improved quality, lower cost, better technology and uninterrupted delivery. We would like to be a total suspension solution supplier to both Indian and global OEMs. Further, we would like to be a major replacement market player in India and abroad. We are strengthening our R&D base to be able to design and develop products in line with the latest global trends. Our focus has been and would remain on growing profitably.”
Jauhar is an alumni of Doon School, Dehradun and an MBA in Marketing & Administration from California State Bakersfield. He joined JAI as the second-generation entrepreneur in 1985 and has been leading from the forefront with father Bhupinder Singh Jauhar and brother Pradeep. He was appointed CEO of the company on 1 January, 2006 and was eventually elevated as its vice-chairman and executive director on 20 May, 2016.
Clocking a turnover of Rs 1,299.56 crore, JAI’s business in FY18 was better than the initial forecast due to better performance of commercial vehicles (CV) and this trend is likely to continue in FY19.
“The financial results in FY18 was better compared to previous year and our expectations. This, at a time when the input costs have hardened during the year. Operating at higher volumes and better product mix complemented by internal efficiencies led to better performance,” says Jauhar.
When asked to shed some light on the long term plans for the company, he affirms, “Jamna Auto is a growing organisation with its strategy to add more products and foray into more markets to reduce the concentration of business. We are open for both organic and inorganic route for the same. We would strategically remain a component supplier in the CV space and add a lot of suspension products such as anti-roll bars, Z springs, composite springs, suspensions for trailers, parabolic springs, lift axles and air suspensions, both in OEMs and replacement market. This will help us to enhance our overall content per vehicle and become a major contributor to the growth of our customers.”
Madhukar Sharma, former global head of Aftermarket at Jamna Auto, maintains, “I had the opportunity to closely work with both brothers (Randeep and Pradeep Jauhar). Both believe in giving full freedom and trusting employees so they can give their best. They gave me complete autonomy and authority to perform within the approved budgets. This helped us in taking the company on a super growth path in the aftermarket vertical. Both of them are humble yet thorough professionals with different strengths. While R. S. Jauhar is a perfect PR person with great social skills, P. S. Jauhar has in-depth knowledge on the operation front. I personally feel that their combined strength and the team together has helped the company in reaching the heights it is at today.”
