Spotlight

Altair: designs beyond the ordinary

Altair Engineering is spreading its wings beyond the automotive sector. The company sees FMCG and consumer electronics as emerging areas of growth, says Vinutha V.

The Indian automotive component industry’s exports have never been quite as good as they are today. According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the global auto component industry is likely to grow to about $1.9 trillion by 2015. Of this, about 40 percent ($700 billion) will be sourced from low-cost countries such as India. Reports from Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch add that manufacturing capabilities for auto components involving design and multiple stages of machining and assembly can also tap into this trend—and that’s where Altair is focussing heavily.

Since safety measures and regulations are becoming mandatory, companies will be keen on impact-and-crash analysis. This gives us the confidence of our growth Nelson Dias Managing Director South Asia Altair Engineering

Altair Engineering, the Indian subsidiary of Altair Engineering Inc which offers computer aided engineering (CAE) products and solutions, is excited about the Indian auto component exports market. Within four years of commencing operations in India, Altair says it has a 25 percent share in the CAE space.

Initially though, acquiring customers was not easy for the company. Recalls Nelson Dias, the company’s Managing Director for South Asia, “The penetration level and familiarity with CAE products were too low. We had to tackle business and educational challenges in convincing customers about the services and implementation of CAE.” Until late 1990s, auto component manufacturers were creating physical prototypes. Additionally, for simulation and analysis, they were dependent on CAD models which were used as validation tools more than anything else. Appropriate promotional activities helped the company dust off the challenges.

Of its operations worldwide, India is the only centre with all the different divisions that exist in the US—software development, product design and development, grid computing, and an international support centre. Altair has three different types of customers for design optimisation and simulation analysis—OEMs such as GM and Telco; captive units of tier-I suppliers including Delphi, Johnson Controls and Vistion; and engineering service providers such as Infosys and Satyam which conduct virtual prototyping tests for other clients.

Offshore development centre

Altair’s Indian offshore development centre is its second largest outside the US. It contributes in developing and testing different components of the HyperWorks software suite. The centre also does customised development for customers in India, Britain, the US, Germany, Japan and South-east Asia. Three engineers of Altair India’s engineering services division were also involved in designing the Airbus A380. Currently, only the software prototype is ready for the Airbus project; the physical prototype is yet to be done. Altair was also involved in the CAE/Virtual prototyping phase of the product development cycle for Scorpio, Mahindra’s multi-utility vehicle.

Several global automotive OEMs such as GM and Ford are sourcing auto component design services to India, which is known for its high-end engineering and simulation projects. Says Rajneesh Shinde, Altair’s Director of Marketing, “The use of simulation in manufacturing is still evolving in India. As global customers make simulation mandatory, it is driving Indian auto ancillary and component suppliers to look at upgrading their tool rooms.” Altair is also taking a few industry initiatives to familiarise industry folk with the simulation process. A small supplier who cannot afford simulation tools can use and get a feel of them at Altair’s industry learning centres. The company has developed joint ventures with industries to promote simulation tools. Two such centres are at Caparo Maruti, Delhi, and Electro Pneumatics & Hydraulic (India), Pune. In grid computing, Altair has a presence in education, defence and animation.

Beyond automotive and aeronautics

As global customers make simulation mandatory, it is driving Indian auto ancillary and component suppliers to look at upgrading their tool rooms Rajneesh Shinde Director Marketing Altair Engineering

For an FMCG manufacturer, breakage of goods during transportation is a major problem. To avoid losses on this account, design optimisation is being looked at seriously by most companies. Altair is running a few pilot projects in India with FMCGs. Another potential area is the manufacturing of electronic goods—mobile phones, TV and PC modems, and stereos. Regulatory compliance for design and breakage is being made compulsory in this segment, and Altair sees it as an emerging area. The company already has an Indian OEM, Samtel, which supplies TV and PC modems to manufacturers.

Value engineering is a concept that refers to saving cost and improving quality. In the product design arena, capturing best practices is a major challenge. Altair therefore aims to address this by offering process automation. Explains Shinde, “Process automation enables automated best practices in the product design process without compromising on creativity.”

Industrial design is a bit of an art; it requires engineering skills and creativity to make products look attractive and functional. Companies have dedicated teams to look after this aspect, but they lack the required infrastructure, which is why Altair has also been doing industrial design at its facility in Bangalore. Now it plans to set up a full-fledged industrial design studio in India to cater to domestic customers, after which design work from other countries will be outsourced to India.

On a roll

Of its total business in India, automotive contributes 60 percent, 25 percent comes from aerospace, and the rest is shared between the education and defence sectors. The Indian subsidiary of Altair contributes about 6 percent of its global business. Considering the availability of skill-sets in the country, Altair wants to expand its engineering headcount in India. From the current base of 50 people, the team in India is expected to grow to 180 by 2005-end; it plans to add another 70 by 2006-end. Meanwhile, the company has grown its Indian revenues from a small base of Rs 3 crore in 2001 to Rs 25 crore in 2004-05, and plans to double this by 2008.

In the past, product development in India was fairly restricted with only a few OEMs working on product development. Now a flurry of activity is taking place to gain customer confidence and trust. The whole mindset about simulation has changed, and Altair is all set to grab this opportunity.

According to a report from Daratech Inc, the PLM market worldwide is worth $8 billion, within which CAE has a 12 percent share. If the worldwide CAE market is growing at 25 percent, in India the trend is much the same. Concludes Dias, “From an offshore development standpoint, our aim is to file patents for intellectual property in the components space. We are confident of maintaining a steady revenue growth. Of late, India is also looking at cutting-edge technologies in manufacturing. Many MNCs and design houses are coming to India. As safety measures and regulations are becoming mandatory across automobiles, FMCGs and consumer electronics, companies will be keen on impact-and-crash analysis. This gives us the confidence to grow.”

vinutha@expresscomputeronline.com