Sriram Ramamurthy, the General Manager of Carrlane Manufacturing Pvt Ltd in India, gives insight of the company’s manufacturing and thinking profile, and how Carrlane is distinguishable with respect to its competitors. With customized offerings to the domestic market, Carrlane has been successful in India within a few years.
In an exclusive interview with Sriram Ramamurthy, he said that, Carrlane is an international family-based business in the US. They have 2 locations in the US, and one in Chennai in India. Earl Walker Frost, the 1st generational founder of Carrlane, USA, started this company with the famed aerospace industrialist of US, McDonnell Douglas to make aerospace-related tools. In 2018, they realized that most manufacturing services were shifting towards Asia as the ‘Make in India’ campaign turned India into an acknowledged hub for manufacturing. This was the right time for Carrlane to shift their activities to India to service the likes of Tata Boeing and Tata Lockheed and their related tool manufacturers.
Carrlane attracted a lot of success in India even during the pandemic. The lockdown in fact gave them the opportunity to innovate with tooling machines that were needed for manufacturing of tools. They provide their services in aerospace application, industrial application, automotive application etc. Out of the total, 50% of the manufacturing is done indigenously in Chennai, in India. “Carrlane is a brand which means quality itself”, quotes Mr. Ramamurthy, regarding the differentiation between indigenous and foreign-made components of Carrlane. They provide the same quality products to international and Indian customers. He further adds, "Though there is a price difference, quality remains the same".
Mr. Ramamurthy is still in the process of studying the domestic market in India which is quite obviously different from that in the more developed places including the US and other global markets. The good part is that the mindset of the toolmakers in India too is changing and they want to adapt to all the newer technologies that are available today in the west. Carrlane provides online solutions like 3D rendering and 3D specifications for their customers. They also provide customized options that make the job of a design engineer very easy. With options including different configurations and part number labeling, work-flow with the clients ease considerably. Carrlane takes an innovative approach towards casting, which helps them work on the efficiency of the product line.
Besides products, the main difference in the case of Carrlane is the services they provide. “We don’t just sell boxes or components, we also make specialty products”, says Mr. Ramamurthy regarding the services provided by Carrlane. They have close to 1 Lac SKUs. When customers come up with a new design, they are also happy to make customized components. Close to a third of their sale comes from special items that make them stand miles apart from other manufacturers.
Carrlane's theme for AMTEX 2022 was ‘Made in India’ products wherein they displayed all the products which were manufactured indigenously. This is the first AMTEX show for Carrlane after it established itself in India. The products manufactured in India are sold locally here besides being exported to the USA. Carrlane is the original supply chain provider in the US with respect to the aerospace industry. Indigenizing products for Indian customers has influenced Carrlane and Indian manufacturing in a very positive manner.
“We are looking at lead generation” says Mr. Ramamurthy, as he talks about how the pandemic had put a pause on exhibitions. Carrlane looks forward to expanding its network all over India and finding new customers. The company has just started its journey in India and is very confident about its products that are doing well in the domestic market. Key factors responsible for their success in India include: Quality, Services, and understanding ‘pain points’ of the customers. Incorporating all these things in a company can help them reach a very successful stage, suggests Mr. Ramamurthy.
