Roots Industries forayed into the automotive horn space in 1970 with just three people through the initiatives of K Ramaswamy, Chairman, Roots Group of Companies. Ramaswamy was overly focussed on making high quality automotive horns like Bosch, since he used to see his father during his school days fit a Bosch horn, whenever the latter purchased a new car and often his curiosity was stoked by the thought of how an India-made horn can be made for vehicles in the country. That’s how Roots Industries’ automotive horn journey took off.
Auto Tech Review recently caught up with K Saravanasundaram, Deputy Managing Director, Roots Industries India to understand how it has been able to build a robust reputation in the automotive horn market.
After years of sustained R&D work, Roots Industries India rolled out the electro-mechanical horn in 1982 and within a span of three years – in 1985 – the company emerged as the market leader notwithstanding the intense competition from automotive horn manufacturers from the USA, Japan, the UK and Germany. “Initially, we thought it will take two years to develop this electrical horn, but it took 12 years to develop it to our satisfaction because in those days (in the 70s and 80s), having access to good material and communication was difficult,” observed Saravanasundaram.
MARKET SPREAD
Roots Industries India offers automotive horns across various segments – two- & three-wheelers (70-90 mm diameter), passenger cars (80-100 mm diameter), trucks, buses, off-road vehicles and construction equipment (100-120 mm diameter). The company supplies its horns to OEMs such as BMW, Toyota, Volkswagen Group and Harley-Davidson globally.
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