How Caepro pulled it off amidst Covid-19

The company worked on a chassis concept and prototype with an Asian OEM in the alternatefuel space. Brian de Souza reports on the company's capabilities and its Indiajourney.

- Brian de Souza

Pune-based Caepro Technologies, a company involved in engineering solutions has worked on engine prototypes for an Asian OEM in the alternate fuel space, its head of sales, Abhinay Kalburgi said. The company which works in the design and simulation space has focused in a major way on the off-highway and CV segments.

Explaining the rationale, Kalburgi says that these are niche areas for Indian automotive and what Caepro does is to bring in these services at affordable rates. Elaborating on this, he says that Caepro's USPs include bringing in the right kind of overseas consultants for the India projects. With an India-focused office, we believe that we can provide real value to the customer, he adds.

Since its inception over 15 years ago as a joint venture with MIRA of the UK, the company has been able to deepen its involvement in the Indian automotive segment. Its diverse customer base includes some of the big names including Tata, Mahindra, TVS, as well as leading tier one players such as Endurance Technologies, Mahle and LGB.

The right fit

Speaking on its engagement with this Asian OEM for which Caepro worked on a concept and benchmarked it against competition, Kalburgi said the company developed a chassis model, working closely with suppliers in order to identify those with the right fit for the project at hand. The project now under homologation is a tractor-trailer that will operate on alternate fuel.

Interestingly, the project was done when the pandemic was raging on. As Kalburgi says, Working from our homes, had its challenges. He is quick to add that the team which comprises top management from the OEMs ensured that communications with stakeholders never faltered. The project was done in six months and which is something we are proud of, he says.