IIPM Gurgaon Industry Visit

Maruti Suzuki India’s largest passenger car company, accounting for more than 50% of the domestic car market was incorporated in February 1981 and entered in a joint venture with Suzuki Corporation in Oct. 1982. With 600 outlets in 393 towns and cities, it produces the best loved cars in the country ranging from Maruti 800, Zen Estilo, Swift to Grand Vitara. Currently Maruti is producing 11 models and is in the process of launching Splash and A-Star. Presently Suzuki Motor Corporation Japan holds 54.2% of total shares and the rest are held by financial institutions and the public.

IIPM Gurgaon students got the opportunity to visit the Maruti Suzuki Plant on Palam Gurgaon road. Spread over a sprawling 297 acres with 3 fully integrated production facilities, the plant has already rolled out over 7.5 million vehicles. As the students entered the premises they were given a cap of Maruti Suzuki and a brochure.

Then the students were taken for a guided tour of the plant under Mr. V.K. Malhotra Deputy Manager (PR), Maruti Suzuki. They were taken to Assembly 2 and were made to wear helmets and glasses to shield them from injury. There they saw the various processes that go into making a car. They saw Alto and Zen Estilo in production and were explained the manufacturing process. First, Blanking is done i.e. steel coils are cut into blanks of various shapes and sizes by blanking machines. After that blanks are pressed into various panels by Presses. Then pressed panels are welded together to form body shells. These body shells are then painted in various shades by automatic painting machines and robots. Students were not permitted inside the paint factory. After that various components like glasses, panels, engine, wheels etc are assembled in the painted body to make a complete vehicle. Assembled vehicles are then tested for their road worthiness. After vehicle inspection process, the vehicle is handed over for dispatch. During the visit it was learnt that on an average 2 vehicles roll out of the factory every minute.

Then they were taken to a room where they were shown the corporate film of Maruti Suzuki and were given soft drinks and biscuits for refreshments. Through the film it was learnt that the company has been ranked No.1 in J.D power customer satisfaction index study for a record 7 years in a row and is one of the top 10 greenest companies in India. Through the film we also got to know that Maruti harvests its own water and that the Manesar plant is spread over 600 acres and has 1 assembly plant which produces Swift and SX4.

After the film there was a question answer round wherein all the queries of the students were satisfactorily answered.

In 1929 a small company by the name of Parle products emerged in British dominated India. The intent was to spread joy and cheer to children and adults alike, all over the country with its sweets and candies. As the part of Industry Interface, the students of IIPM Gurgaon, Spring Summer Batch visited manufacturing facility of one of India's most popular Biscuits and Confectionery Company. M/S Parle Industries LTD. located at Neemrana, which is Asia's largest factory under one roof.

The Parle factory at Neemrana is an automatic fully computerized unit with state of art technology behind each activity. From mixing of ingredients , to cutting them into required shapes, thereafter baking them into oven and then sending them for packing, entire process is untouched by human hands. Thus, ensuring total hygiene and purity of product. The work force that is employed is primarily engaged into moving the finished goods after packing to godowns and this after loading them on trucks for dispatching them to various locations all over the country. The work force comprises of a proper mix of permanent labour and contract. The skilled worker are on company rolls and unskilled workers are on contractor' roll. This ensures that company is not saddled with unnecessary liabilities in case there is ever a need for laying off the workers.

After finishing the visit to biscuit factory the students went inside the CANDY manufacturing plant. Again this plant is automatic and computer controlled, with no human intervention in manufacturing process. This Unit manufactures 20 tons of KACCHA MANGO BITE candy per day. The main ingredients of this Candy are Sugar syrup, Glucose, Milk, Essence, Food grade colours.

The students got first hand opportunity to learn the 5S, the Japanese best practices culture in operation
1. SEIRE – Organisation
2. SEITON – Place fixing (a place for everything and everything in its place)
3. SEISO – Neat and clean (utmost importance to housekeeping, Cleanliness is next to Godliness)
4. SEIKETSU – Standardisation (each activity is standardised with due benchmarking, this gives total clarity to whole organization)
5. SHITSUKE – Discipline

The best part of the whole visit was when the students bid goodbye, all of them were handed over a packet of Biscuit and Candy each. In nutshell, the Parle name conjures up fond memories across the length and breadth of the country which made the industrial visit very knowledgeable experience.