Under the visionary leadership of Sanjay Kulkarni, President of Fleetguard Filters Private Limited (FFPL), the company has emerged as a trailblazer in the Indian filtration industry. With a strong focus on quality, sustainability, innovation, and digital transformation, FFPL has not only weathered market disruptions but has consistently set benchmarks in operational excellence. In this exclusive interview with Sanjay Jadhav, Editor of Machine Edge Global, Mr. Kulkarni shares insights into the company’s growth journey, the evolving landscape of the filtration industry, the integration of eco-friendly practices, and how Fleetguard is future-ready for a rapidly changing manufacturing ecosystem.
Fleetguard Filters has seen significant growth under your leadership. What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced, and how did you overcome them?
The Vision, Mission, and Objectives of the organization have been clearly articulated, and we adhere to the same. To ensure we have robust systems that deliver and cater to the ever-evolving market requirements, we implemented Theory Of Constraints (TOC) in 2007, This methodology has greatly contributed to the overall success of the organization.
Since its inception, Fleetguard Filters Private Limited has focused on Quality, Research & Development, Innovation, and customer delight. We have constantly strived to provide advanced technology products and solutions at the shortest lead time. Over the years, we have provided customized solutions aptly fitting the customer requirements which has been instrumental in our sustainable growth. Like all businesses, we too have sailed the tides of the pandemic, the market recessions, and poor end-user sentiments. However, our TOC way of working not just helped us sail the storms but accelerated our stairway for growth.
How has the filtration industry evolved over the last two decades, and what key trends do you foresee shaping its future?
The industrial filtration market has grown over the decades. In India, we have witnessed the environmental regulations change from BSII to BSVI and are prepared to meet the ever-evolving emission norms laid by the government. The emphasis is to save the environment, and stringent emission norms are being adopted for the same. In the future, we expect alternate fuel and Hydrogen Combustion Engine (H2ICE) to be the gaining prominence.
Filtration is also becoming important in various industries besides automotive. We see a surge in demand across industries where filtration is very important to avoid small particle contamination, which impacts the quality of their product.
Sustainability is a growing concern across industries. How is Fleetguard Filters integrating eco-friendly and sustainable practices into its operations?
Sustainability is the need of the hour and is gaining centre stage in boardrooms. FFPL has long been an environmentally sensitive organization. We have undertaken many initiatives like use of recycled water, reducing energy consumption, implementing lean manufacturing practices and many more across our operating locations that would help us become net-zero eventually. In our upcoming manufacturing facility at Nandur we are implementing rainwater harvesting and have installed solar power units.
With advancements in technology, how is digitalization transforming the filtration industry, and how is Fleetguard adapting to these changes?
A.4 FFPL had long taken cognizance of the digital revolution. We implemented the TOC methodology in 2007, and since then have had our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in place that runs Drum Buffer Report (DBR). This report brings clarity of unfinished and finished stock, calculates the urgencies, and automatically informs the plant what to produce and the warehouse what to ship. From the production perspective, we have implemented automation and ML tools that help eliminate human error by providing prompts for checks and prompts for error detection during production.
Fleetguard FIT is another of our smart solution offerings which when installed can capture real time data of the health of the filter and this data can be accessed via a mobile application from anywhere. This solution helps in the timely upkeep of the vehicle reducing downtime.
As someone with a diverse management background and spearheading Human Resource management, how do you ensure a motivated and high-performing workforce?
People are the most invaluable assets of the organization. At FFPL, we like to be called one big family, and we do a lot of fun activities throughout the year that keep us all connected. The professional path is curated even before we hire associates on board. At the time of recruitment, we have a clearly demarcated career path for each employee based on skill assessment and organizational needs. We also provide training and development where we feel gaps need to be addressed. All these have worked for us and we can proudly say our attrition rate across the organization is less than 2%.
At FFPL, we also have a no lay-off policy; we do not sack employees unless they have unethical behaviour or have a consistent performance issue. We like our employees to feel safe, this helps them take calculated risk and perform better.
We have an annual family day at all our operational locations, where all of them are welcome with their families. We have a sports tournament called FAST, which is an annual event that lasts a week, and all players prepare throughout the year to compete and win. This event is undertaken to promote healthy living amongst our employees, and what better way than sports? We also have an internal engagement mobile application called FFLIP, where all associates can connect and share personal and professional insights with each other, thus, strengthening our interpersonal relationships across functional areas.
How do you see India’s manufacturing landscape evolving, and where does Fleetguard Filters fit in this growth story?
India has the world’s largest population, and that’s an advantage as that also makes us a base for the largest domestic market. The manufacturing landscape looks very promising as the domestic market is stable, the government policies are pro-manufacturing, like Make in India 2.0 and Automotive Mission Plan 2016-2026, which definitely will lead to a more Atmanirbhar Bharat. The government’s focus on highway connectivity and energy projects has eased supply chain and production feasibility across the country. With the government’s focus on infrastructure development we see a lot of opportunities across segments.
At FFPL, we have remained a truly made-in-India company since inception and would love to grow proudly with Mother India.