Tucked away behind large complexes of towering apartment blocks in Manesar, Haryana, the hum of injection-moulding and die-casting machines fills the air in a smallish factory. Hundreds of small components, some no larger than a thumbnail, are assembled by factory workers, many of them women, into larger assemblies and eventually into two-wheeler switchgear and grips. Trucks then ship these components to virtually every two-wheeler manufacturer across the country. And even globally.
This was the first major factory established by Uno Minda. And it isn’t just two-wheelers, virtually every vehicle that comes out of a factory in India has components manufactured by this company or its subsidiaries. The company makes all sorts of components, from seats to digital controllers, infotainment systems, sunroof assemblies, and more. The electric motor and controllers on the new Tata Punch EV is also an Uno Minda product. And the famous dancing taillights on the Mahindra BE 6, too. And, the company is also the sole supplier of a component used by Rolls Royce. The company began as a small vehicle workshop in Delhi soon after independence in 1958. When Nirmal Minda, son of the founder Shadi Lal Minda, took over in 1975, it was still a small 30-person operation. But now, the company closed the last financial year ending March with consolidated revenues of close to Rs 20,000 crore. Today it has 37,000 employees and 75 manufacturing facilities, small and big, across India and five international markets.
