Providing powerful support for Indian pharmaceutical company

As a major player in the global pharmaceutical industry, Apotex is on a mission to provide high-quality, affordable medicines for patients around the world. The corporation’s Indian division, Apotex Research, provides product development, clinical evaluation and manufacture of pharmaceuticals, producing more than eight million dosages per year for export. As such, the Bangalore-based company needs a reliable electricity source to run its operations, and for more than a decade has been using gensets made by Rai & Sons, which are powered by Volvo Penta engines.

“We are a growing company, and being able to operate efficiently at all times is vital to our success,” says Shridhara Gowda, senior officer for Apotex Research’s engineering and maintenance department.

“Power supply from mains electricity in this area was unreliable when we launched our operations and so we have relied on these gensets from the beginning. They have been crucial to the development of Apotex in the pharmaceutical industry.”

The need for good aftermarket care
The Indian pharma industry is the third largest in the world by volume, and is expected to grow to US$100 billion by 2025. Apotex supplies its products to Europe, Canada and Australia. The company began using gensets made by Rai & Sons, installed with Volvo Penta engines, initially for prime power; the units are now mainly used for standby power, due to a more reliable electricity mains grid. They are used for around 400 hours per year, and the company has a service agreement with Volvo Penta and Rai & Sons to ensure the engine and genset can be relied on to be fully operational at all times.

“These units are reliable and robust,” says Gowda. “We can get uninterrupted power supply support whenever we need, from both Rai & Sons and Volvo Penta, which is very important.”

Supporting the customer to maximize productivity
Rai & Sons has been in operation for more than six decades and has bases across India. The dealer has been collaborating with Volvo Penta for more than 20 years, and mainly uses the Swedish manufacturer’s 16-liter power generation engines in its gensets.

“We install Volvo Penta engines in our gensets because they are reliable, robust, and provide excellent fuel economy, which gives low total cost of ownership for our customers,” says Saji Cherian, head of diesel genset sales at Rai & Sons. “We provide one point of contact for sales and aftermarket support, so this makes our customers comfortable in taking gensets from us.”

The Volvo Penta diesel genset engines mainly used by Rai & Sons are the TAD1641GE and TAD1642GE models. The 16.1-liter engines have electronic high-pressure fuel injection, overhead camshaft, turbo, and an air-cooled exhaust manifold. They have a dual engine speed of 50 Hz at 1,500 rmp and 60 Hz at 1,800 rpm, and can be used for both prime and standby power. The TAD1641GE produces up to 513 kWe, and its sister model produces up to 550 kWe.

Volvo Penta’s service agreements are designed to help customers maximize uptime of their equipment and keep costs down by ensuring that the engine runs smoothly and efficiently. An agreement can be tailored to any customer’s wishes, depending on operational requirements and budget. Maintenance and repairs are carried out by qualified Volvo Penta technicians.

“Apotex is a growing company and we’ve helped them with both operations and maintenance training of our engines as well as aftersales services provided by Rai & Sons,” says Marilingappa H V, director of sales and customer support for Volvo Penta India.

“The service we offer customers aims to minimize any downtime of machinery by providing both preventative training and after-sales support. It enables them to run their equipment efficiently and maximize productivity, which are two key factors in a company being successful.”

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For more information, please contact:

Ann Parmar
PR & Communication Industrial
Volvo Penta
Tel: int +46 (0) 31 32 207 69
Email: ann.parmar@volvo.com