Escorts Group

Escorts Limited

Type	Public Limited
Traded as	BSE: 500495
Industry	Engineering Conglomerate
Founded	1960 (1960)
Founder	Hari Nanda and Yudi Nanda
Headquarters	Faridabad, India
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Rajan Nanda (Chairman and Managing Director) and Nikhil Nanda (Managing Director)
Products	Tractors, crop solutions, pick and carry cranes, backhoe loaders, vibratory compactors, shock absorbers, railway brake systems, couplers
Number of employees	6,000 (2014)
Website	www.escortsgroup.com

The Escorts Group is an Indian engineering company that operates in the sectors of agri-machinery, construction and material handling equipment, railway equipment and auto components. Headquartered in Faridabad, Haryana, the company was launched in 1944 and has marketing operations in more than 40 countries. Escorts Group’s management team includes Rajan Nanda as the Chairman and Managing Director and Nikhil Nanda as the Managing Director.^[1][2][3]

History

Escorts Group was founded in 1944 by two brothers, Hari Nanda(b.1918) and Yudi Nanda, in the name of Escorts Agents Ltd. in Lahore. They started out with the family owned Nanda Bus Company in Jammu. Escorts Limited was incepted in 1960 after the company set up its manufacturing base at Faridabad start manufacturing X Ray machine with collaboration of Westinghouse & Heating Elements with Elpro. Since inception, Escorts Group has been associated with engineering companies such as Minneapolis Moline, Massey Ferguson, Goetze, Mahle, Ursus Factory, CEKOP, Ford , J.C. Bamford Excavators, Yamaha, Claas, Carraro, First Pacific Company, Hughes Communications, Jeumont Schneider, Dynapac, etc.

Businesses

Escorts Agri Machinery

Escorts Agri Machinery was launched in 1960. The company manufactures tractors under the brand names of Farmtrac, Powertrac and Steeltrac.^[4] It has four manufacturing plants in Faridabad and one subsidiary unit in Poland in the name of Farmtrac Europe.

Escorts Construction Equipment

Escorts Construction Equipment manufactures and markets construction and material handling equipment like pick and carry cranes, backhoe loader, vibratory rollers and forklifts. The manufacturing and assembly facility is located in Faridabad.

Escorts Railway Products

Escorts Railway Products manufactures and supplies critical railway components such as air brake system, EP brake system, draft gears and couplers, composition brake blocks, dampers and rubber components to Indian Railways.

Escorts Auto Products

Escorts Auto Products manufactures auto suspension products such as shock absorbers, struts and telescopic front forks for the automotive industry. The company collaborated with Fichtel & Sachs, Germany to introduce the concept of shock absorbers manufacturing in India in 1966. In 2016, Escorts' Auto Products business was divested to Pune-based Badve Engineering.^[5]

Knowledge Management Centre

Set up in 1976, the Escorts Knowledge Management Centre (KMC) is spread over 100,000 sq.m. area in Faridabad. This centre designs the entire tractor – engine, transmission plus hydraulic systems and vehicle design consisting of sheet metal (including styling), controls and accessories.

The KMC has facilities such as engine laboratory featuring computerized test beds with online control, data acquisition and analysis, advanced vehicle testing laboratory, noise vibration and harshness lab, metrology lab, and materials engineering lab. The KMC uses 3D-modeling, analysis and simulation software for engines, transmissions and vehicles. Physical prototypes are then tested for performance, durability and reliability.

Company Updates

• On 24 June 2015, the company signed a five-year deal with US-based IT firm Cognizant Technology Solutions. This deal is to bring digital transformation to all its business segments including agri-machinery, material handling and construction equipment, railway equipment and auto components.^[6]

External links

• Official Website

References