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Go Inside Editorial by Mr. Ravi Rishi,
Chairman of Vectra Group
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Go Inside Vectra use of helicopters in power and infrastructure projects
Go Inside VECTRA Gold Sponsor of
PANIIT 2010 Conclave
Go Inside ONGC AW 139 Inaugural Sortie
Go Inside The Heman Servo machine
Go Inside Key People Meeting, 2010
Go Inside Workshop on Performance
Management System
Go Inside Production facility in Czech
Republic
   

Production of Heman 175 C in the Czech Republic
First Four Machines Rolled Out in September 2009

Vectra Heman 175 is being made in India since 2003. This machine, with its proven track record and unique features, has been very popular in the Indian market, and has been the market leader in the country since 2007. This success motivated Vectra to expand globally. In January 2008, a team of professionals was formed and given the job of setting up a new production facility in the Czech Republic. This country was chosen as Vectra already has a presence in Koprivnice, and it is the largest shareholder in the Tatra factory which has amongst the oldest truck factories in the world. The heavy off-road trucks and vehicles are exported to markets in India, Russia, China, Europe and to several other countries worldwide.

Many Firsts with Heman in Europe: Beating the Odds

  • Vectra is the first earth-moving machine manufacturer to move to Europe from India. Until now, the trend has been for European manufacturers to move their base to India or expand their operations in the country.
  • Setting up operations in a new country brought its own challenges, starting with the type of drawings required to the kind of manufacturing, safety, and environmental standards to be followed.
  • Vectra was the first skid steer manufacturer in Europe to use Cummins & Eaton as the first preferred drive trains.

Project progress path:

  • The first challenge was to make chassis, loader arms, buckets, rear doors, and  cabins locally.
  • After a brief search, we found reliable and qualified partners to be our local suppliers.

By the end of 2008, we had prepared the first prototype of all fabrication parts. Based on this, all jigs, fixtures, and tools were developed for serial production.

Every part is cut and made with CNC machines. Thus we achieve interchangeability of components from the word go.

Cabin: A well-known vendor in the UK was finalized to manufacture cabins. The cabin was redesigned to achieve an international look and to incorporate the latest features.

Fluid conveyance parts: All hoses, tubes, and connectors that are part of the machine hydraulics system were redesigned with Gates components. Gates is the best-known name in the industry for manufacturing fluid conveyance parts.

  • We took a machine to the Gates Karvina factory and worked with Gates engineers to achieve the final results.
  • Routings were redone.
  • Some tubes and pipes were combined.

Here are some “before” and “after” pictures:

Heman 175 C has all silver pipes (without Cr64, unlike golden pipes) as per EU requirements.

  • Many other changes were made. Some of the most significant ones are:
    • The mechanical safety valve has been replaced by an electrical one to lock the pedals. The new electrical valve is actuated by a proximity switch located near the operator’s seat.
    • A self-levelling valve has been introduced as an optional tool, and a bracket for mounting the same has been provided in all chassis.
    • Safety struts for the cabin and arm cylinders have been incorporated into the chassis design and have been placed strategically. The same has been done with the cabin lift-pump rod.
    • New driving lights and rear-view mirrors have been incorporated into the design.
    • The height of the cabin-front mountings has been raised by 60 mm from the previous position to avoid any possible interference in the operation of the loader arm.

Cabin heating has been introduced along with heated front glass.

  • End result: The first four machines were rolled out in September 2009 and are on the way to a customer.

 

 
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