Last month, I went to India, a country with promising growth prospects, to make an inspection tour.

We have three plants in India, and at TRIN (manufacturing anti-vibration rubber) and TIH (manufacturing general industrial hoses), we are expanding production capacity to keep pace with market expansion.

In particular, TRIN, which is in the process of restructuring its manufacturing, has improved spectacularly compared to when we visited last year.

In addition, at TIR (automotive hose manufacturing), I was able to see steady growth, and I encouraged the hard-working expatriates, local executives, and employees working at the plant.

EV Conversion and Biofuels in India

We had discussions with our customers and partners regarding EV conversion and found that there is also an actual concern about the shortage of electricity supply in reality.

In this regard, I felt that a certain gap exists between the Indian government's call and media reports.

Rather than EVs, I felt that they were exploring HVs plus biofuels.

One customer is operating a plant that generates biofuel from cattle manure methane gas, and they are planning to expand the plant in the future.

There are 300 million cows in India, and some estimates suggest that India could theoretically generate enough biofuel for 30 million automobiles.

They are also considering the use of plants to generate biofuel and seem to have a plan to create a business chain from the collection of raw materials (cattle manure and plants) to gas generation and utilization.

Different countries and cultures have different ideas, and I felt that it was necessary to create a system appropriate for the each environment.

2024.03