Bala Aadith Murugesan
JMD, SAARC Cases
“Certified by the Military, Wielded by the Exceptional.” This motto of SAARC Cases is reflected in every aspect of its operations. Since its inception, the company has crafted and supplied over 200,000 cases, safeguarding more than 500,000 pieces of equipment. SAARC Cases has developed and launched a range of products, including quick delivery cases, multi-use general-purpose budgetary cases, and high-quality application-oriented cases. Notably, it is the first company in India to produce PE roto-molded cases approved by CEMILAC and DGAQA.
“Our vision towards Aatmanirbharta goes beyond just Intellectual property; our focus is to create a strong relationship with local suppliers and clients. A belief that India has all the ingredients to nurture a healthy economy.” Said Bala Aadith Murugesan, JMD, SAARC Cases, in an interview with Aeromag. In the interview, he discusses the unique features of SAARC Cases, the company’s contributions to the Make in India initiative, and its export activities.
SAARC Cases manufactures heavy application cases for aero engines, missiles, torpedos, and special tailor-made cases. What are the major features of your cases? Can you discuss your company’s contributions to the Make in India initiative and the vision of Aatmanirbharta?
Our cases are engineered for Protection. Meaning they are built to safeguard their “passengers” beyond the limits of operating conditions. To simulate these conditions, we perform Mechanical (Drop, Vibration, etc.), Climatic (Rain, Temperature, etc.), and Laboratory tests (Fluid Contamination, Solar Radiation, etc.). Mechanical and Climatic tests are conducted within an In-house facility and follow Military Testing Standard Mil 810-G with the flexibility to accommodate additional constraints based on customers’ needs. The Laboratory tests are conducted at an NABL- Accredited Lab. To explain how this rigorous testing translates into confidence in the customer, I would like to narrate an incident where a piece of equipment housed by our container was carried on a naval vessel. During operation, the container with payload was dropped into the ocean by accident. The entire gross weight of this container was over 4 metric tonnes. And yet the box floated. This was because the density of Polyethylene (PE) is 0.93 g/cc (water is 1g/cc) and careful generation of the inner cavity profile. This was a case of complex environmental loading (vibration, ingress protection, thermal) and a success of our design and engineering.
In a time and age where it is customary to receive Transfer of Technology from Foreign bodies and collaborate through Joint Ventures, which is perfectly fine, we have invested efforts into researching Design Optimization through a dozen PhD candidates and their Supervising Professors at IIT-Hyderabad and Madras. Our vision towards Aatmanirbharta goes beyond just Intellectual property; our focus is to create a strong relationship with local suppliers and clients. A belief that India has all the ingredients to nurture a healthy economy.
SAARC Cases is the first company in India that makes PE Roto-molded Cases approved by CEMILAC AND DGAQA. Can you share more about this achievement and its significance for your company and the industry?
Over 3 decades ago, just around the inception of SAARC cases, the packaging solution field for Military applications was predominantly using materials like Wood, Metal, FRP, Cardboard, etc. While no material is perfect on its own, these materials were functionally undesirable in some features. Wood is hygroscopic, Metal is heavy, FRP is hard to recycle and Cardboard has low strength. Amidst this, our Chairman, Mr. P. Murugesan, pursued Non-Destructive Testing and Polymer Design from the renowned IISC, Bangalore. While Polyethylene, the material we currently use, has its own caveats like non-biodegradable and deforms under high stress, its offering against the weaknesses of other materials was superior in many attributes, and its own weaknesses in some attributes were marginally worse than the strengths of other materials, making it a better-suited alternative.
We must, however, understand that the ideal material will still be based on end-user application and that we must keep our minds open to academic research and new developments.
Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC) is regulatory body under the DRDO that verified whether our product line conformed to Technical Specification and Qualification Test Requirements laid down by RCMA. Initially we could only get a provisional certification that was valid for 1 year. However, on working with us, they later gave us a renewal for 5 years following that. Later we received 3 such terms of 5 years each. This certification is not an achievement in our eyes, but a commitment to conform to Technical requirements.
“Certified by the Military, Wielded by the Exceptional”. We say that with pride.
We are proud to have reached where we are today. It means that our customers are becoming aware of the WHAT they buy and the WHY they buy it specifically. True success knows that this isn’t the final destination. With technological advancements on the horizon, our efforts (also the industry) must all the more be user-centric.
Former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Visit at SAARC Premises on 14th Oct 2011
The recent economic survey highlighted India’s growing defence exports and acknowledged the significant role of both private defence sector entities and public sector undertakings. How has SAARC Cases contributed to the success of India’s defence export sector?
Our global export profile started with its humble beginnings in 2012 with Thales (France). Ever since the start of this century, we have been consistent exhibitors at AeroIndia, DefExpo, and a few other Technology Exhibitions. Our goal was to present our technological credibility to foreign-based industries and that India could be their manufacturing hub. Understanding any customers’ needs must trump a sales-centric approach.
Or at least that is what guided our efforts. We have since collaborated with MBDA (France) and delivered over 1000 Heavy Application containers as a result.
