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EATON FLUID POWER

enhancing its presence in India in all business segments and on tapping into the diverse opportunities that India offers, including critical manufacturing & engineering capabilities, product development, service centres and globally competitive sourcing.

UNIQUE BUSINESS STYLE Eaton has a very unique style of working. The company clearly defines each & every person’s goal taking a topto-bottom approach and every employee is informed at the start of every year about his goal and his immediate manager’s goal. In this way, the entire team is aware of the team’s goal and the company’s ultimate goal, which, in turn, ensures that they are in sync with the bigger goal set by the company. The second pillar of growth is to achieve and sustain manufacturing supply excellence. This goal implies that all its vendors, suppliers and distributors should follow the same best practices to cater to its customers in the best way. By way of building a very strong and robust dealer network, they also have been able to strengthen their supply chain in the market. What follows next is quick response to markets. Elaborating on the same, Nitin Chalke, MD – India Hydraulics Group, Eaton Corp, informs, “Rapid response has been our key focus. We need to be two times faster than our competitors. It includes product development, services and expanding geographical presence.” The last pillar of goal is selective innovation, which is what sets Eaton apart from others.

EATON BUSINESS SYSTEM At the heart of manufacturing at Eaton is Eaton Business System (EBS). The foundation of EBS is a single vision & mission, shared set of values and a common philosophy. Continuous assessment (Eaton Business Excellence/EBE) is built around the Malcolm Baldrige criteria. Commenting on the same, Chalke adds, “What distinguishes Eaton from

Eaton is a values-based organisation dedicated to doing business right. Ethical values are fundamental to Eaton and distinguish us as a company. Moreover, the sense and pride of being a part of One Eaton also help us attain the corporate goal. Nitin Chalke, MD – India Hydraulics Group, Eaton Corporation

the rest is its power management focus, its values-based culture and its philosophy to run the enterprise as an integrated operating company. EBS is the embodiment of its integrated operating company philosophy. It is how Eaton works. It is the common thread that binds the functioning of the company.” EBS enables the company to: Respond quickly to the customers’ needs Deliver more cost-effective solutions Continuously invest in developing new power management technologies

FACTS & STATS

Founded: 1911 2010 Annual Sales:

$13.7 billion Employees: 73,000

Apply the same uncompromising standards to all of its operations, and to share the same best practices among all employees throughout the world. The result is a culture of efficiency and continuous improvement dedicated to achieving the same goal – success. Offering a perspective on the same, Chalke avers, “It is based on our belief in standard processes and a teachable point of view. It ensures that we transfer best practices and key learning across the organisation. It encourages continuous improvement. EBS also includes a standard set of processes that we use to run our company within the areas of planning, growth, operational excellence, functional excellence, assessment and learning.” “EBS is uniting the power of many into the power of one” is how Chalke summarises EBS. “EBS is our source of competitive advantage and, when effectively deployed, it leads to superior performance,” he adds. The company’s strong foundation is based on the eight pillars of operational excellence, which include 5S + Safety (6S), Kaizen, value stream mapping (lean tool), high-5 matrices, etc. The most interesting of all is the high 5 matrix, which comprises of safety, quality, on-time delivery, inventory and productivity. These are the five action agenda for people working at the shop floor.

2010 Asia-Pacific Regional sales:

TECHNOLOGY AND R&D CAPABILITIES

$2.2 billion

Innovation is one of the key strategic initiatives for Eaton globally. The company’s Engineering and Innovation Centre in India is one of the strongest factors in terms of attracting maximum market share. Expertise among the

EATON IN INDIA Entry: 1999 Employees: 2,300

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