INTRODUCTION

Zeppelin Mobile Systems India Ltd. (ZMI) is a joint venture between Sintex Industries Ltd. and Zeppelin Mobile Systeme GmbH, Germany.

Sintex Industries Ltd. with a sales turn over of $ 296 million (INR 11841 million) in the financial year 2006 -07 is an entity with leadership positions in the plastics and textiles business segments. Sintex Industries Ltd. is listed in Mumbai, National and Ahemdabad stock exchanges in India.

Zeppelin Mobile Systeme GmbH, Friedrichshafen, Germany (ZMS) is a descendant of Zeppelin GmbH Group, Friedrichshafen, originally Zeppelin Luftachifbau, which manufactured airships for trans Atlantic travel between World War-I and World War-II. ZMI was formed in 1994 to sell products manufactured by ZMS, which included shelters for telecom and radar for the Defense; torsion free bodies for improved the cross-country mobility of vehicles, mobile field hospitals and ambulances. The ultimate aim was to start manufacturing shelters for the Defense services in India. The Company was basically a trading office for ZMS for the first three years, obtaining orders for shelters from Defense PSUs.

INITIAL ACTIVITIES

In 1995 when the telecom industry opened up in India with the introduction of cellular mobile phone business, ZMS got its first order from Hutchison Max Telecom Ltd. (HMTL) in Mumbai. ZMI was only involved with the installation of these shelters. However, HMTL was the only customer who purchased proper telecom shelters to house their equipment, which stood them in good stead as other shelters could not tolerate the humidity levels in Mumbai. As a consequence, HMTL has been a loyal purchaser of Zeppelin shelters ever since.

In 1997 HMTL found the German shelters rather expensive and wished to reduce the import cost. Therefore, while it ordered the wall, roof and floor panels from Germany, it asked ZMI to supply the other components from India. We, therefore, set up a factory in India to supply indigenous components along with imported panels. At present we supply complete Shelters from India.

We got orders from Tata Cellular and some other companies for supply of shelters in 1997-98. But as the telecom policy was not yet enunciated by the Government of India, investments in the telecom sector totally dried up in 1998-99.

EXPORT THRUST

There was a silver lining in store for ZMI when it got a trial order from Kuwait. Our shelter was selected by the new operator NMTC, in competition with four other shelter manufacturers in Kuwait itself. As a consequence, we got the entire order of 275 shelters from NMTC, which was completed in a period of four months. Seeing our quality and sturdy design even the first GSM operator in Kuwait started giving us 35% of their requirement. We supplied another 130 shelters to both the operators in the year 2000.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

Once the government declared its telecom policy in October 1999, investments started flowing into the Indian telecom industry and the operators started making their plans for expansion. In the year 2000-2001, we supplied shelters to HMTL, Hughes Telecom Ltd., Bharti Telecom Ltd., Essar CellPhone, Escotel, Bharti Telesonic. This is largely because Zeppelin Shelters have authenticated certification and require no maintenance on their shelters. We have put up one of the largest shelters in India on a 2000 ft. hill in Andhra Pradesh for Tata Cellular which is 7.5 m (L) x 5.5 m (W) with no internal support. This shelter is designed to withstand wind speeds of 200 Kmph. Some of the operators who used sub-standard shelters in the initial stages are now replacing them with our shelters because of the inherently superior technology of our design.

FUTURE ACTIVITIES

Zeppelin Mobile Systems India Ltd. is determined to bring world-class products by using the technology and experience which has been gained by its parent company Zeppelin Mobile Systeme GmbH, to India at the least possible cost.

While the telecom sector is likely to bring good business for the next 4 or 5 years, we have to be prepared with other products in the portfolio of our parent company. We are, therefore, making an entry in the following areas with proven German designs of world-class quality.

1. Refrigerated bodies
2. Ambulances
3. Mobile field hospitals
4. Defence shelters
5. Torsion free bodies for vehicles
6. Accommodation for civilians and troops in extremely cold areas
7. Telecom services
8. Energy saving shelters incorporating state-of-art materials

Refrigerated/Insulated Bodies

These are being manufactured as per original German design features suitably tropicalised for Indian weather and road conditions. These bodies are suitable for carrying perishables such as ice cream, chocolates, meat, flowers, medicines etc.

Ambulances

We are in the process of developing ambulances in various categories such as:

1. Rescue
2. Normal Hospital service
3. Army application

Mobile Field Hospitals

Our Parent Company has tremendous experience in the field of mobile hospitals, being the sole supplier to the German Army, the Chilean Army and a number of other Armies around the world. It has also supplied mobile hospitals to look after the requirement of civilian population in Somalia and Bosnia under the aegis of UNHCR. This is an ideal solution for India also as it could be a very useful solution for providing medical relief after a natural disaster like the earthquake in Latur and Kutch, cyclones in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa and the gas leak in Bhopal. These hospitals could also be very useful for providing medical aid to far-flung villages, which are not served by primary health centers. In fact most of the primary health centers in a majority of the states are non-effective as neither the doctors nor the paramedics wish to stay in remote areas or the equipment is non existent/badly maintained. We have proposed to a number of states that these mobile hospitals could be based at the district hospitals and go out for a week at a time to a remote part of a district to provide medical cover to the surrounding villages. Different areas of a district could be covered every week. And during the weekend, the hospital should revert to the district hospital for replenishment and rest of the medical staff. This is the only way that extensive medical care can be provided to the country.

Defence Shelters

a) EMI / EMC Shelters

The defence shelters are in a three layered sandwich construction with RG 60 foam core insulation between two metallic sheets. These sheets are primarily of aluminium with a thickness of 1.2 to 1.5mm, providing extra strength and protection for the equipment inside. These shelters provide high frequency (HF) shielding of approximately 60dB required in the range of 100 KHz to 1 GHz. Therefore, the shelters are EMI/EMC compatible and meet the required limits. These shelters are available in various sizes confirming to international standards and are being used by various Defence Forces across the globe, including India.

b) NBC Shelters

Zeppelin can also provide shelters for Nuclear, Biological and Chemical warfare by adding NBC filters to the EMI/EMC shelters. These shelters can also be protected against other radiation like GAMMA or X-RAYS to make a completely protective shell for the equipment and its operators, safe in a NBC warfare zone.

Both these shelter types are climatically controlled enclosures and are fitted with suitable airconditioners.

Torsion Free Systems

This patented design can be provided on any vehicle chassis with the following advantages :

1. Permits full articulation of chassis.
2. Ensures contact of all driving wheels with ground in rough terrain.
3. Does not transmit torsion stresses to body or the load carried.
4. Maintains center of gravity within wheel base.
5. Conserves fuel.

Accommodation For Civilians And Troops In Extremely Cold Areas

ZMI can also provide world-class bunkhouses and accommodation for troops and civil population in extremely cold areas, which are adequately insulated against harsh weather conditions. We can also offer supply of fuel-efficient heating arrangements to ensure the comfort of the occupants.

Telecom Services

Zeppelin has enlarged it's scope of activities and consequently opened a new Division called ZEPPELIN SERVICES.

Zeppelin can now provide services in the field of telecommunications; these are cellular - BTS/NSC site, installation, access links, microwave backbone, electrical works associated with telecom sites and WLL site installation for basic services. It will also undertake annual maintenance contracts for BTS and microwave sites.