CC-Link Partner Association

Vol.5

Special Interview
New member of the CLPA board of directors

Molex joins the CLPA board of directors
to help shape the future of CC-Link/CC-Link IE
CC-Link Partner Association

Maruti Suzuki（India）

CC-Link that Supports “1 vehicle Every 26 Seconds” Vehicle Manufacturing
Expand the Application as a Base of the Largest Automobile Maker in India

Maruti Suzuki's Manesar Factory in India Leading in Production
Efficiency by adopting Fastest Industrial Network-CC-Link IE.

Special Interview Molex：New member of the CLPA board of directors

CLPA Global Activity Report 2014

Molex joins the CLPA board of directors to help
shape the future of CC-Link/CC-Link IE

market knowledge. True collaboration is a

two way process, so we expect to learn
from our business partners, as well as to

Molex, a US owned company with global manufacturing and sales operations, has been appointed aboard member of the CLPA. Here we learn a little more about the organization and the reasons why thecompany sees great value in helping to shape the future of communications within automation systems.
The spokesperson for Molex is Mr. Damien Leterrier, Director, Industrial Communication.
─I would like you to tell us a little more

The company is divided into three

are selling product with embedded CC-Link

A decentralised company meets a
decentralised network

user is in the automotive industry or anothera technology perspective?

Typically we are supplying to device

innovations and the technologies they've

system integrators providing robotics andpercent of its net revenue into research and

The best selling products with CC-Link on‘Micro Products’ and ‘Integrated Products’

private US Company, Koch Industries. Molex

CC-Link/CC-Link IE enabled products are

September 2013 when it was acquired by a‘Industrial Products’ group, which is where

to a wide range of customers where the end

is known as a manufacturer of electronic

positioned.

different products, including everything

include CC-Link/CC-Link IE compatibility

manufacturers, assembly line builders andsolutions, to switches and PC cards.

network interface cards for integration

higher level automation solutions.

─ What is your involvement with CC-

and devices. It also includes products

Collaboration is a key to successinterconnectors, and sells over 100,000
from electrical and fibre optic interconnect

Link/CC-Link IE?

T he sp e ci f ic pr o duc t s tha t alr e ad y

are the company’s range of I/O blocks andinto larger automation system products
designed to support CC-Link/CC-Link/IE

high volume manufacturing platform.

─ What do you expect to gain f rom

Molex is rightfully proud of its many

CLPA board?

Being elected to the board of the CLPA

development. Staying ahead of the game is

CC-Link/CC-Link IE is applied to products,

CC-Link and CC-Link IE technology.

direction of this important automationin technology we put into a simple device

developed.

have to bring simplicity back to a device toopportunity for Molex not only in the way

seen as essential and this includes working

b u t al s o in h o w t h e f u t ur e t e c hni c althat are growing worldwide, such as CC-

communication and control protocol iswith industrial communication technologies

The company operates several of its

We see this as a key enabling technology

f or our pr o duc t s ale s w orldw ide andreacting quickly to customer demand is an

integrated IT structure for R&D means thatto do when working in isolation, so, if weachieved over large distances.

developing today will reach the market

technology, we have to pre-empt thecontrol networks themselves, mirroring

the development of enabling technologies

will ask in the immediate future. To do this,systems towards more localised processingof important technologies such asleading ones such as CC-Link.

Collaboration is valuable not just from atechnology perspective, but also froma market perspective. We have a lot of

Whe ther the y ar e OEMs , end user s or

and make sure that it can be fast to installcommon processes and tools have to becommunication protocols, especially market

make it just as easy for customers to use.

Molex is also involved in the development

customer demand.

we have to be involved in the development

is growing exponentially. This means wefocussing on different product groups andapplications. To be as efficient as possible

questions and challenges our customers

When we develop products, the increasesystems developers and integrators, if weseen as essential for us as a high technology

are to stay ahead of the curve in terms oft expect to do that without being part ofparticularly in Asia where CC-Link is often a

R&D centres are spread around the globe,

important part of our success. This is harder

networking solutions, and we couldn’

includes research and development wherewith the CLPA and its members is a goodWe live in a fast moving world andpushing for growth in automationis regarded by the company as a great

functions via a decentralised structure; thiscompany that develops products based on

It was a natural decision for us to continue

enabled. The company invests roughly 5‘Collaboration is key to our success’. The

representation of that policy. Collaboration is2

Above：Molex CC-Link IE Field PCI card
Left：M olex IP67 Harsh Environment I/Owith CC-Link

─How do you contribute to CLPA from

Link/CC-Link IE.

company firmly believes that partnership

Molex
Director,Industrial Communication

general good, as well as helping us tobeing a CLPA director?

Molex’s company description states that

Mr. Damien Leterrier

open source, this is something we canboard are aimed at the Asian market – weare defined as the ‘Commercial Products’,Divisions. Within this third division is the

However, because CC-Link/CC-Link IE isachieve our own commercial objectives.

tells us that Molex employs close to 36,000
turnover of approximately $3bn, prior toto keep their technology advancing.

versions for use on machine applications.

include higher ingress protection IP67

p e ople w orldw ide and had an annual

smaller innovation-led companies in orderplay a part in and contribute towards the

product divisions, plus a Global Sales andMarketing division. The product divisions

Many large organisations rely on buying up

connectivity. The remote I/O products

about Molex

A higher level overview of the businesspass knowledge and experiences back.

and quickly react to customer demands,

shared between R&D centres. Using anhigh speed communications can be

This displays a remarkable parallel to thedefault automation networking option.

of ODVA and PI. We do not join to have

our name on the box - we want to bring

improvements to the standard we aremanaging, and there is no better way into

the market than to be part of the evolutionof the standard. The new technology we are

faster than ever before, so being involved in

the development direction of automation

is becoming more important.

and intelligence with higher speed, higher─ What are the immediate customer

can make a complex device plug-and-playand commission, then we have achieved
an important goal.

Improved machine and device levelcommunication means production

operations are far less likely to break down.

Big data is made possible and our vision ofmanaging automation - to react quickly todemands , t o enable mor e on- de v ic e

memory and processing power, and toincrease the speed and robustness ofcommunication for example, is helped by
the speed CC-Link IE brings.

data rate communications. As control

benefits and what are your future aims?

machine it uses a common infrastructure toaccess into any automation market. Hencebest network solution, it depends on their─ What is the significance of joining the

integrate.

our products are for customers to buy andor system resilience. Being par t of the

moves closer and closer to the sensor or the
make communication more efficient.

Compatibility is a key requisite forthe more options we can supply, the easier

Customer demands from a network

protocol do vary. In order to develop thegoal, be it speed, reaction time, redundancy
standard helps us deliver.

3

Special Interview

CC-Link Partner Association

Maruti Suzuki（India）

CLPA Global Activity Report 2014

CC-Link that Supports "1 vehicle Every 26
Seconds" Vehicle Manufacturing
Expand the Application as a Base of the Largest
Automobile Maker in India

workforce, including the people who are indirectly

involved in the automobile industry. It is natural for the

Indian government to place an emphasis on the growthof automobile industry to further develop manufacturingindustry.

On the other hand, dissemination of automobiles is

The industries all over the world are watching the emerging markets. Especially, India is of great interest to
the countries all over the world for its economic growth and continuous increase in population, in addition to
its large population. Among the manufacturing industries in India that Indian government is supporting for
expansion, the automobile industry is especially showing a strong presence. Maruti Suzuki, which has thelargest share in automobile industry in India, has incorporated CC-Link Family for the base network in their plant
to meet the lively automobile demand in India and realize a flexible production system. We had an interview
with Mr. Rajeev Gandhi, the executive director of Maruti Suzuki, and other executives about the current state of
the automobile industry in India and how CC-Link Family contributes to automobile production.
（Interviewer: CC-Link Partner Association Executive Director, Naomi Nakamura, CLPA India,Chairman, : Sunil Mehta）

Nakamura

The Indian government is putting effort

support manufacturing industry. The aim is to create

not making much progress in India. The disseminationof automobiles in other emerging nations is about 500

to 600 vehicles per 1000 of the population, but in India

it is merely about 15 vehicles per 1000 of the population.

However, to put it the other way, Indian market has apotential to grow that much. One of the obstacles ofdisseminating automobiles is the road infrastructure.
The government is working on domestic road

improvement, aiming for 20km per day.

To deliver 14 models with 150 variants acrossthe nationline downtime is unacceptable.

into strengthening the manufacturing industry

100 million jobs by expanding manufacturing industry.

Policy" in November 2011. Among all industries in India,

manufacturing industry plays an important role.

Nakamura

Indian government is focusing on, the expectations

entry of other automobile makers from all over theproactively such as setting forth "National Manufacturing
could you tell us where does manufacturing stand?
Mr. Gandhi

Manufacturing is surely showing a strong

presence in India. In India, manufacturing accounts for

16% of the GDP. The Indian government came out witha policy to improve this figure to 25% by 2022, throughFor India to grow continuously, the development of
Sunil

Among the manufacturing industries that the

toward automobile industry are especially high.
Mr. Gandhi

The automobile industry in India

world. Under the circumstances, what do you think is
the reason that Maruti Suzuki continues to maintain thelargest share in India?

has a significant impact on employment, and thefor about 30 years in automobile industry in India. In

comprises about half the manufacturing industry. This

strengthening human resource development toautomobile industry employs about 19 million in the

Maruti Suzuki
Executive Director

and the competition must be very severe with thecontributes 7% of India's GDP. In other words, it

National Manufacturing Policy. In conjunction with thisactivity, the National Skill Development Council is

India's automobile industry has a tail wind,

Mr. Rajeev Gandhi

Mr. Gandhi

Maruti Suzuki has played a leadership role

2013, compared to the previous year, the sales volume
decreased by 6.1% in the overall Indian domestic

market, but the sales volume of Maruti Suzuki increased
by 0.5% and achieved 42% of market share. In the firstquarter of 2014（April ~ June 2014 ）, the domestic

market increased its sales volume by 1.5%, but Maruti
Suzuki went beyond significantly, with a 10% increase

Naomi
Nakamuraand share up to 45%.

One of the reasons why Maruti Suzuki is able to

CC-Link
Partner Association
Executive Director

maintain a large amount of share is that Maruti Suzuki

has the vehicle lineup that covers all segments, fromsmall vans to large luxury vehicles, and an extensive

result came from the sales in such small towns.

Maruti Suzuki has sales network in 1034 large and smallof 150 variants. In order to deliver a wide variety ofsales network that covers the entire Indian nation.
cities and service network spanning over 1449 cities

Maruti Suzuki offers 14 models, total

vehicles to our customers in every city, our production

and towns domestically, and the structure has beenline must be trouble free for continuous operation.

our customers even if they live in a very small town. Aseven f or a short period of time, the loss would be

developed to facilitate the delivery of new vehicles toa matter of fact, about 20 to 25% of Maruti Suzuki sales

4

Mr. Chaturvedi

Should the production line be stopped for some reason
significant. This is because Maruti Suzuki continues to5

Special Interview

CC-Link Partner Association

Maruti Suzuki（India）

CLPA Global Activity Report 2014

other benefits, CC-Link IE was introduced starting fromthe new diesel engine production line. In addition,

Maruti Suzuki Executives.

starting from last year, the Manesar plant's assembly

process has also incorporated CC-Link IE. These plants
established the network using CC-Link IE to connect
processes or process and server. CC-Link IE offers

various topology options such as star and ring typethat facilitate building flexible networks.

CC-Link that contributes to energy saving
Utilize support to train technicians
Sunil

On the other hand, not only automobile

industry but all manufacturing industries are requested
to practice energy conservation activities. Especially in

India, where electric infrastructure is not necessarily
sufficient, energy conservation is one of the biggest
challenges. Could you please tell us what kind ofenergy conservation initiatives that Maruti Suzuki has

implemented?

Maruti Suzuki plant located in Gurgaon, a suburb of Delhi

roll out a completed vehicle every 26 seconds.

time while preventing human errors, and its effects alsorole. FA enables the expansion of production volume

parameters that occur during assembly process. In thishuman error can also be avoided. FA reduces operation

variety of vehicles in large volume continuously.

To pursue continuous production, FA plays a vitalwhile enhancing production efficiency, and in addition,

enable collection and management of critical

only achieving fuel-efficient vehicles. We have beencooling water system are replaced with energy saving

the training facility that Mitsubishi Electric offers inpumps. We also incorporated a gravity system towide variety of vehicles?

high pressure water washing process.

in the same production line, it must be capable ofenergy conservation. We have established the system

inf ormation communication layer, respectively.

and power meter to CC-Link to collect energy

data that the production line is handling keeps

increasing.

CC-Link IE has 1Gbps broadband performance with

Ethernet base and is capable of processing control
system and information system in one network. The
CC-Link IE is the network that meets our requirement.

transfer parts and vehicles and an air washer in place ofIntroducing CC-Link Family also contributes toGurgaon. Based on the information there, we selectappropriate CC-Link compatible repeaters etc. to help

develop new systems.

Mr. Gandhi

Including suppor t , CC Link Par tner

Association that promotes CC-Link and Maruti Suzuki

consumption data of each process. This not only

expect that Indian government will establish a legal

clarifies if any waste of energy exists in the process but
also shuts off power supply automatically during non-there is no policy in India to execute recall, but westandard soon. Once it is legally mandated, automobile
makers must retain the tremendous amount of

production time. To pursue energy conservation, CC-traceability data involved in manufacturing. CC-Link IE

Sunilcharacteristics, is suitable for modern society that

Link plays a vital role.

Training of personnel who actually utilize theField, with unprecedented 1Gbps broadband

CC-Link Family will be critical, when the CC-Link Family

manages large amounts of data with networks. We are

Mr. Verma

Nakamuraalso reduced.

seminars that CC-Link Partner Association is offering

stage, but to make full use of 1 Gbps broadband anddevelop such human resources. We are also utilizing

have established good communication. Currently,

is utilized in various purpose.

The Gurgaon plant incorporated CC-Link at an initialand reduction of equipment downtime. CC-Link

to optimize power distribution by connecting SCADA

By integrating the network, equipment downtime
potential due to cable interference or loosening wasVice President

Partner Association's support is indispensable tothat because Maruti Suzuki determined it would be

Especially today, to ensure production traceability, theVice President

from conventional fluorescent bulbs to LED, and thepumps used in water treatment facility and turbine

handling large amounts of data, in control layer and

Mr. Virkam Verma Mr. Anoop Chaturvedi

CC-Link experts to enable prompt analysis of troubles

Maruti Suzuki incorporated CC-Link

When building a wide variety of vehicles

General Manager–
Vehicle Eng.
Dept.

working on reducing energy consumption in our plant.

Nakamura

Mr. Sarkar

6conservation activities in every way in our plant, not

For example, we have changed lighting equipment

effective in pursuing the policy to continue building a

CLPA India
Chairman

Maruti Suzuki is implementing energy

way, Maruti Suzuki has been able to produce a wide

Family at an early stage in its main Gurgaon plant. Was

Sunil Mehta

Mr. Verma

Mr. H.Sarkar

W e ar e making e f f ec tiv e use o f theand the new solution demo for service technician
training. It is important to train personnel to become

considering expanding the application even further.

It is an honor to realize that CC-Link Family

and the activity of CC-Link Partner Association aresupporting the business of Maruti Suzuki. Thank youvery much for sharing it with us today.

7CLPA Office Locations
CLPA - Japan（Head Office）

6F Ozone-front Building,
3-15-58, Ozone, Kita-ku,
Nagoya 462-0825, Japan
Phone : +81-52-919-1588 Fax : +81-52-916-8655
E-mail : info@cc-link.org
URL : http://www.cc-link.org

CLPA - Americas

500 Corporate Woods Parkway,
Vernon Hills, IL, 60061, U.S.A.
Phone : +1-847-478-2341 Fax : +1-847-876-6611
E-mail : info@cclinkamerica.org
URL : http://www.cclinkamerica.org

CLPA - Europe（Germany）

Postfach 10 12 1740832 Ratingen Germany
Phone : +49-2102-486-1750 Fax : +49-2102-532-9740
E-mail : partners@clpa-europe.com
URL : http://www.clpa-europe.com

CLPA - Europe（U.K. Office）

CLPA - Korea

2F, 1480-6, Gayang-Dong,
Gangseo-Gu, Seoul, 157-202, Korea
Phone : +82-2-3663-6178 Fax : +82-2-3663-0475
E-mail : clpakor@meak.co.kr
URL : http://www.cc-link.or.kr/

CLPA - China

Office in Tongji University : School of Electronics and Information
Engineering, Jiading Campus, Tongji University,
4800 Cao'an Highway, Shanghai, P.R. China
Office in Downtown : 19F No.1386, Hongqiao Road, Shanghai, China
Phone : +86-21-64940523
Fax : +86-21-64940525
E-mail : mail1@cc-link.org.cn
URL : http://www.cc-link.org.cn/

CLPA - Taiwan

6th FI, No.105, Wu Kung 3rd. Rd., Wu-Ku Hsiang, Taipei, Taiwan
Phone : +886-2-8990-1573 Fax : +886-2-8990-1572
E-mail : cclink01@ms63.hinet.net
URL : http://www.cc-link.org.tw/

Travellers Lane, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, AL10 8XB U.K.
（P.O. Box 50, Hatfield, AL10 8XB U.K.）
Phone : +44-1707-278953 Fax : +49-2102-532-9740
E-mail : partners@clpa-europe.com
URL : http://www.clpa-europe.com

CLPC - ASEAN（Singapore）

CLPA-Turkey

CLPA - India

Serifali Mahallesi Nutuk Sokak.No:5 34775
Umraniye-istanbul /Turkey
Phone : +90-216-526-39-90 Fax : +90-216-526-39-95
E-mail : partners@clpa-europe.com
URL : http://www.clpa-europe.com

307 Alexandra Road #05-01/02,
Mitsubishi Electric Bldg., Singapore 159943
Phone : +656-470-2480 Fax : +656-476-7439
E-mail : cclink@asia.meap.com
2nd Floor, Tower A & B, Cyber Greens, DLF Cyber City,DLF Phase-III, Gurgaon-122002 Haryana, India
Phone : +91-124-4630300
E-mail : clpa@mei-india.com

Copyright ⓒ 2014 Nikkei Business Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.