BALAJI A

• Managed tire compound development projects for 2-wheeler,3-wheeler & LCV tyres ensuring compliance with OEM and marketing specifications
• Designed and created innovative rubber compounds for various tire applications, including scooters, motorcycles, and 3-wheeler segments, ensuring optimum performance in terms of rolling resistance, wet and dry grip, and overall tire life
• Expertise in handling various polymer elastomer materials such as NR, BR, ESBR and SSBR. Proficient in using fillers like carbon blacks and silica along with performance additives including resins, antioxidants and curatives.
• Proficient in conducting various rubber testing methods such as Mooney, MDR, RPA, tensile tests, hardness tests, DIN abrasion tests, rebound tests, Doli Heat flexometer tests, Demattia flex to crack tests, ozone tests and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) tests.
• Utilized TGA, FTIR, and DSC methods for material analysis
• Benchmarked and enhanced product performance to maintain competitiveness in the market.
• Execute projects in compound development with sustainable/recycled materials to achieve a reduced carbon footprint.
• Developed Valued engineered & cost optimized compounds for product.
• Knowledge and experience in polymer processing such as Extrusion ,Calendaring & compression moulding etc

Achievements:

• Developed new compounds for low rolling resistance, contributing to a 40% reduction in rolling resistance for scooters and commuter motorcycles, leading to a 10-15% improvement in fuel efficiency
• Conducted Design of Experiments (DOE) to optimize existing compounds, resulting in a cost saving of 30 crores per annum
• Successfully developed performance compounds for higher-performance vehicles, gaining approval from top OEMs
• Engineered next-gen compounds for various 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler segments, delivering 20-25% improved tire life and enhanced performance

Collaboration and Stakeholder Management:

• Collaborate with cross-departmental stakeholders to ensure project completion within designated timeframes

Plant Operations and Quality Assurance:

• Led the industrialization of compounds across 5 plants, providing specifications and characteristics for smooth production processes without compromising product quality
• Employed the 8D problem-solving technique to resolve plant processing and finished product issues and quality accidents

Failure Analysis and Preventive Measures:

• Analyzed field return tyre and defect tyre from OEM by identifying root causes of failures, and providing solutions to prevent or reduce tire failures in the field by using FMEA.