The automotive industry is innovating at a blistering pace, through well-controlled and cost effective manufacturing processes focused on sustainable and environmentally friendly practices !

Amar Bajwa, our next pathbreaker, Assistant Manager at Jvr Forgings Ltd, works on engineering design of products that are supplied to major tractor manufacturers like Sonalika, Eicher, Swaraj.

Amar talks to Shyam Krishnamurthy from The Interview Portal about his fascination for cars and making a career in the world of automotive quality control and manufacturing.

For students, try to identify your career path early on even if it isn’t very clear. Don’t go for a field just because someone told you to choose a field which has more success. Just follow your interests. 

Amar,  Your background?

Hi, first of all thanks for this interesting interview. I am Amarpeet Singh, and from a town which is known as the steel town of Asia named Mandi Gobindgarh. I am from a nuclear family. Father , mother and my one brother are in our family. We grew up seeing our father’s hard work. He is a farmer by profession, which is a very hard profession, but he tried his best to give us the best education and lifestyle.

I studied in a government school. I was quite good in studies and the all time favourite of my teachers. 

Hahahaha!, I am not blowing my own trumpet but that was God’s blessing. 

School time was a really fun time as well as a turning point for my future goals. In my 10th standard, I was very enthusiastic about cars, and started thinking about making my career in it.

During this period I took part in many curriculum activities like NCC, Sports as well as cultural functions. In sports, though I participated in all kinds of games, Tennis was my main game in which I played till State level.

What did you study?

During matriculation, I was just as confused as most of the students are, because we have to choose something new, something different which is important for our future goals as well as lifestyle.

When I completed my matriculation, I started looking for further studies. At that time, pursuing a Diploma was very well regarded and I also started studying about it and started preparing for the JET (Joint Entrance Test) May 2008. I attended this test and got a very good rank in it. Next, I had to choose a field for my diploma. As I said earlier, I was fond of cars so in July 2008, I chose Automobile Engineering. The 3-year diploma was the turning point of my career. But actually my professional journey changed my career path.

How did you end up in such an unconventional and rare career?

After completing my diploma, the next hurdle was to get a job in a field that I wanted to. But I didn’t get a particular job as I had thought.

After a long wait, I started my career in an Automotive Component manufacturing company.

As a DET (Diploma Engineer Trainee), when I joined my first company, I began my career in the quality department where I learnt about various quality inspection methods which played a very important role in my career.

As soon as I started learning about the quality system, the Quality Head promoted me as Assistant Management Representative of the company. Hence, I moved from Quality to Quality System Department. After a year of working in this department, there was another turning point in my career and growth path. 

In 2015, our engineering team required a candidate who could take responsibility for their documents related duties, and the Engineering Head selected me for this task.

I never thought about that. Also, I was not aware about the various Engineering software which are used for 2D and 3D work. But, my engineering head was confident about my abilities and helped me a lot to learn about them.

Very soon I took all the responsibility of all the engineering work.

Can you talk about your career path?

My professional career started in 2011, everything was going fine. 

After completing my diploma, i joined as DET in the company. Modern Automotives Ltd., a very well known company in my town. They manufacture auto parts for major OEM’s e.g. Honda 2W, Yamaha, TVS Motors. Modern Automotives has 5 units in total with facilities like Hot Forging, Heat Treatment, Machining and Assembly shops. 

The major duty of the quality team is to detect defective parts and control the outflow of these defective parts to the customer.

I was deputed at the final inspection area where the last and final inspection is done before packing of material. So, that last section is very important in order to stop the outflow of bad products. 

I later transferred to the engineering department which is the core area of an organization where all kind of mechanical, commercial and analytical data is studied. After the marketing team, the engineering department takes responsibility for each and every product in order to verify commercial and manufacturing feasibility. 

After studying the information which has been received from the customer in the form of drawings and 3d data, a feasibility report is submitted to marketing with a cost sheet of the product for discussion with the customer and finalization. If the customer gives the go ahead, then sample procurement and submission is taken over by the engineering team.

I was enhancing my skills, learning new things and working on projects. In 2019, the management decided to make changes in the engineering department. They decided to shift to the corporate office. Everything was smoothly completed. I was from the local area, and so they didn’t approach me to ask me to shift to their corporate office. Hence, I decided to take the next step of my career. In 2019, I left my first company and joined another to boost my career path and goal.

I then worked at Rudra Casting’s which specializes in a material processing method, Investment Casting. Hot Forging and Investment Casting both are different manufacturing method for production. 

Investment casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is poured into a ceramic mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify.

How did you get your first break?

I will say, it is my good luck that I have found my first job in a very short time. For this first job, I would like to say a word “REFERENCE”. A good reference in any company can open many doors of opportunities.

One of my friend’s brother was working there and he arranged my interview with HR. Luckily I succeeded it in first attempt and started my career.

The first step is always tougher, but when we take it then it becomes easy. It was not easy for me to take that move. New company, new area, new teammates, everything was new. Slowly, I got control over it.

What were some of the challenges you faced? How did you address them?

Challenges are a part of the journey. We can’t except any progress without them. 

After joining the quality department, there was nothing that was hard to learn. Though the instruments were new to me, I easily learnt to use them. But in engineering department, the different software were a challenge for me. I had never used them before and without them I knew I couldn’t fit in the department.

So my first challenge was to learn them as soon as possible. I would like to suggest to students to ask questions if they have any doubts.

Where do you work now? Can you tell us about your current role?

Currently, I am working in a Forging company, JVR Forgings Ltd., a group of Eastman Impex, situated in Ludhiana.  

As I mentioned earlier, the first issue is in tackling the new environment of he organization. Here, the team is very supportive and helps me a lot in understanding the company’s requirements.

The work environment is very easy and supportive for newcomers.

JVR Forgings Ltd. Is well known company in Dera Bassi which supplies products to major tractor manufacturers like Sonalika, Eicher, Swaraj. They have inhouse facilities like Hot Forging, Heat Treatment, Machining and Assembly lines. At JVR Forgings Ltd. , I joined in Engineering Department, and am involved in everything from cost estimation to sample development. My job starts with weight calculation using 3D software by making 3D models and submitting to the marketing team. After getting the go ahead for sample preparation, II start drawing, drafting as well as die modeling for sample procurement.

Drafting means making pre-form data based on which we can study and discuss the points regarding its feasibility. Drafting is basically used for preparation of drawings in the mechanical engineering field.  It is composed of drawings that visually communicate how something functions or is constructed.

New product range is another hard task to understand. As a designer, we have to make 3d models of products to check the complexity factor as well as other drafting and mass related parameters. So we have to understand the 2D drawing before making their corresponding 3D data.

How does your work benefit society?

It is hard to explain the benefits to the society, but I would like to say that Engineering is everywhere. In each and every work there is something which comes under engineering. 

The industry is changing at a very fast pace. The Automotive sector is working for better modes of transport that are environmentally healthy and safe. We, as manufacturing engineer help meet their expectations through well controlled and cost friendly product manufacturing practices. Though we cannot change the design of the product, we do share our thoughts on that particular product to enhance product life.

As per the experience which I have gained in my last decade, I would like to share some of my key points which play a very important role in a professional career.

  • Decide on your career path clearly during your study. Don’t go for the field just because someone told you to choose a field which has more success. Just follow your interests. 
  • Slow progress is the right progress. If you are not making progress then change the method not the target.
  • Beginning is from the bottom of your feet. So never underestimate the power of little things or basics of any work. Everything which is now a great story has started with a basic methodology. Whoever has cleared the basics never fails.

Future Plans?

From a professional point of view, my short term future goal is to get the department head position, where I can use my knowledge and skills for better positive results for an organization. For the long term, I would say that I want to own a business which will work as an outsourcing facility for local as well as international market requirements.