Harley-Davidson X440 factory visit: Hero’s Garden Factory

Harley-Davidson partnered with two-wheeler giant Hero MotoCorp to start a new chapter in India. The X440 became the fruit of their combined efforts and was unveiled to the world mid last year. Since then, Harley-Davidson has been rather tight-lipped about its future plans for India and there is surely a lot resting on the shoulders of this locally made machine. To shed some more light on its product, Harley-Davidson invited us to Hero MotorCorp’s Neemrana Plant, where the X440 is built.

Inaugurated in 2014, the Neemrana plant follows the principle of sustainable development and has thus been named ‘Garden Factory’. The Neemrana plant has a production capacity of 7.50 lakh units per year. Located in northeastern Rajasthan, the Neemrana plant is spread over 47 acres and must withstand extreme heat and humidity. To battle the weather and keep up production, the Garden Factory is equipped with state-of-the-art machinery to bring it one step closer to nature. For starters, the plant relies heavily on renewable energy like solar. The plant also incorporates what Hero calls ‘Big Foot’, a ductless air conditioning system that regulates temperature and ensures a balance of oxygen and CO2 across the entire shop floor. The system also maintains humidity levels and creates positive pressure to keep the shop floor dust-free.

Some of the food for the workers is grown within the factory inside its very own greenhouse. Located on the rooftop, the greenhouses take care of all the vegetable production and by using technologies like hydroponics, the usage of water is only 2-3 percent compared to conventional farming methods. Hero has also installed 20 green walls with more than 60,000 plants to further enhance oxygen production.

The plant currently produces the Harley-Davidson X440 and the Hero Splendor, which is an unusual pairing – one of Hero’s most affordable bikes as well as their most expensive one. The company says about 250 Harleys are made per day while that number jumps to about 2,000 units for the 100cc machines.

The plant uses an Automatic Storage and Retrieval System, also known as ASRS, to store all of these motorcycles. It is a fully automated machine with a multi-story rack system that can stack and retrieve any specific motorcycle using its designated barcode & RFID system. The plant also boasts of being fully automated, and no role is limited to either gender. Thanks to this, Harley-Davidson boasts 20-30 percent gender diversity across its plants.

The Neemrana plant will complete ten years of operation by the end of this year. Harley-Davidson also hinted at expansion plans as demand for the X440 will increase. However, the company didn’t comment on any other upcoming products or plans for expansion in other areas.

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