Delhi Machine Tool Expo 2019 showcases the latest in manufacturing technology
The third edition of Delhi Machine Tool Expo (DMTX) 2019 was a big success. Organised by Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), the exhibition was held from August 08-11,2019 at the India Expo Centre and Mart, in Greater Noida. The B2B exhibition witnessed participation from over 150 exhibitors and attracted a footfall from an estimated 6,000 visitors and 49 trade delegations from across industry sectors including auto components, automobiles, capital goods, dye and mould, defence and aerospace among other sectors. Worth a special mention is the presence of delegates and visitors gathered from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities from the states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Punjab. Besides India, global companies from countries including Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan and the USA also demonstrated the latest in manufacturing technology, covering both metal cutting and metal forming.Sheet metal forming machines, CNC machines, and meteorology were among the prominent highlights at the expo. Averred Arvind Ganpat Sawant, Union Minister, Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, “I feel every manufacturing company should not only strengthen themselves but make sufficient profit to be in a position to generate employment. Further, their products should be globally competitive.” Citing the government’s concern to ensure industry welfare, Sawant drew attention to the income tax reduction by 25 per cent for companies with a turnover of less than 400 crores.
IMTMA expects to achieve a growth of 25-30 per cent in the machine tool segment during this financial year (FY2019-20). On the back of government policies deemed supportive, the apex body foresees the momentum to continue for a couple of more years. “For the next couple of years, the Indian market remains quite bullish as far as the metal sector is concerned,” opined Ramadas. Mentioned V. Anbu, Director General and CEO, IMTMA, “IMTMA organises regional expos to enable India’s regional industrial units to keep pace with the changing technologies. These shows help in addressing the numerous requirements of original equipment manufacturers and supply chain in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 cities. The Association is pleased with the outcome of the show.”
Making EVs a mass product
At the expo, there was a unanimous consensus that EVs are largely unaffordable due to battery cost. “The price of electric
vehicles is high due to the cost of batteries. We need to be free ourselves from the dependence on other countries in terms of sourcing the batteries,” opined P. Ramadas, President, IMTMA. Citing the creation of10 common machine tool development centres in the country, questioned Ramadas, “Why not take their help for designing and developing new machines?”“To be globally competitive, we need to have a joint venture in place. In our overpopulated country, technology should be used to generate more employment,” he added.
Manufacturing success
With the slowdown in the auto sector, the growth of the Indian machine tool industry took centre stage at the expo. Claimed to be growing at a steady pace according to Gaurav Sarup, Managing Director, Marshall Machines Ltd, he said, “The Indian machine tool industry is growing at a steady pace. Events and exhibitions like these provide a lucrative platform for industry stakeholders like us to interact with industry peers and strike a good deal for our future activities,” added Sarup. Echoing similar sentiments, Munish Gupta, Proprietor, Sai Enterprises mentioned that despite the current slowdown in the Indian auto industry, it was encouraging to see healthy participation from CNC machine manufacturers at the expo. Gupta also mentioned that having access to the latest technology was a key imperative for success in the Indian manufacturing sector. “As global companies look to source manufactured products from India, they expect the same level of technology and product development capability in India, international markets. We are akin toeagerly awaiting for the auto sector and allied industries to recover soon, as this global confidence needs to be reinstated,” he expressed. Stating that the industry is growing at an exponential rate and is presently estimated to be pegged at Rs. 6,000 crore, Kaushik Bhattacharjee, DGMAerospace & Medical, Makino
India Ltd, said that the machine tool manufacturers will need to develop capabilities to cater to the demand. He mentioned that the investments in this area could yield long-term benefits. “The industry has advanced significantly in hardware and software applications. The future includes automation of processes into the manufacturing and engineering sectors,” opined Bhattacharjee. “Reduced manual intervention in process control using machine tool control system and smart tooling would be the key to optimise cost, reduce scrap and improved machine utilisation,” he added.
The next demand cycle
Industry players were also of the opinion that the future demand cycle would stem from the big push in demand for machine tools in the capital goods industry and through the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives. “Apart from the automotive sector, there are the defence and aerospace industries that are expected to further drive demand for precision and technologically advanced machine tools like grinding and turning tools, and milling and drilling, in the coming years,” said Keshav Chand Sharma, Assistant Manager, Marketing, Micromatic Machine Tools Pvt Ltd. “The country has the opportunity to become a force to reckon with in machine tools manufacture, for both internal consumption and exports. This is bound to result in significant growth in high-end machine tools production,” he added.
The general positive sentiment among machine tool manufacturers was held responsible for the positive trends in the sector. “The Indian industry has seen a growing need for CNC-based machine tools to achieve the precision and quality required by these new segments of user demand. It is estimated that this will spur the growth of this industry in the next 4-5 years,” said Sukhdev Singh, Director, Hinds Hydraulics & Engineers. “Another satisfying feature is that intense competition amongst players has led to product differentiation on features, service
and pricing. All this has prompted manufacturers to invest in R&D and implement cutting-edge solutions that bring newer benefits to end-users, he added.
Smart Tech
Automation and smart technology have become the buzzwords. Going forward, the trend is expected to move towards machines being interfaced with automation systems and smart controls. Opined S K Saha, Vice President- Marketing, Electropneumatics & Hydraulics (India) Pvt Ltd, “Reduced manual intervention in process control using the machine tool control system and smart tooling will be the key to optimising costs, scrap reduction and improved machine utilisation.” Globally, many advanced manufacturing markets have adopted these technologies and the trend is set for the Indian machine tool industry to address the void and drive innovation in the said direction. Saha added that the improved quality, capabilities for machining high precision components, and improved productivity would be the key factors for the industry to stay ahead of competing markets like China.
The future
The machine tool industry is said to be increasingly betting big on high-quality products with better precision, to complete tasks in a shorter, span of time and to attain quick TATs. For instance, said Hanish Arora, Manager Sales, Northern Region, Marposs India Pvt Ltd., that due to the combination of combustion engines and electric motors, the degree of complexity is expected to still require high chip volumes. He spoke in favour of the industry needing specialisation of machine tools and having to integrate to the latest technology interfaces. Speaking about the trends currently impacting the machine tool market in India, Anoop Pandey, Assistant General Manager, MMC Hardmetal India Pvt Ltd, said, “The sentiment has been positive in most of the manufacturing sectors with the recent impetus from the government in line with the aspiration to make India a global manufacturing hub.” Pandey drew attention to the FDI infusion into various manufacturing sectors following the ‘Make in India’ policy initiative that the industry is banking on as an uptick in the sector going forward. The fourth edition of Delhi Machine Tool Expo will return to Delhi, in August 2021.