Efficiently engineered manufacturing with Industry 4.0

March 7, 2020 10:24 am

Government’s investment in infrastructure is a huge opportunity for Indian manufacturing, as it creates growth prospects for the machine tools and sheet metal sectors.

Talking about the current market outlook which is transforming with technological innovations, AV Srinivasan, CEO, Meiban Engineering Technologies Pvt. Ltd., foresees extensive positive growth prospects in the sheet metal and metal forming market in India.

What kind of products have you launched at IMTEX 2020?
IMTEX 2020 was really good for us, as we got a lot of customer footfall and business was good. This time, we launched a complete automatic loading-unloading solution for shipment along with our CNC punching machine, which is a product that we usually exhibit at the expo. So, we have exhibited automation solutions as well as Industry 4.0 solutions this time.

Under the banner of Industry 4.0, what kind of opportunities do you see coming in to improve the sector expansion?
Industry 4.0 is not so much about expansion as it is about a solution for customers to collect data to improve their efficiency and productivity, reduce their downtime, and increase the uptime of the equipment and so on. According to me, it is still in the early stage. But it’s good and must be adopted.

How are the present trends in the automotive industry affecting your business?
The present trends in the automotive industry are affecting our business to the extent that the domestic automotive component manufacturers are still reluctant to invest in machine tools. However, we are able to concentrate on companies that are into export business and are manufacturing certain high-technology products. But nevertheless, the market is certainly subdued right now.

A recent report by Fortune Business Insights™ estimates the global metal forming machine tools market size to reach $48.67 billion by 2026. How do you think Indian machine tool companies can contribute to this growth?
The government has announced an investment of more than ₹ 1 lakh crore in infrastructure for railways as well as metro, etc., and they are also putting a lot of efforts into these sectors. So, according to me, there is a huge opportunity for India in the sheet metal and metal forming sectors. These sectors will certainly grow in India, and the business outlook is positive.

What kind of technologies have you implemented in your products?
We provide a complete range of electric solutions, and we also use automation in server motors. So, these products are maintenance-free, their running cost is less, and also they are faster. Moreover, their accuracy levels are very high. Our range of electric solutions is also eco-friendly. All our machines have been certified as MF Eco machines in Japan. Moreover, we have adopted Industry 4.0 and a few other technologies, along with process net monitoring to enhance the efficiency of our products.

What are your market expectations for the next few years?
In the next three to five years, we want India to grow. We are positive about the next three years at least with regard to the country’s growth. We are training our employees and are also recruiting employees to some extent, as we do expect the market to grow especially this year.

AV Srinivasan, CEO, Meiban Engineering Technologies Pvt. Ltd.