Industrial Automation Magazine India

The MSMEs in India are contributing a lot to the industrial equipment sector

Published on : Tuesday 30-11--0001

Which among the three focus segments – automotive, industrial equipment and aerospace – is getting the most traction?

I would say all three – globally as also in India we are very strong in aerospace and defence, and automotive, because that is where most of these technologies and innovations started happening, but we also see a lot of traction in industrial equipment now.

Aerospace and automotive, fine. But what are the specific opportunities in industrial equipment sector?

The MSMEs in India are contributing a lot to the industrial equipment sector – the big machinery that is built in huge quantities is one, also the big push in construction segment – earth moving equipment, compressors, cranes, etc., is contributing a lot to the growth in this sector. Apart from that, equipment and machinery for the process industries, power generation and other equipment also contributes a lot. The opportunities are huge.

Does ‘jugaad’ and frugal engineering also figure in this?

As someone associated with the industry for close to 25 years, Indians did start with frugal engineering and that’s where quite a lot of innovation came through. But then we saw, in the automotive industry in particular, that at times frugal engineering led to quality issues, so enterprises are moving a little away from frugal engineering; well they still abide by the concept, but with further innovation and taking the design route to the next stage for better quality. Let’s say it is being quality conscious rather than cost conscious, and that is where this 3DEXPERIENCE on Wheels – Connected Value Network comes in, which will help MSMEs move from Value Chain to Value Network, with business transformation through partners, people, process and technology.

This concept of Create in India rather than Make in India – is this now gaining ground?

It is certainly gaining ground, and the reason I am saying this is because of the large number of startups today who are not shy of making investments. The other reason is their ability to innovate and adapt the technology they have, which is really good. The third reason and another positive is the eagerness today of a section of the students to join startups, rather than having a cushy job with some large company. This is a welcome change, this coming out of comfort zones.

Talking of students, Dassault Systèmes has a strong academic connect. How’s the 3DEXPERIENCE on Wheels going to help here?

Well, the 3DEXPERIENCE on Wheels is also open to educational institutions during the tour and we plan to connect many more colleges in Tier 2 and 3 cities during the campaign.