Making Progress Together

The 11th VDMA Mechanical Engineering Summit, VDMA India's annual flagship event, was held on September 16, 2022 at The Ritz Carlton, Pune, with over 320 participants from 21 cities in India and Germany in attendance.

The summit began with the lighting of the lamp by distinguished guests, including Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India. He spoke about how the Ukraine-Russia conflict has disrupted global supply chains and slowed global economies, as well as how India’s economy has grown despite global inflation.

Banding together

The ‘Chief Guest’ Address was given by Achim Fabig, Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mumbai, on ‘Indo-German Relations: Prospective Business Synergies & Government Support’. He stated that Indo-German relations are strong and that Germany is India’s biggest trading partner in the European Union (EU), and he emphasized the importance of the environment and green industries, as well as the collaborative effort required to meet each country’s environmental goals. He also discussed the Ukraine-Russia conflict, China’s zero-covid policy, and global challenges for manufacturing companies and many countries’ economies, and said that India will play a key role in improving these conditions and Indo-German relations will grow.

This was followed by a special address on ‘Maharashtra: The Industrial Hub of India’ Dr P Anbalagan, IAS, CEO, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. Dr Anbalagan focused on Maharashtra as an Industrial Hub and how it is the best state for investment and company setup and operation. He showed how and why Maharashtra is one of India's most successful states for companies, new businesses, and investment. He explained how the Maharashtra Government and Industrial Development Corporation ensure that each district has power, government support, and all the necessary commodities for industries to operate.

Indian Auto Industry and Global Economy

During the inaugural session of the 11th VDMA Mechanical Engineering Summit, dignitaries on stage released the Summit Special issue. This issue contained information about the Summit’s partners.

The ‘Guest of Honour’, Rajesh Khatri, Vice President Operations, Passenger Vehicles, Tata Motors, delivered a special address on the ‘Changing Ecosystem in Automotive Industry in India’. Khatri addressed India’s automotive industry, noting that the global automotive market is expected to grow at a 5 percent CAGR and that the sector accounts for 7.1 percent of GDP, 35 million jobs, and 4.7 percent of exports. He expects 25-30 percent EV penetration in India by 2030.

Oliver Wack, Director (India and East Asia), VDMA Foreign Trade, Germany address on ‘Impact of disruptive development on Europe and the global economy’ gave an in-depth overview of the current global market challenges, supply chain bottlenecks, and how the world is recovering from years of unprecedented difficulties. He also lauded the efforts of the Indian government and the European Union to relaunch discussions on the Free Trade Agreement.

Logistics and material handling

During the inaugural session, BDB India released a knowledge paper titled ‘Logistics, Warehousing and Material Handling industry highlighting supply chain features’. This was followed by a talk on the contents of the knowledge paper by Rahul Bhandurge, Vice President - Business Development, BDB India Pvt Ltd, as well as an emphasis on the growth of Indian storage and logistics as an industry, particularly in the last decade as a direct result of the boom in e-commerce and online retail marketing in India.

Whistleblower Protection Act

Archita Sarkar, Associate Partner, Team Lead Bangalore, and Gaurav Jain, Senior Associate, Team Lead Bangalore, Roedl & Partner Consulting Pvt Ltd gave the first presentation in Technical Session 1 on ‘Be ready before the Whistle blows’. The presentation centred on the Whistleblower Protection Act of 2014, which was enacted in the aftermath of the (in)famous case of Shanmughan Manjunath, an Indian Oil Corporation officer who was murdered after sealing a petrol pump selling adulterated fuel.

Investment potential in Tamil Nadu

Next, Ambrin, Vice President, Economic Analysis and Policy, Guidance Tamil Nadu, gave the presentation on ‘Manufacturing Ecosystem and Investment Potential in Tamil Nadu’. Guidance Tamil Nadu is the Government of Tamil Nadu’s investment promotion agency, established to reach out to prospective investors and persuade them to invest in the state of Tamil Nadu. She discussed Tamil Nadu as a key state in the Indian manufacturing sector, as well as an ideal location for investment and the establishment of factories and manufacturing units. With over 40 electric vehicle (EV) companies in the state, it is also known as the ‘EV Capital of India’, and it will be the first state to have a proposed Defence Industrial Corridor.

Industry 4.0 technologies

Nikhil Kulkarni, Head, Automation & Industry 4.0, Siemens Advanta Development, Siemens Technology & Services Private Limited, delivered the final presentation of the first technical session on ‘Industry 4.0 Technologies Driving Future of Manufacturing’. He emphasized the significance of Industry 4.0 and the digitalization of the entire manufacturing process, as well as how Siemens Advanta Development is a pioneer in industrial revolutions.

Hiring in manufacturing sector

The second half of the 11th VDMA Mechanical Engineering Summit began with Nath and Maier + Vidorno Altios releasing their report on ‘Great Resignation within Engineering Sector: how to hire right’. Following that, Deepmala Dutta, HR Consultant for Maier + Vidorno, shared an in-depth explanation of the preceding report, which covered various aspects such as the difficulties in hiring the right people, particularly in the Manufacturing sector; how attrition affects organizations in general; and the importance of skill development, which leads to overall organizational growth.

New-age manufacturing

In Technical Session II, top companies such as Carl Zeiss, Festo, and Schaeffler gave a new perspective on how manufacturing has evolved.

Aveen Padmaprabha, Business Head, Industrial Quality Solution, and Manoj Sundaram, Head - Business Development, both from Carl Zeiss, gave the first presentation. They provided an overview of the journey of the 175-year-old organization that is the global leader in measurement. The presentation also discussed semiconductor manufacturing technology, which is the foundation of integrated chips that allow objects and systems to communicate with one another.

The next presentation was given by Ashwin Vanikar, Head of Application Engineering & Business Region-India at Festo India Pvt Ltd, on ‘Automation - A Disruptive Role in Transforming the World of Manufacturing’. During the presentation, Vanikar mentioned that disruptive manufacturing technologies include the rapid increase in the number and capability of robots in the factory and workplace; industrial use of 3D printing; virtual reality moving from the gaming industry to the factory floor; artificial intelligence at all levels; and, not least, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

As the Technical Session II’s final speaker, SR Puttalingaiah, Head Life Time Solutions, Schaeffler India Ltd discussed ‘Transitioning from preventive maintenance to predictive maintenance’. Predictive maintenance is preferred over preventive maintenance for critical assets, according to Puttalingaiah, but proper application of advanced analytics is required to realize full value.

Future of Green Manufacturing

The Panel Discussion on ‘Green Manufacturing -The Way Forward for India’ was kicked off by Nath. Anshum Jain, Chief Operating Officer, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles; Vyankatesh Kulkarni, Executive Director-Operations, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd; Vivek Bhatia, Managing Director & CEO, Thyssenkrupp Industries Ltd; and Klaus Maier, Managing Director, Voith Turbo Pvt Ltd were among the distinguished panelists.

Green Manufacturing, according to Jain, is a method of evaluating and improving the manufacturing process. It is based on Lean manufacturing principles and offers a dynamic, proven, and successful approach to going Green. As per Bhatia, Green manufacturing entails three steps: (1) using Green energy; (2) developing and selling Green products; and (3) incorporating Green processes into business operations. Kulkarni indicated that Mercedes-Benz India takes Green manufacturing seriously and has taken several steps in that direction. However, these benefits require a long-term commitment, and making tradeoffs against short-term goals will not help. Furthermore, the economics of Green manufacturing are still evolving, so communicating with employees at all levels is critical.

Maier asserted that successful Green manufacturing implementation necessitates going beyond small standalone initiatives and implementing an integrated three-step framework: (a) planning for Green as a core part of business strategy; (b) executing Green initiatives across the value chain by shifting toward Green energy, Green products, and Green processes; and (c) communicating and promoting Green initiatives and their benefits to all stakeholders.

Nath concluded that Green manufacturing in India is just getting started. While there has been significant policy development and adoption by the manufacturing industry in the area of Green energy, there is still significant room for policy development and adoption in the areas of Green products and Green processes. A successful transition to Green manufacturing will provide enormous benefits to the nation and the business community, both tangible and intangible.

The panel discussion concluded with the customary ‘Rapid Fire Round’, which was followed by two start-up pitches from Cheesecake Energy and ProGlove, represented by Mike Simpson, Chief Commercial & Product Officer, Cheesecake Energy, and Rohan Wagh, Manager Strategic Initiatives, ProGlove, respectively.

Manufacturing Excellence Awards

The panel discussion was followed by the VDMA’s 5th Manufacturing Excellence Awards, presented in partnership with Rödl & Partner. The awards were given out in two categories: ‘Work Condition & Work Safety’ and ‘Energy Efficiency & Conservation’, with a maximum of two companies awarded in each. A total of 38 nominations were received for both categories.

In the ‘Work Condition and Work Safety Award’ the winner in the ‘Large’ category was Freudenberg-NOK Pvt Ltd, with two runners-up: Emerson Automation Solutions-Fluid Control & Pneumatics and KROHNE MARSHALL Pvt Ltd. Micro Precision Products Pvt Ltd - A WIKA Co won the ‘Medium’ category, with R. STAHL Pvt Ltd coming in second.

The winners in the ‘Energy Efficiency and Conservation Award’ for the ‘Large’ category were Continental Automotive Components Pvt Ltd and LAPP India Pvt Ltd as the runner-up. In the ‘Medium’ category the winner was Micro Precision Products Pvt Ltd – A WIKA Co., with Bucher Hydraulics coming in second.

Image Source: VDMA India