12th VDMA Mechanical Engineering Summit Sheds Light on India’s Industrial Evolution

The annual flagship event of VDMA India, 12th VDMA Mechanical Engineering Summit held on October 13, 2023, marked a significant milestone for the industry. Held at The Taj Yeshwanthpur, Bangalore, this event gathered over 320 participants from 21 cities of India and Germany. Distinguished guests, including Government officials and industry leaders, lit the ceremonial lamp to inaugurate the summit. The event covered a wide spectrum of topics, from economic growth to Industry 4.0, reflecting the changing landscape of India’s mechanical engineering sector.

Summit Inauguration and Key Guests

The summit commenced with the Lighting of the Lamp by Hon’ble Special Guests MB Patil, Minister for Large & Medium Industries and Infrastructure, Government of Karnataka; Achim Bukart, Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bangalore; Dr S Selvakumar, Principal Secretary, Industry & Commerce and Public Works, Government of Karnataka; and Karl Haeusgen, President, VDMA, along with Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India.

VDMA India’s Perspective

Nath spoke about the Indian Space Policy 2023 and how it is a clear step forward towards India’s engagement in the realm of New Space. He mentioned the Government’s vision to enable private enterprises to undertake comprehensive activities spanning the space spectrum. He spoke about the G20 Presidency, which is another landmark for India, and how India has zoomed from being the 10th largest economy to the 5th largest economy. He elaborated how India aims to have 500 gigawatts of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030 and has set aggressive targets of Electric Vehicles (EV) sales penetration to reach the commitment of zero-emission by 2070. He emphasized that India’s economic growth would continue to be the fastest-growing major economy in a world that has been slowing down. Nath mentioned the strong links between Bangalore and Germany. He also highlighted the several initiatives VDMA has successfully organized like the Bangladesh delegation visit, The medical technology seminar, EMO roadshows, Smart Manufacturing seminars along with several Symposiums and CEO Roundtables.

Government of Karnataka’s Vision

At the inaugural, the Chief Guest, M B Patil, Minister for Large and Medium Industries, Government of Karnataka spoke on Karnataka for being an Industrial Hub and how it is the top state for investment and for companies to set up production and operate with ease. He highlighted the strong Indo-German relationship in Bangalore more importantly provided the reasons why Karnataka is one of India’s successful and thriving States for companies, especially German companies to operate, new businesses to flourish, and a magnet for investment to flow in.

He stressed how the New Industrial Policy builds on the strengths of Karnataka’s industry and enables it to fulfill its role as the engine of growth and shoulder the responsibility of adding more technological value and employment. He highlighted how the policy would benefit German companies and strengthen Indo-German trade. He mentioned the presence of 200 German companies in the state and that Karnataka and Germany have had a strong industrial partnership with the state for a long time. He concluded his address by stating that the Karnataka government aims to grow its manufacturing sector and wants to be at the forefront of the same.

Indo-German Relations

Achim Burkart, Consul General, Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Bangalore graced the occasion with his presence and spoke on the Indo-German relations: Prospective Business Synergies & Government Support and mentioned that Indo-German relations are in a great position and Germany is India’s biggest trading partner in the European Union.

He highlighted the bilateral trade between India and Germany and how this union benefits both the countries deeply and shared his views on India’s current economic scenario and why it pushes German companies to choose India as a corporate destination.

Progress in Karnataka’s Manufacturing Sector

Dr Selvakumar highlighted the many steps that are taken by the Government to improve businesses in India and mentioned that Karnataka offers a wide range of fiscal and policy incentives for businesses under the Karnataka Industrial Policy 2020-25, with simplified procedures for investment. He emphasized the strong trade between India and Germany and spoke about the partnership between Karnataka and Germany on Solar panels.

Geo-Political Impact

President of VDMA delivered a special address on ‘Geo-political impact on the Mechanical Engineering Industry’. Haeusgen provided valuable insights on how Germany has changed its view on India as a trade destination. He also spoke about the various activities that Europe has launched in order to diversify trade and explained why this is a good sign for India as there is good growth for Indian deliverables in Germany and both countries are benefiting hugely from this bilateral trade.

India’s Path to Sustainable Growth

Rahul Bhandurge, Vice President , Business Development, BDB India Pvt Ltd compared India’s 2014 – Nominal GDP with the 2022 – Nominal GDP to show the transition in Global Positioning. He spoke about the global economic trends which position uniquely for new investments. He explained the Growing Green Hydrogen Field and how companies can participate in it.

Mergers & Acquisitions Focus and Opportunities

Rahul Oza, Partner, Director, and Anand Khetan, Partner, Head – Indirect Taxes, Roedl & Partner Consulting Pvt Ltd spoke on the topic ‘Ready – Steady – GROW’, ‘Excel your growth through M&A’. They spoke about India’s US$ 3.5 trillion economy and its growth opportunities and the deal flow into India and Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) activity in India (2016-2021) as well as M&A activity to India with investments from Western Europe

India’s March Towards a US$ 10 Trillion Economy

Saugata Bhattacharya, Executive Vice President and Chief Economist, AXIS Bank Ltd spoke on ‘India’s resilient march towards a US$ 10 trillion Economy’. He spoke about the largest economies in the world and compared India’s and China’s per capita income and its growth. He explained the proximity of India’s and Germany’s relationships and their economic activities. He explained that the Rupee against the Dollar has stayed stable which is a good sign for investors looking to invest in India. He presented a medium-term look of what India’s economy might look like and stated that one of the key areas that has increased in Government Capex is electricity.

Digital Technologies & Manufacturing

Venkatesh VR, General Manager – Digital Advisory and Consulting services from Bosch Global Software Technologies, spoke on ‘Reimagining Manufacturing Operations: Digital Technologies Enabling Remote Machine Monitoring and Lights–out factory’. He provided insights to navigate Industry 4.0 and emphasized how identifying and focusing on right value levers, enhances RoI up to 55 percent by implementing Industry 4.0 in shopfloors.

Tamil Nadu’s Investment Potential

R Pradeep, Associate Vice President, Guidance spoke on the topic ‘Manufacturing Eco-system and Investment Potential for Tamil Nadu’. He elucidated on Tamil Nadu’s strengths and gave an insight into the state’s industrial economy. He gave an overview of the Heavy engineering sector in Tamil Nadu as well as the infrastructure, connectivity, and the industrial ecosystem of Tamil Nadu.

The Future of Organizations

A report titled ‘The future of organizations: How Shopfloors and Offices are changing in India’ was released at the Summit, which covered key aspects like prioritizing value added services by organizations, embracing sustainable manufacturing, modernization of shop floors, the need for specialized skills on data, and process optimization.

These are the challenges faced mainly in the manufacturing sector. In order to overcome it, and for the overall growth of the organization, it is important that the companies before recruitment should strike a clear balance between efficiency and effectiveness. The key takeaways from the report were: the future rests on how the companies combine strategy, structure, and culture in bringing out the best in the workforce which will also lead to building competency and empowerment of the workforce.

Evolving Technologies in Manufacturing

The event was filled with Technical Sessions addressed by representatives from FESTO, SIEMENS and LAPP on contemporary topics such as ‘Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning with Pneumatics Automation’, ‘Tech Catalysts for Industry 4.0 in India’ and ‘The Importance of Environmental Awareness to Sustainable Manufacturing’ respectively.

Panel Discussion on Growth Factors

The interesting panel discussion, moderated by Nath focused on ‘Leveraging the 3 Ds (Demography, Demand & Digitalization) for Growth of the Manufacturing Sector’. The esteemed panelists were – Sunil Mathur, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Ltd; Sindhu Gangadharan, SVP & Managing Director, SAP Labs India; Satyakam Arya, Managing Director & CEO, Vehicles Pvt Ltd; Prashanth Doreswamy, President & CEO, Daimler India Commercial Continental India, Continental Automotive Components (India) Pvt Ltd; and Haeusgen.

VDMA Manufacturing Excellence Awards

VDMA’s 6th Manufacturing Excellence Awards in partnership with Rödl & Partner was the cynosure of the event. VDMA introduced a new category ‘Corporate Social Responsibility Award’ in this edition. There were two companies in each category, who were given awards out of the total of 38 nominations received for all the categories.

The winners in the Corporate Social Responsibility Award for the Large Category were LAPP India Pvt Ltd and Continental Automotive Components (India) Pvt Ltd was the runner-up in this category. In the Medium category the winner was ARGO-HYTOS Pvt Ltd, and runners up was Walter Tools India Pvt Ltd.

In the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Award the winner in the large category was Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd and the runner-up was Freudenberg NOK Pvt Ltd. In the Medium category the winner was WAGO Pvt Ltd and the runner-up was ARGO-HYTOS Pvt Ltd.

In the Work Condition and Work Safety Award, the large Category award winner was Skoda Auto Volkswagen India Pvt Ltd, and the runner up was Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd. For the Medium category, the winner was WAGO Pvt Ltd, and the runner up was R. Stahl Pvt Ltd.

Image Source: VDMA India