'Make in India' seem to have given a boost to the Indian manufacturing industry. How do you view it?
I believe that the ‘Make in India' initiative by the Government is a necessary move to prop up India's image and invite diverse participants for transforming India into the next global manufacturing hub. Key initiatives like opening up of the defence and aerospace sectors as part of this initiative is a welcome signal for investors to participate in the growth and development of our nation. While the emphasis has been on import substitution and boosting exports, I feel India has a very large internal economy that requires attention. Businesses can compete in the Indian market only if they meet global productivity standards which in turn require manufacturing technologies that cannot be managed by less skilled labour. This will force companies to look differently at their current operating models that are designed to run with high manual contract labour.
Your crankshaft business has not delivered as per expectations. What are you doing to rectify the situation?
Our crankshaft business has not ramped up as per plan as the commercial vehicle industry had gone into a slump when we invested in this business. However, it is showing signs of revival and we see better utilisation of our capacities this year. Already the better than average monsoons has improved offtake of tractors and we should see a trickle effect on commercial vehicles very soon. We had focused on a lean manufacturing process to stay competitive last year and the wait seems to be coming to an end.
After lighting, polymers is the second largest business vertical for the Group. What are your plans to further grow it?
The polymer business is unique in the sense that we have to be located close to the customer. We have added 5 state-of-theart manufacturing facilities including paint shops in the past 5 years to support our customers all over India. This year we have commissioned our plant in Gujarat for supplying to the leading scooter maker in India and are currently in the process of commissioning another plant in Chakan. We have ventured into mirrors for commercial vehicle and are in advanced development stages for launching these to a global HCV maker. Discussions are also in progress for complete instrument panels for passenger cars, which is our next target product for this market.
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