Empowering Tomorrow: ICEMA 2nd CE Manufacturing & Supply Chain Summit

CE industry provides platform to facilitate supplier collaborations for enhanced localisation

“The impact of the Construction Equipment industry, as it facilitates infrastructure development in the country, is much more than what the industry numbers show,” said Vinod Sharma, Member Executive Committee – ELCINA (Electronic Industries Association of India) and Managing Director – Deki Electronics Ltd, during his Special Address at the 2nd CE Manufacturing and Supply Chain Summit organized by the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) – an affiliated body of CII, in New Delhi, last month. Sharma further elaborated upon the journey of the Electronics sector, with learnings for the CE industry, as well as on the scope for synergies between the two sectors as Construction Equipment manufacturing moves into a tech-enabled, automated future growth path.

The CE Manufacturing and Supply Chain Summit, with the theme “Towards Making CE Manufacturing Future-Ready’, was organised as a platform for CE industry stakeholders, policymakers and other thought leaders to deliberate upon the topics relevant to creating a thriving, future-ready manufacturing sector in the country, underpinned by a robust supply chain. The Summit, which was well-attended by representatives of stakeholders including government body representatives, OEMs, component manufacturers, academic and research institutions, and end-users of Construction Equipment, hosted discussions on critical topics pertaining to the future of CE manufacturing, namely, Technology and People led transformation; Modern, Agile and Sustainable Equipment; and a Strong and Resilient Supply Chain as the Mantra for going Local to Global.

Construction Equipment (CE), which accounts for approximately 20–30% of the investment in a typical infrastructure project, is a critical enabler of the infrastructure sector which helps connect the remotest corners of the country, bringing them into the mainstream of economic growth. The CE Vision Plan 2030, which targets a 14% CAGR to triple the industry’s market size from its current USD 8.5 billion to 25 billion, and its global ranking from third to second by the end of the decade, hinges critically upon the ability of CE manufacturing to meet future demand in terms of both, quantities and the evolving requirements for new-age machines with advanced technologies and a strong component of environmental responsibility.

Commenting upon the importance of adopting advanced technologies holistically, in the context of making the CE supply chain resilient and robust, as well as with regard to emerging as a global CE manufacturing hub, V. Vivekanand, President ICEMA and Managing Director, Caterpillar India said, “A vibrant CE manufacturing sector is not only about building capacity, but also capability as we need to become globally competitive to be able to emerge as truly resilient. For this we need to embrace technology holistically.” In this context Vivekanand alluded to the CE Technology Vision Roadmap 2035 recently released by ICEMA, which defines how the technologies driving the Construction Equipment industry will change between now and 2035.

The proceedings of the Summit also generated consensus on the criticality of creating a facilitative environment to strengthen MSMEs which manufacture around 90% of CE components, accompanied by incentives such as PLI scheme, which would go a long way towards bolstering the localization efforts of the industry.

“There is a strong imperative for strengthening MSMEs as well as for attracting FDIs into the industry to boost domestic manufacture, especially of high precision, high value components for which we are heavily import dependent currently. ICEMA has submitted a PLI proposal for the CE industry to the Government, which is now at an advanced stage of consideration”, said V. G. Sakthikumar, Convener, ICEMA Manufacturing & Supply Chain Panel, Treasurer ICEMA and CMD, Schwing Stetter India. in his welcome address at the Summit. “As the industry undergoes transformation to become future-ready, these initiatives will enable creation of a supportive ecosystem and a robust supply chain to propel the manufacturing sector on a high growth path,” he added.

The Summit featured a localisation zone to display CE components that have been identified for localisation by the industry. This feature provided CE manufacturers and suppliers an opportunity to evaluate the possibilities of collaborating with industry leaders for domestic manufacture of critical components that would strengthen the CE industry’s supply chain.

A Report on the CE industry, developed by ICEMA in collaboration with ICRA and Invest India was released during a Special Session at the Summit, along with the Purchasing Managers’ Index for CE industry developed by ICEMA.

In the course of the panel discussions subject experts from research institutes present at the Summit contributed insights on the need for industry-academia connect to encourage innovation and excellence in research, to come up with product offerings and manufacturing practices that can hold their own in terms of global quality standards. The panelists from OEMs shared information and opinions on their own experiences and expectation in technology adoption and collaboration with academia and research institutes.

The deliberations of the Summit further shed light upon the skilling initiatives for industry. Besides industry-specific programs and state-of-the-art training facilities, efforts are also underway to reorient the workforce to bridge differences of perspective across age groups as well as to induct more women for greater inclusivity. Attracting quality workforce into the sector also emerged as an urgent need to make the industry future-ready.

With regard to producing modern, agile and sustainable equipment to align with the expectations of future consumers as well as the global imperative for achieving carbon neutrality, Vivekanand emphasised the need to interoperability of equipment for smart jobsite solutions and said that the sustainability component needs to go beyond alternate fuels, to encompass a ‘cradle to grave’ approach, i.e., environmentally responsible choices from equipment design, right up to the recycling stage.

During the panel discussion on resilient supply chain for future growth of the CE industry, Supriya Devasthali, Director – Department for Promotion of Industries & Internal Trade, Government of India, shared the initiatives and future plans of the government for supporting the creation of a robust manufacturing ecosystem for Construction Equipment by supporting MSMEs, incentivising domestic production of critical components and attracting investments into the sector.

“The Construction Equipment industry is one of the few industries with a forward looking Vision Plan, not only for growth but also for technology adoption,” said Jaswinder Singh Bakshi, Vice President- ICEMA and Senior Vice President - Tata Capital Financial Services, as he delivered the Vote of Thanks in the Opening Session of the Summit. Expressing his confidence in the ability of the Indian CE industry to become number one globally, as envisaged by the Minister, MoRTH, Nitin Gadkari, Bakshi added, “ICEMA has also been working proactively to provide financing solutions for Construction Equipment manufacturers as part of the endeavour to catalyse a conducive environment to boost CE manufacturing and a resilient supply chain for the industry”.

The 2nd CE Manufacturing and Supply Chain Summit provided a platform for deliberations and discussions on making the CE manufacturing processes as well as product offerings future–ready and facilitated stakeholder consultations and collaborations for synergetic growth of the Indian CE industry.