‘Make in India’ has turned the Indian market into a global playground for manufacturers and service providers from across the world.

Sanjay Koul, Managing Director, Timken

How do you see the government’s ‘Make in India’ program & mission motivating industry to participate in it? How is this helping the construction equipment and its allied sector to improve its technological status and competitiveness in the global market?

The Indian government has taken several measures to strengthen the ‘Make in India’ initiative including liberalizing guidelines and regulations to reduce unnecessary compliance burdens, bringing down costs, enhancing the ease of doing business in India and making amendments to existing laws.

Devised to transform India into a global design and manufacturing hub, ‘Make in India’ has become a timely response to a critical situation. By 2013, the much-hyped emerging markets bubble had burst, and India’s growth rate had fallen to its lowest level in a decade. ‘Make in India’ has proven to be a powerful, galvanizing call to action for Indian citizens and business leaders, as well as an invitation to potential partners and investors all around the world. In this regard, ‘Make in India’ represents a comprehensive and unprecedented overhaul of outdated processes and policies.

A major focus area for the ‘Make in India’ campaign is infrastructure development. Construction of roads, highways, bridges and other such projects has reached an all-time high, resulting in a steep rise in demand for construction equipment. This poses a great opportunity for equipment manufacturers as well as the allied industries. Ease of doing business also creates opportunities for global players to enter the Indian market and introduce technologies not previously available in the country. ‘Make in India’ has turned the Indian market into a global playground for manufacturers and service providers from across the world.

Foreseeing the government’s strong commitment and stable sentiments in the market, how do you evaluate your company’s growth in the coming years?

The government intends to solidify its ‘Make in India’ foundation to energize manufacturing and increase its contribution to the country’s GDP. Generally, the bearing market is healthy, with rising commodity prices. The demand from core industrial sectors like infrastructure, steel, power and mining is expected to stay robust over the next few years. Moreover, the growing interest of companies in further exploring the rural markets is aiding the growth of the automotive sector. The rising logistics and passenger transportation industries are driving up demand for commercial vehicles. Current trends, including the electrification of vehicles, particularly three-wheelers and small passenger automobiles, are expected to fuel future market growth. Based on the present sentiments in the market, Timken India is expected to grow even stronger than it has in recent years.

What are your views on making India as a global construction equipment manufacturing hub?

The Indian construction equipment (CE) industry boasts a large presence of global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) alongside domestic players, which has led to an enhanced focus on R&D and innovation in the sector. The state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies being used by CE OEMs in India are on par with the rest of the world. Furthermore, it is important to note that domestically manufactured equipment is being exported to major markets across the globe, including the European Union, United Kingdom and United States. This implies that Indian construction equipment meets global quality standards and is well-accepted in advanced markets worldwide. This is a clear indication that India has the potential to become a global hub for exports of construction equipment.

It is also essential to develop a robust supply-chain ecosystem to eliminate supply-chain disruptions, increase localization levels and ensure world-class quality standards at an optimal cost of procurement and operation.

The Indian CE Industry has taken several initiatives to indigenize its products. Almost 90% of CE products by volume are more than 50% indigenized already. However, the industry remains challenged by its high dependence on the import of precision components, hydraulics, undercarriages and electricals/electronics. Approximately 25-40% of components (by value) are imported from component manufacturers based in Korea and Japan. Investment in vital technologies, therefore, needs to be incentivized under the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiative through efforts such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) to help the CE Industry realize its vision for 2030 and make India a manufacturing and export hub for CE.

Tell us on your export market in the bearings sector & important initiatives to cater to the requirement of international market?

In 2020-21, our export share was 24%, and it increased to 29% in 2021-22. As a technology leader in anti-friction bearings, Timken continues to enhance its capabilities and expertise in material science, surface engineering and tribology, helping us address emerging technical trends. Timken has a global pool of engineering experts who work closely with customers to develop bearings and industrial motion products to solve their most challenging applications. Timken is known for providing the most technologically advanced and highest-quality products to provide its customer maximum up-time.

Set up in 2008, the Timken plant in Chennai is a world-class facility that manufactures and exports large-bore bearings and advanced products such as matched bearing assemblies. It is focused on engineering products for demanding applications in global and emerging markets.

CE manufacturers are now under pressure to manufacture machines which are not only cost effective, but also comply with the emission norms. What are your views on it?  

The new emission standards in the construction industry will lift exports to more developed markets such as Europe and North America from India when they are implemented. Theoretically, we can do exports today, but matching the production from domestic to export in more mature markets will create an additional opportunity and reduce costs by making processes more efficient. India is poised to become one of the key export hubs due to reforms in emission and safety standards for equipment manufactured in India.

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