We are making investments towards technology & aim to fully digitise our manufacturing & non-manufacturing operations in the coming years.

– Rohit Saboo

President & Chief Executive Officer, National Engineering Industries

Despite challenges, India continues to be the most attractive investment destination. How do you see the opportunities for players like you, especially when your products are used in practically every application?

India’s outlook in the coming few years is positive and the growth potential has also been sustained at 8.5%+ by rating agencies. Kharif food grains production in 2021-22 is slated to touch an all-time high and Industrial production had rebounded – a positive sign for the entire ecosystem. We are also bullish on the growth and being an Indian MNC are a proponent of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

We produce 20 crore bearings in 2300 variants per year, and export to 30+ countries. Our product range includes ball bearings, taper roller bearings, cylindrical roller bearings, spherical roller bearings, axle boxes and our newly introduced- Needle Bearings. Apart from this, we are also making bearings for EVs and stepping our foot into aerospace and defence segments. We consider this as an excellent time to enter this segment, given the present focus on ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ which will lead to lower import dependency for the companies in these segments. We have been engaged with a number of aerospace businesses and have learnt that there is a lot of room for a local players to proactively work with them from concept to production.

How has digitalisation and robotics disrupted the manufacturing processes, enterprise value chain and supply chain? What kind of smart technologies are being used today in the entire process? Can you tell us about the smart features of your manufacturing processes and how are they enabling in improving productivity, efficiency and also lowering costs?

With the current wave of digitalisation, we are making constant strides towards digitising our supply chains, optimising our inventory and predict machine breakdowns using data analytics. We are making investments towards technology and aim to fully digitise our manufacturing and non-manufacturing operations in the coming years.

Going forward, every business will be a digital business.  Both brownfield and greenfield manufacturing are adopting digital manufacturing and industry 4.0. All functions within an organization have a need now to move to digital and are adopting various technologies. Manufacturing is moving to a Connected Factory state.

We have deployed a host of technology in our landscape like Internet of Things (IOT) Platform, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) Network, Cloud & Edge Computing, Robotic Process Automation, Augment Reliaty/Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality, 3D Printing Barcode, Bots and so on. This has helped us to improve our quality and overall equipment effectiveness. We also moved to proactively managing our processes with data analytics.

How do you see the production-linked scheme (PLI) announced by the government benefiting the manufacturing sector? Also, the government is focusing on promoting MSMEs especially in the manufacturing segment.

The Union Cabinet’s approval of the Production Linked Incentives (PLI) scheme is a welcome step. This could help speed up the post-Covid economic recovery process.

Specifically for automotive segment, Government has been trying to boost vehicle demand by enacting new policies and easing liquidity. This will benefit the bearings industry too. According to the Centre, the PLI scheme is expected to create new investments of more than Rs 42,500 cr. and boost incremental production to over Rs 2.3 trillion.

The PLI scheme focuses on electronic vehicles (EVs), hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and their parts. The scheme will help with adoption of new technology.  This push is likely to make way for more talent towards EV start-ups and manufacturers and ultimately help India gain a foothold in the global auto industry. Data suggests that the current share of advanced auto technology in India is only 3 percent compared to the 18 percent that exists globally. This market is expected to double in the coming decade.

Your take on digitalisation impacting/ favouring employment generation in India?

Employment generation has taken place widely in the IT and technology segment. The semi-skilled and unskilled category will also have to learn new skills to keep up-to-speed with the developments.

With technology handling jobs earlier taken care of by humans, it is for organisations to now re-strategize and replan the purpose of these roles, requiring different sets of capabilities and skills. Human beings will lead initiatives where strategy, planning, empathy, imagination, and connection are required. There will be plenty employment opportunities, however, the nature of jobs will change.

What are you plans in terms of investments to increase capacities, adopting newer technologies, improve R&D, acquisitions, etc? How do you see the growth of the company by 2025?

It is critical for the R&D teams to be ready for the numerous and concurrent changes, transforming the industry as a whole. We have a dedicated R&D wing, where research is conducted in specialized areas such as advanced materials and processes, product design, tribology and lubrication, virtual simulation and testing. The constant push and focus on R&D has led to a substantial growth in patent filings for us.

On the product front, we added high RPM and low noise bearings for electric vehicles to our portfolio and have already started supplying to Indian and European EV customers.

On the investment front, we have lined up a capex plan of about Rs 160 cr. for the current fiscal which will largely be spent in construction of the new plant near Jaipur & machinery. This new plant will have about 20 production lines in the first phase, which is expected to get completed by the mid of 2023. This year, we had also collaborated with Amsted Seals to start a greenfield project, NBC-Brenco in Jaipur to manufacture railway bearing seals in India. This aims to host best-in-class manufacturing techniques & equipments. NBC-Brenco plans to add automotive seals & products with metal fabrication in the future.

Apart from this, we are looking for M&A opportunities in line with our growth goals. We are targeting to double our turnover by 2025.

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