German Machinery Export – 2021

Machinery exports from Germany continued to show high growth in the third quarter, rising by 8.8 percent year-on-year to 44.6 billion euros. The exports of machinery in the first three quarters were 10.8 percent above the previous year’s figure and totaled 133.2 billion euros. In the third quarter, total machinery exports to the EU-27 grew by 5.8 percent, while those to the UK showed particularly strong growth with 38.7 percent. Machinery exports to the two largest single markets, the USA and China, again showed differing dynamics in the third quarter: 18 percent more machinery was exported to the USA and 3 percent more to China. The highest percentage increases in the first nine months of this year within the machinery sector were recorded by following sectors: textile machinery, machinery for the manufacture of microelectronics and agricultural technology.

Connecting Start-ups and Mechanical Engineering for Catalyzing Growth

India today, is the third largest Unicorn hub pacing to scale with U.S and China respectively with more than 90 Unicorns. This Indian startup ecosystem has evolved dynamically over the last two decades where the immature ecosystem gave birth to some startups, founded in the last two decades. Due to considerable exits in the last ten years, Bangalore has emerged as India’s primary startup hub. Significant founding activity also takes place in Mumbai and the National Capital Region (NCR). Given the scale of India and its resource constraints, low-cost, high-impact solutions are required. Technological start-ups play a crucial role in accomplishing this, because of their potential for scalability and exponential growth. This stormy confluence creates the base for sustainability and growth in the backdrop of Omicron and Unicorn.

In view of the above, VDMA India had organised an interactive web-seminar for Europe and India on 18^th of January 2022 on Connecting start-ups and Mechanical Engineering for catalysing growth in the industry organised by The German Engineering Federation (VDMA) collaborating with our esteemed speaker. This web exchange would have a keynote address by our Dr. Eric Maiser, Head of the Competence Centre Future Business, and start-up Radar at VDMA Frankfurt office. Dr. Maiser would be emphasized the significance of connecting the Mechanical Engineering Industry to the start-ups for their growth and sustenance., further welcoming the 4 innovative startups– Treeni, Resonating Mindz, Algo8 and Connected Thinks. The event was finely addressed by Mr. Rajesh Nath, MD, VDMA and moderated by Mr. S. Manohar, Regional Head, VDMA Bangalore.

The Keynote Address by Dr. Eric Maiser, Head of Competence Centre Future business and Startup-Machine, VDMA, emphasized on the significance of connecting the Mechanical Engineering Industry to the start-ups for their growth and sustenance. He further describes this as the ‘quest’ for the future of Business – the next big thing.

 The web-seminar progressed to cover the 4 start-ups pitching their innovative ideas covering topics like Predictive Analysis, Machine Monitoring, ESG consulting, Intelligent Asset Management and Cyber Security. The Promising presenters were Treeni, Resonating Mindz, Algo8 and Connected Thinks. While many emerging start-ups are in the areas of electronics and information sciences, the field of mechanical engineering has huge potential that has yet to be fully exploited. The speed of technological innovation and the diversity of business ideas keep the start-up landscape in constant flux. The innovative approach towards sustainability would bring changes in the process of making products as well as services. Development of new market areas will emerge in the un-served locations through this process. Each Start-up highlighted the following aspects in their presentations:

• Ms. Vani Hans of Treeni, presented on sustainability and structured calculations on carbon emissions.
  
• Avinash Manerahimatpurkar of Resonating Mindz, highlighted the digitalization of production lines on accelerating Industry 4.0
  
•  Nandan Mishra of Algo8 presented the tools for empowering manufacturers with AI
  
• Ameet Kalagi of connectedthinks, Industrial data solutions for Industry 4.0

As Mr. Nath correctly recalls the words of the honourable Prime Minister on the celebration of the World Start-up Day, “our Startups are changing the rules of the game. That is why I believe Startups are going to be the backbone of the New India and the golden era of Indian Startups is starting now”.

The next round resumed with an engaging question- answer sessions by our keynote speaker Dr. Maiser to all the presenters over Aritificial Intelligence Vs Machine Learning, Data Security- privacy management, Carbon- emission- awareness and identification etc. Nevertheless, Indian startups face significant challenges. Overcoming such hurdles will require efforts of all stakeholders, i.e., the ecosystem actors, governmental authorities, as well as the startups themselves. In addition, changes in the broader cultural milieu would be helpful to encourage people taking risks and possibly developing impactful solutions.

Furthermore, conclusions were drawn by Mr. Nath moderating the Q&A sessions, recalls a famous quote by Reid Hoffman, “All humans are entrepreneurs, not because they should start companies, but because the will to create is encoded in human DNA.” He emphasizes businesses to shift from conventional methods to entirely digitally-driven operations, thereby creating better avenues for market forces. Leveraging new-age technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, big data, etc. several start-ups are working towards bridging wide-ranging gaps that were introduced in the market.

Though we are moving in the right direction, however the regulators have to play a more proactive role in formulating appropriate regulations that encourage innovation and support emerging startups and they need to foster a conducive climate for ensuring easier availability of domestic capital.

“Enhancing Micro dispensing through State of the Art Endless Piston Technology” organised by VDMA India in association with ViscoTec

India, presently has emerged as world’s second-fastest-digitizing economy resulting as a worldwide force. The country post pandemic has had an intense recovery journey which could be further which is dynamic in nature. India has not been new to digitalization but Covid-19 has accelerated the entire process. Keeping the rapid growth of India in mind as a future leader in digital solutions, heavy investments in nascent technologies as well as bulk internet market driven by 560 million active customers have immensely contributed to it.

Further, taking note on the rapid growth and development, a collaborative web seminar was conducted by the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) in association with Viscotec on Enhancing Micro Dispensing Through State-Of-The-Art Endless Piston Technology on 2^nd December 2021. The web seminar was moderated by Ms. Jamly John, General Manager, VDMA.

The Welcome address was made by Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India. Mr. Nath commenced the seminar extending a warm welcome followed by his insightful deductions on industrial market study. The data usage has increased dramatically in India post 2013. The most traceable reason is the falling data prices more than 80% since the year.

Banking and finance, e-commerce, food tech, platforms for hospitality and mobility, retail, online education, in fact marriage matchmaking are just a few of the sectors that have penetrated as lead in each field. The growing escalation in public digital platforms have facilitated multiple citizen services representing mutual growth and fruitful collaboration between the government and Indian industry in addressing critical socio-economic challenges.

In his address he mentioned “Digital is not a new concept in India, and the country was among the first to adopt it, with penetration beginning in 2003. However, things have taken off in the post-2013 period, with data usage increasing dramatically since then. India has one of the world’s largest mobile phone user bases and the cheapest data costs for customers, with data costs falling by more than 80% since 2013.

Banking and finance, e-commerce, food tech, platforms for hospitality and mobility, retail, online education, infact marriage matchmaking are just a few of the sectors that have seized the lead in the subcontinent.

According to a BCG report, open digital ecosystems today have the potential to unlock $700 billion in opportunities for India by 2030. The environmental, societal, and governance (ECG) impact across sectors such as healthcare, talent, urban governance, agriculture, law and justice, education, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) can generate new value in excess of $500 billion and save the country more than $200 billion.

The country’s USD 200 billion digital economy is also an important part of its global outreach, as are the various permutations and combinations of new regional and international partnerships in which it is now involved. As India attempts to recover from a deadly pandemic, its digital growth story, with all of its ups and downs, will remain an important part of its role on the global stage.”

The speakers for the session were Mr. Thomas Hochholzer, Technical Sales-Viscotec Germany and Mr. Frazel D’souza, Technical Sales-Viscotec West are experts in micro dispensing technology who provided exemplary models through their presentation.

A clear market overview was presented on progressive cavity pump technology keeping alongside descriptive explanations on Preeflow Portfolio. It is by fact expected Indian Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) Industry to grow 6.5x by 2025 keeping the five folds as the under:

• Automotive Electronics
• Electronics
• Mobile Manufacturing
• Medical Electronics

The aim of the web seminar was to provide insights on smaller, more precise & economical dispensing using endless piston pump technology, by referring to relevant case studies, especially in Automotive Electronics, Electronics, Medical Electronics, smart wearables & Mobile Industry and to know concepts and proven solutions for your demanding and challenging micro dispensing application. 

The first round of technology-oriented presentation was led by Mr. Frazel D’s Souza, an expert in Technical Sales-Viscotec West who had joined Viscotec in 2019. He walked through the following topics:

• Market Overview in Electronic, Automotive, Medical Industry and trends
• Brief Overview of Progressive Cavity Pump Technology with Endless Piston Principle, Preeflow introduction, comparative study
• Preeflow Portfolio in reference to Eco-pen, Eco-spray, Flowplus16
• Elaborate overview of Industries on the application, challenges as well as solutions involved

The second collaborative partner, Mr. Thomas Hochholzer, Technical Sales with Viscotec Germany and had a 6 year experience the related field and experience with dispensing of the entire technological. During the seminar he elaborated on the technology of Preeflow micro dispensing as follows:

• Small, precise, economical
• Perfect dispensing of liquids – regardless of viscosity
• Own formulated and produced elastomers and rotor variations
• High level of expert know how for materials and process requirements
• EDI – easy dispensing integration
• Modular product design 
• Comprehensive solutions from feeding and treating to dispensing nearly every material from watery to paste-like
• Made in Germany.

Furthermore, conclusions were drawn as Mr. Nath moderated the Q&A session where he took up several pertinent questions asked by the attendees. The speakers were able to provide solutions to the queries addressed.

Pilz India Turns 10 !

The Automation Company Pilz completes 10 years in India as a subsidiary. In the year 2011, Pilz India Subsidiary was established with Head office in Pune. With the able leadership of Mr. Sanjay Kulkarni, Pilz India has been creating awareness about Safety automation, International Machinery safety standards and Directives in India. Since the beginning Pilz India focused on technical competence and offered various value-added solutions to the market, thus establishing as a leading brand in safe automation. The Safety services infrastructure was formed since the inception and offered services for Automotive, Metal forming, FMCG end-users and several Machinery manufactures.

Pilz provides solutions for safety and automation with their extensive product portfolio consisting of control technology, sensor technology and actuator technology. Services offered include machinery safety assessment, validation, CE Marking and training etc. As of today, Pilz India has 35+ highly qualified team members, spread across the country to support customers locally.

On 26^th Nov 2021, Pilz India Celebrated its 10^th Anniversary in presence of their Customers and Associates. The event was held in association with VDMA India and had a very good turnaround of guests. Dignitaries present were Dr. Juergen Morhard, Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mumbai and Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director VDMA India.

Ms. Susanne Kunschert, Managing Partner Pilz GmbH & Co. KG also joined virtually. She highlighted ‘’ Innovation is in our Genes and this is what is driving us ‘’. Ms. Kunschert also stressed on ‘The Spirit of Safety’ and Values At Pilz which makes it a different company. ‘’We live our Values, which are our roots ‘’ she concluded.

Mr. Sanjay Kulkarni, Managing Director of Pilz India took the audience through the Journey of Pilz India through the last decade. He focussed on the growth of the Brand Pilz in India and creating a market for Safety across all the Industry segments. ‘’We listen to our customers problems and provide them with safe automation solutions ‘’ mentioned Mr. Kulkarni. Looking forward towards the future, Mr. Kulkarni said that Digitalization, Security with convergence of OT and IT, creating awareness on Indian Standards and expanding Pilz India footprint to support the customers locally & internationally will be the key points moving ahead.

‘’We assure our customers, that your projects belong in Safe Hands’’ he concluded.

The event concluded with an exciting Panel discussion moderated by Mr. Nath with Pilz India Team highlighting ‘Spirit of Safety’.

VDMA India Symposium on Electric Mobility – Disrupting Technology trends in the Transportation Industry

Delhi 17-Nov, 2021 and Chennai 19-Nov, 2021   

Indian automotive industry is the fifth largest in the world and is slated to be the third largest by 2030. Catering to this vast domestic market, reliance on the conventional modes of fuel intensive mobility will not be sustainable Hence by making the shift towards electric vehicles (EVs), India stands to benefit on many fronts. India has been astute about the increased utility of electric vehicles and the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) I and II schemes, being a testament that are aimed at promoting the adoption of electric vehicles and creating a robust EV charging infrastructure.

In the light of this burgeoning potential, VDMA has creating a comprehensive awareness on the emerging Technology trends in Electric Mobility and its manufacturing competitiveness. VDMA India together with our esteemed partners, BENDER, CADFEM, FESTO, HARTING, INFINEON, SCHAEFFLER, WEISS and ZWICK ROELL conducted the “Electric Mobility – Disrupting Technology trends in the Transportation Industry” at Radisson Blu Plaza Delhi Airport in Delhi on 17-Nov 2021 and LE ROYAL MERIDIEN Chennai, on 19-Nov 2021 respectively.

At Delhi on 17^th Nov 2021, The event organized by VDMA India, started off by the traditional Lamp lighting by the chief guest Dr. Steffen Koch Head of Department for Economics & Global Affairs EMBASSY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY and Guest of Honour B. B. Gupta President Strategy & Business Planning JBM GROUP in Delhi

In Chennai on 19^th Nov 2021, the event commenced lighting of the lamp by Chief Guest Ms. Karin Stoll, Consul General, German Consulate, Chennai and Mr.Kaniappan P, Managing Director, WABCO India Guest of Honor at the Chennai.

The welcome address at both the locations of Delhi and Chennai was given by Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India presenting the importance of the EV industry in the coming future and he also gave  a brief update on the policy side by the Indian and few state governments incentives programmes for EV. He gave an update on PLI and other Schemes by various government for the betterment of the EV Industry. 

After that, in Delhi, we had the update on Indo-German Trade by Dr. Steffen Koch, Head of Department for Economics & Global Affairs, EMBASSY OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, NEW DELHI. The speech by Guest of Honor, was given by Mr. Gupta, President – Strategy & Business Planning, JBM GROUP  was regarding the Accelerated Growth of the Electric Mobility Technological Ecosystem in India.In Chennai we had Ms. Stoll, Consul General, German Consulate, Chennai, explaining the current vaccination drives in Germany and on the current raising cases of Covid-19 in Germany. After this we had Mr. Kaniappan P, Managing Director, WABO India, speaking about the Accelerated Growth of the Electric Mobility Technological Ecosystem in India. The special address from the Guest of Honor, which set the stage for the speakers, and theparticipants to understand the present situation in the subcontinent on the E.-Mobility growth

The presentations from the partners were covered the on the vehicle and off the vehicle solutions like automations in the plant by the German Partners.  In the two locations, we had divided the presentation into two sessions, Technical Session 1 before Lunch and Technical Session 2, after Lunch

In these Technical presentations, e BENDER presented on the topic  Electrical Safety Solution for E-Mobility, which was explained by Mr Washim Ahamed, Senior Manager – Sales & Marketing in Delhi on the vast portfolio in the Battery Management System and Charging infrastructure and the same presentation was given by  by Mr. Raghavendra Sajjan, Senior Manager – Sales & Marketing in Chennai.

After that we had a presentation from CADFEM Regarding the Simulation and Analysis in the EV’s which can reduce 50% of testing and modeling time in production and R&D cycle. The presentation on Computational modeling to step up e-mobility to realize efficient, reliable Power trains was presented by Mr Santhosh Manepally, Technology Specialist at both the locations that helped the audience to understand the uses and current upgrades in the simulation software’s in the EV Segment.

The presentation of Mr. Vijay Menon, Sr. Business Development Manager of Festo included the automation side in the manufacturing of the EV with the explanation of Opportunities for New Manufacturing Automation benchmarks. He spoke about the current and upcoming trends in the Automation comparing India to the global standards of the automation. He stated that the new technology in automation is to be integrated for the most effective process on the shop floor.

Solutions from HARTING were presented by Mr. Shashank Narayan, Market Manager – E Mobility who explained his presentation on Charging Infrastructure ecosystem for growing Electric Mobility. The connectivity solution being the one of the main drawback in India for more faster phase in the EV. He expressed his views that only when consumers see an extensive network of public charging stations will they consider EVs a feasible mobility solution. Thus, a reliable and accessible network of public chargers is imminent.

The Presentation on Trends & Developments in E-Mobility by Mr. Narendra Walvekar, Sr Manager – Automotive Sales in Delhi, and by Mr. Srinivasan Parthasarathy, Sr Manager – Automotive Sales of INFINEON in Chennai gave a chance to look up to the semiconductor and the electronics side of the EV game explaining the Microprocessor and the power electronics which goes into the vehicle. The upcoming technology from on the cooling and Silkicon Carbide that enables better power semiconductors had been the interesting development on the Battery management Systems for the coming future.

Followed by this we had the Presentation on Automation in Electric Mobility Ecosystem by Mr. Franz Oebels, Director Global Sales/Key Accounts, Market Segments & Technology, WEISS AUTOMATION explained the Subsystem for body parts assembly and the predictive maintaince application He also the presented  the assembly line applications for th battery packs and the motor drives.

The presentation on Mechanical testing solutions for e-mobility by Mr. Ashim Jyoti Sharma, Associate General Manager in Delhi and by Mr. Girish Sharma, Automotive Industry Specialist in Chennai from ZWICK ROELL, introducing the testing solutions for the E.Mobility applications and explaining the importance of testing in Lion Battery, Fuel cell’s and different equipments that goes into the EV.

The above presentations by the Partner organizations were at both the cities of Delhi and Chennai on the Electric Mobility ecosystem. 

The Presentation on Electrification Outlook for Indian Auto Industry was given by Mr. Sanjeev Saxena, President – Automotive, SCHAEFFLER in Delhi symposium. He explained the importance of the Hybrid & Electric Drive trains, and the future products that would be developed for the better transmission system in the upcoming models of the Electric Vehicles He also explained regarding the carbon neutrality and methods and process of achieving carbon neutrality. Mr. Saxena said that the IC engine and the EV market are going to have their own market spaces and he further explained that the IC/Combustion engine Market would not be significantly affected by the EV in Passenger Vehicles in the coming decade.

After the daylong presentations, participants spread across the different segments in the EV Ecosystem took their Question and answers session followed by the concluding remarks by Mr. Rajesh Nath in the Delhi, and by Mr.S.Manohar, Regional Head South, VDMA India in the Chennai symposium.

VDMA “Robotomation – Symposium for Robotic Automation trends in Manufacturing”

The VDMA Robotics + Automation Association of German Mechanical Engineering Industry Association (VDMA) organized the 3^rd edition of Robotomation – Symposium for Robotic Automation trends in manufacturing on the 12^th November 2021 at The Le Meridien, Coimbatore. Despite the prevailing circumstances, more than 150 participants constituting mainly of the Indian Automotive, Machine Tool, Foundry, Agricultural, Heavy Industries and Textile industry attended the prestigious event. 

The new World Robotics 2021 report by International Federation of Robotics (IFR) states that despite the global pandemic situation, robot installations grew slightly to almost 384,000 units. This represents a growth rate of 0.5% and makes the year 2020 the third most successful year for the robotics industry so far, following 2018 and 2017. Broken down by regions and countries, the situation nevertheless is more nuanced. While most countries were severely hit by the pandemic and lockdown measures, the positive market developments in China basically compensated the contractions of other markets. Installations for the region´s largest adopter China grew strongly by 20% with 168,400 units shipped – the highest value ever recorded for a single country.

Asia accounted for 71% of all newly deployed robots in 2020, even though Japan and Korea struggled. Robot installations in the second largest region, Europe, decreased by 8% to almost 68,000 units, down for the second year in a row. In the Americas, installations dropped by 17% to roughly 39,000 units in 2020 – back to its 2015 level. The United States – the largest American market – did better (31,000 units; -8%) than the other major markets Mexico and Canada.

India is one of the strongest growing economies among the Asian emerging markets but struggled severely from the Covid-19 pandemic. Both in terms of new installations and the operational stock of robots, India ranks 12th globally. The current position and the long-term potential of robotics in India becomes more clearly visible if it is put into relation to China, which has a similar size in terms of population. 

In 2020, robot installations declined by 25% to 3,215 units. This was the second year of decline following the peak level of 4,771 units in 2018. Installations by the automotive industry are decreasing, while demand from the general industry, mainly the rubber and plastics industry, the metal industry, and the electrical/electronics industry, is increasing. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2015 and 2020 was at +9%.

Therefore, it has become imperative for organisations to find ways to bridge the digitalisation gap to stay ahead of the curve. The gradual integration of robotics and automation in the workplace has begun, transforming the nature of roles and functions in its wake. Hence, with automation driving significant changes in the workplaces, employers realize the need to create a system capable of supporting humans and robots’ interaction.

The Symposium focused on the global robotics and automation trends available for the manufacturing industry. The Symposium was moderated by Ms. Jamly John, General Manager VDMA India, also responsible for VDMA Robotics + Automation in India. Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India during his welcome address said “Over the decade to 2030, India needs to create at least 90 million new nonfarm jobs to absorb the 60 million new workers who will enter the workforce based on current demographics, and an additional 30 million workers who could move from farm work to more productive nonfarm sectors. India needs to leapfrog ahead to achieve the employment and productivity growth needed. Fortunately, it has many opportunities to do so. Global trends such as digitization and automation, shifting supply chains, urbanization, and demographic shifts, and a greater focus on sustainability, health, and safety are accelerating or assuming a new significance in the wake of the pandemic.

Technology is an enabler that will help reduce or eliminate manufacturing problems and achieve operational goals, provided the deployed technology is used by the employees effectively. While the deployment can be accelerated, training employees, enabling them to use it effectively for problem solving requires time. It is important to set the right expectations while starting the transformation journey. Hence friends building a “Smart Factory” is a journey that requires detailed planning, identification & prioritization of areas of intervention, careful choice of technology platforms, a strong business case, and employee onboarding & participation. Most successful programs have been aligned to the vision of the organization, that delivers consistent business benefits and are able to fund itself over a period of time to ensure long term sustenance.”

The Managing Director of VDMA Robotics + Automation & Member of the Executive Board of the International Federation of Robotics, Mr. Patrick Schwarzkopf gave a keynote address on “Robotics and Automation: The global success story continues”. He said “Robot installations in India dropped by 25% y-o-y, the second decline after the peak level of 4,771 units recorded in 2018. In the Global ranking in installations the nos. stood at 12 (2019: #10), in operational stock #12. The Robot density remains very low with only 6 industrial robots in operation per 10,000 employees in manufacturing (world average: 126). He mentioned about the need for further robotization to upgrade manufacturing. The share of automotive sector in installations used to be 66% in 2015, but has been declining since then, reaching just 23% in 2020. For 2021, double-digit growth rates of robot installations can be expected. When catch-up effects are over, growth will be likely to continue at a lower rate of roughly 10% annually.”

During the Inaugural session, our Chief Guest, Ms. Karin Stoll, Consul General of Federal Republic of Germany, Chennai gave an overview on the “Strengthening Indo German Trade”. The inauguration was chaired by our Guest of Honour, Mr. M. V. Ramesh Babu, President, The Coimbatore District Small Industries Association (CODISSIA) gave insights on the “Strengthening Indo German Trade in Coimbatore”.

During this event, well-known VDMA members namely Beckhoff Automation, FESTO India, ifm Electronic, Pepperl+Fuchs Factory Automation, Schmersal India, Schunk Intec and Zimmer Automation conducted application-oriented technology presentations. Our partner Roedl & Partner Consulting gave an overview on from the regulatory perspective.

The first round of technology-oriented presentation was led by Mr. Hrishikesh Kulkarni, Chief Operating Officer, Zimmer Automation, gave insights on “Robotic – End-of-Arm-Ecosystem for every Industry”. Mr. Ashwin Vanikar, Cluster Head – Application Engineering, FESTO India gave an overview on “Enhancing Automation in collaboration with Robots”. Mr. Ashwin Udayashankar, National Sales Manager – Gripping Systems, SCHUNK Intec spoke on “Synergy and Innovative Robot Applications”. Mr. Aman Monga, GM – Business Development, Pepperl+Fuchs Factory Automation gave insights on “Sensors for Smart Manufacturing” and Mr. Atish Laddha, Associate Partner, Team Lead, Roedl & Partner Consulting updated on “Latest Trends in Manufacturing Sector”.

The second round of technology-oriented presentation was led by Mr. Bipin Jirge, Managing Director & Mr. Rajesh Hari, Sales Manager, ifm Electronic gave insights on “IO-Link – Road to Industry 4.0 & Vision Sensors”. Mr. Milind Kaluskar- OEM Sales Manager & Mr. Ashutosh Tarlekar- Application Manager and Product Specialist, Beckhoff Automation spoke about “PC Based Control in Robotic Automation”. Mr. Sagar Bhosale, Managing Director from Schmersal India gave an overview on “Safety Technology & services for safe Operation of Industrial Robots – Inline with Updated National & International regulations”.

The Symposium would not be possible without the support of our Partners and we truly acknowledge and appreciate their support. 

Our Partners:- Beckhoff Automation, FESTO India, ifm Electronic, Pepperl+Fuchs Factory Automation, Roedl & Partner Consulting, Schmersal India, Schunk Intec and Zimmer Automation. The Partners were having B2B exhibition space at the Symposium to present their technologies to the delegates.

The Symposium concluded with a Networking High Tea which provided a good interaction and networking opportunity for both the delegates, speakers and exhibitors at the event. The German companies operating in India are quite upbeat about the business opportunities in India and have been quite successful. With the governments focus on Digitalization and Automation, they are only looking positively towards the new initiatives in the path of progress for the industry.

The Covid-19 Pandemic led to the downfall of several businesses resulting in insolvency and need for speedy dispute resolution

Taking this into consideration, VDMA India on 27^th October, 2021, in collaboration with Clasis Law hosted a web-seminar on the law of arbitration and insolvency.

We were privileged to have esteemed speakers joining us for this interactive and informative session:

• Mr. Mustafa Motiwala, Head of Litigation, Clasis Law.
• Mr. Shwetabh Sinha, Partner, Clasis Law.
• Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India.

The moderation of the session was conducted by Mr. SaumyaNayak, Regional Head – North, VDMA India Services Pvt Ltd, who gave an insight about the activities of VDMA India, the flow of the web seminar and introduced the esteemed speakers.

Mr. Rajesh Nath, gave the opening remarks and provided a brief introduction on Insolvency Laws and Laws relating to Dispute Resolution. He then handed over to Mr. Motiwala who took the webinar forward from there.

Mr. Motiwala spoke on the topic – “Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) – Boon or Bane?” where he explained the evolution of the Insolvency Code and how it came to being. He further provided insights into what is sought to be achieved by the Code which are as follows:

• Reorganisation and insolvency resolution of corporate debtors.
• Maximization of value of assets of corporate debtors.
• Not a mere recovery legislation for creditors but puts the corporate debtor back on its feet.
• Look after the interest of all stakeholders as the corporate debtor itself becomes a beneficiary of the resolution scheme.

He further explained the provisions of the IBC and touched upon concepts such as Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, the Clean Slate Theory, and Liquidation Process. He also provided insights about major landmark cases that have moulded this legislation to what is and formed a precedent.

Mr. Motiwala then handed over to Mr. Sinha who then took the webinar forward on the topic – “Arbitration – The Future of Litigation?”

Mr. Sinha kick started the topic by providing us insights into the evolution of arbitration and dispute resolution in India. He mentioned the various laws that were repealed and amended till the existing legislation. He further explained the provisions of the Act, took us through the 2021 amendment of the Act, and provided acumens into the various judgments laid down by the courts in India.

He concluded by laying down the reasons why arbitration is a boon to the legal fraternity which are as follows:

• Dispute resolution through the Indian Court system is lengthy and tedious and there is a huge backlog of cases.
• The main attraction of arbitration is that it follows a simpler procedure, time bound process, confidentiality and flexibility.
• Party autonomy in the manner of conduction of arbitration such as language of arbitration or nationality of arbitrator.
• Promotes transparency and neutrality.
• In contrast to litigation, arbitration has made a smoother and quicker transition to the digital platform.
• Active steps are being taken to transition or bring into the picture the world of Online Dispute Resolution (ODR).
• Several parties especially corporates are consciously choosing arbitration.

Finally, we had an interesting Q&A session moderated and concluded by Mr. Nath where he took up several interesting and pertinent questions posed by the attendees.

Accelerating Your Digitalization Journey Using IoT

India’s digital economy is estimated to reach USD 1 trillion in the next 5-7 years and new technologies like IoT (Internet of Things), machine learning, artificial intelligence, cyber security etc will play important role in the growth. There are over 971 IoT startupsin India and Bangalore-the hotbed for IoT holds 51% of total IoT startups. The Covid 19 pandemic has resulted in the rapid growth of technology and need for IoT.

After taking into consideration the global scenario and booming technological growth, VDMA India hosted a web seminar in collaboration with PwC which focused on the optimizing the digitalization journey and the significant role played by IoT in that journey.

We were privileged to have esteemed speakers joining us for this interactive and informative session:

• Mr. Ankur Basu, Managing Director, Technology Consulting, PwC
• Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India Services Pvt Ltd.

The session was moderated by Ms. Jamly John, General Manager, VDMA Mumbai. She commenced the event by giving us insights into VDMA’s activities, the flow of the webinar and an introduction to the esteemed speaker.

Mr. Rajesh Nath, kick-started the event by giving the opening remarks and provided insights on companies and industries relying and progressing towards a digital transformation and automation. He spoke about how many manufacturers have accelerated their digital transformation journey by deploying new technologies such as AI tools, edge computing, data, lakes, advanced analytics, and robotics. He added that digital transformation goes beyond tools and technologies. It in fact includes people, processes and things. Additionally, manufacturers from different industries are leveraging the information and data from a wide range of manufacturing processes to structure new business models that improve operational efficiencies and lowers cost.

He spoke about the importance of machine data and without data sovereignty there is a risk of losing out on the unique selling points and solution capabilities and that Intelligent Automation technologies would lead to cost reduction, increased productivity, improved accuracy, and enhanced customer experience.

On an average, organizations expect their automation strategies to drive a 15% increase in revenue in the areas they target. It is well established that automation can increase the productive capacity of the human workforce and intelligent automation solutions can deliver on ambitions for increased productivity.He further added that, to achieve results from an automation program, business leaders must fundamentally challenge the premise of what the organization is going to do in order todeliver that change.

Mr. Rajesh Nath concluded with a quote by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon – “There is no alternative to digital transformation. Visionary companies will carve out new strategic options for themselves — those that don’t adapt, will fail.”

He then handed over to Mr. Ankur Basu, Managing Director, Technology Consulting, PwC India for his address. Mr. Basu thanked Mr. Nath for setting the perspective to the topic he would further emphasize on.

Mr. Basu started by sharing a practical experience at a conference he addressed with industrial leaders where he analysed that a majority of the population perceived digital as technology. He stated that the digitization it is a new way of solving problems, creating unique experiences for the customer, and accelerating business performance.

The PwC Global survey of over1200 companies indicates that new technologies are implemented at large scale to connect and collaborate along the end-to-end value chain. In reference to the World Economic Forum’s lighthouse projects, approximately 44 companies in the entire globe were rated as lighthouse companies in 2020. As on date there are 69 companies who have achieved recognition of the global lighthouse category. In India, Tata Steel and now Renew Power are the only companies who qualify for the global lighthouse category.

Today’s challenges are impacting the company’s ability to plan large scale digital transformation. While the cost of IoT sensors and electronic components originating from China and Taiwan has reduced over the years, there are still multiple impediments:

• Lack of Interoperable standards
• Security is often an afterthought that makes the entire design vulnerable
• Lack of Trained manpower

70% of the companies are stuck in pilot purgatory. Pilot purgatory is a situation where companies undertake pilots without considering the larger picture.55% of the CEOs Cited lack in confidence or any concrete plan when it comes to digital transformation. Further, 45% of the global leaders stated internal skill gap as biggest risk.

However, there’s a significant upside when it comes to improving efficiency using IoT combined with AI/ML which are as follows:

• 33% reduction in labour cost using RFID enabled material pull systems (eKanban).
• 100% reduction in reduction in wrong material usage during the entire value chain, brought to life using RFID track and trace which leads to customer satisfaction.
• 90% reduction in time to identify product quality issues using IoT based integrated QMS.
• 10% Operational efficiency improvement using IoT platforms.
• 22% Scrap reduction using IoT enabled smart factories.

Covid has significantly accelerated the adoption of 4th Industrial revolution technologies to maximize the potential of workersby providing set of tools and technologies that drive efficiency, quality and new culture.There is an emergence of collaborative Human-Machine digital workforce.A large global Steel Plant saved USD 12.5 mn in 2 years by embedding IoT and AI in their entire value chain. Accelerated adoption of IoT in the industrial sector has proved to be significantly beneficial.

Mr. Basu stated that digitally advanced companies operate in an entirely new way and hence are at the forefront of fourth Industrial revolution. Leading companies globally have reached scale by creating new operating system that becomes standard blueprint for the entire company.

In conclusion Mr. Basu laid down the key enablers for scaling fast with the help of IoT which are as follows:

• Visualize the ‘Enterprise of the future’ at the start
• Create a Roadmap
• Develop partnerships with stakeholders who can make positivecontribution
• Fail fast, Iterate quickly, create MVP in 2 weeks sprint
• Bundle use cases that can give quick ROI
• Create an internal academy to upskill and right skill workforce
• Promote culture of innovation, reskill workforce at scale
• Data security, Legal compliance should be integral design element
• Multicloud deployments, SaaS/PaaS, acquired tools etc. should conform to standards.

The web seminar ended with a short Question & Answer Session followed by concluding remarks by Mr. Nath.

“Advancements in Industrial and Bulk Material Packaging in Woven Sacks” Friday, 24th September 2021 at 3:00 PM (IST)

Woven Sacks are made from a single polymer family and are easily recyclable. About 26 years ago, Windmöller & Hölscher (W&H) invented and patented the technology to create hot air sealed block bottom sacks made of PP woven. 

The recent advancements have changed the face of woven packaging taking the industry to newer heights. Along with Block bottom bags, Pinch Bottom woven sacks are another successful solution. These solutions are redefining the future of bulk material and cement packaging. We are witnessing a shift in the Indian Market as a large portion of cement in India is already being packed in Block bottom bags. Pinch Bottom bags have found good acceptability and can be utilized for various applications.  

In this context, VDMA India in association with Windmöller & Hölscher, B&B Verpackungstechnik GmbH and Indian Plastics Institute organised a Web Seminar which would help you understand the benefits of “Advancements in Industrial Bulk Material Packaging in Woven Sacks” & explain the market scenario, Advantages of moving into woven packaging, and their key issues of packaging sector in increasing the efficiencies and synergies of the entire value chain.

We were privileged to have esteemed speakers joining us for this interactive and informative session:
Mr. Pankaj Shah, Chairman, Indian Plastics Institute
Mr. Rakesh Shah, Chairman, Delhi Chapter, Indian Plastics Institute                            
Mr. Walter Häder, Managing Director Woven Machinery at Windmöller & Hölscher
Mr. Jörn-Peter Bäumer, Managing Partner at B&B Verpackungstechnik GmbH.
Mr. Anuj Sahni, General Manager – Sales & Marketing, Windmöller & Hölscher India

The moderation of the session and opening remarks were given by Mr. Manohar, Regional Head – South, VDMA India who gave an insight about the activities of VDMA India, the flow of the web seminar and introduced the esteemed speakers. He then handed over the session to Mr. Rajesh Nath, Managing Director, VDMA India. Mr. Nath extended a warm welcome to the five panellists and gave a brief intro about the packaging sector, and its importance.

Mr. Nath then handed over the session to Mr. Rakesh Shah, Chairman, Delhi Chapter, Indian Plastics Institute, Mr. Shah emphasized on the opportunities in the Packaging sector, and has explained the transformation in heavy packaging from early 1980 to 2020.

The session was Handed over to Mr. Walter Häder, Managing Director Woven Machinery at Windmöller & Hölscher explaining the Applications and high sides of considering the woven bags, Mr. Häder spoke about the W&H, its global footprint, and the Growth Story – Block Bottom Bags, the product life cycle of Block bottom bags and the annual production of cement packing in Block Bottom.

The third panelist of our session was Mr. Jörn-Peter Bäumer, Managing Partner at B&B Verpackungstechnik GmbH, the topics discussed by Mr. Bäumer was about Next Generation innovation in Bulk material packaging, the advantages of Pinch bags, Alternative for sewn WPP bags, WPP bag making technology – hot air vs. hot melt and WPP bag/sack making technology – future development outlook.

The fourth panellist of the web seminar is Mr. Anuj Sahni, General Manager – Sales & Marketing, Windmöller & Hölscher India, he has spoken about the client testimonial and the experience of transferring to woven bags in Indian subcontinent with a video of clients sharing their experience of working with and W&H and Woven bags.

At the end we have Mr. Pankaj Shah, Chairman, Indian Plastics Institute, helping the participants to understand the industry plastics, and packaging in India, and also have explained in brief about Indian Plastics Institute and the association with the packaging industry.

Finally, we had the Q&A session moderated and concluded by Mr. Manohar where he took up several interesting and pertinent questions posed by the attendees. We also had poll questions to be answered. From the partners, we had all the speakers answering all the questions with grit. The web seminar was duly attended by 200+ attendees from the German industry.

Emerging Technology Trends in Manufacturing Processes at Pune

Manufacturing industry undergone a major transformation with the recent developments in the technologies like Industry 4.0, Additive manufacturing & E Mobility. The fundamentals of Manufacturing such as Joining, Cutting and Welding, being the trending discussions, has undergone a major upgrade during the pandemic.

Digitalization is the leading the face of transformation in traditional manufacturing. These functions are still the important processes for most of the automobile and machine making industries. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the manufacturers to embrace change in order to stay ahead of the competition and win the market share in an ever-evolving industry. Those who wish to not just survive, but thrive, must leverage the latest technologies and trends.

It is critical that manufacturers with outmoded techniques and processes look to invest in upgrading. There is no time to waste: manufacturers looking to stay competitive need to serve their customers 

In the light of this burgeoning potential in the manufacturing technology growth, VDMA is creating a creating a comprehensive awareness on the emerging trends in manufacturing competitiveness organizing the International Symposium on “Emerging Technology Trends in Manufacturing Processes”. VDMA along with its international partners, Contrinex, Destaco, EAC Consulting, Messer Cutting, Tox Pressotechnik, and Trumpf at The Hyatt Regency Pune on 01-Sept-2021.

The event organized by VDMA India, started off by the traditional Lamp lighting by Mr. Sameer Mathur, Chief Operating officer – SCHAEFFLER India, and all the partners.

The welcome address video by Mr. Rajesh Nath, followed by the Chief guest’s address about the digitalization and the current technical trends in manufacturing processes, Mr. Mathur speech was followed by the release of a knowledge paper on “Emerging Market Opportunities in Indian Metal Fabrication Industry” by EAC Consulting.

The Knowledge partner presentation by the Principle consultant of EAC Mr. Unmesh Lohite, on “Emerging Market Opportunities in Indian Metal Fabrication Industry” setting up the stage with the current market picture of the manufacturing and Metal fabrication industry.

The Technical Presentations of the day started with Presentation on High performance Rugged Sensors & Smart Safety, by Mr. Abhijeet Ghodke, Regional Manager – West, Contrinex Automation Pvt Ltd., who gave the audience an overall view on the importance of Sensors and transducers in the field of IoT and I4.0. Followed by the Presentation on A to Z of Thermal Cutting Solutions under One Roof, by Mr. Utkarsh Landekar, Head – Laser Business & Exports, Messer Cutting Systems, who explained the different technologies used in sheet metal cutting.

Presentation on the High Performance Clamping and Workholding Technologies for Manufacturing Applications, Mr. Amol Khairnar, Sales Manager India, Destaco was insightful on the tool holding and welding technologies.

Presentation on Technology Solutions for Manufacturing World in Transition, by Mr.Sachin Gambhire, Associate Director Business Development & Marketing, TRUMPF India who gave a deep insight in the modern technologies in cutting, especial laser cutting technologies . The Virtual Presentation on Clinching, Riveting and Setting of Functional Elements for today’s world of mobility by Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Pfeiffer, Managing Director, TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK, who joined LIVE from Germany. 

After the conclusion of the second and last technical session for the day. Thereafter Mr. Manohar S, Regional Head – South, VDMA India proceeded to give his concluding remarks. He thanked all the companies for their astute and relevant presentations, and the attendees for their active participation. The event came to an end with a networking lunch.

It is safe to say that VDMA India has always been a forerunner in hosting industrial events and it was a pleasure to see physical events being held after several months. It is better to adapt, overcome and succeed in these trying times.