India Engineering Outsourcing Show

ABB, Danfoss, Toshiba among top global 50 firms throwing big time 

engineering outsourcing avenues to Indian businesses

Top global firms including Swiss  giant ABB, US powerhouse Cummins, Denmark based Danfossand Toshiba of Japan are among  50 international corporates which will be converging here next week to explore further avenues for outsourcing their critical businesses to Indian engineering firms capable of delivering world class technology products.

Addressing a press conference about the three-day India Engineering Outsourcing Show (IESS) beginning on January 22, EEPC India Chairman, Mr Anupam Shah, said CEOs and senior representatives of the front-ranking engineering global firms and about 300 Indian companies will all meet under the common platform.

The IESS initiative, being organised by the EEPC India (formerly Engineering Export Promotion Council) with the support from the Union Commerce Ministry, is taking place at a time when India’s domestic manufacturing industry is decelerating. “It is only through some aggressive export strategy that we can put the industrial production, particularly of the manufacturing segments, back on the rails,” Mr Shah said. 

The engineering sector is among the top two contributors to the total Indian export basket with total shipments of USD 56 billion in the previous fiscal.   Business orders worth Rs 2,000 crore are likely to be firmed on the spot while the preliminary enquiries and commercial negotiations may continue resulting into much more business orders at the IESS being held at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Goregaon.

Mr Shah said, “at the present juncture, it is only through exports that a revival can be ensured in the manufacturing sector which has shown a negative growth of 3.5 per cent in November, 2013 with several key segments facing a slump in the domestic market. With revival in the US and European economies, we foresee exports coming to the rescue of the manufacturing, which has come of age in terms of competing in the international market”.

It is in this context that even when domestic demand is sluggish, the engineering exports, which account for almost 40 per cent of the manufacturing exports, have shown a growth of 15 .per cent in December, Mr Shah said.

He said the IESS will provide a major platform not only for the Indian manufacturing exports but also the global companies to explore possibilities of further integrating their value chain by tying up with vendors from across the world, including from Africa, ASEAN, Latin America, Gulf Cooperation Council.

With Africa being seen as the new growth engine of the world, the Indian engineering exporters are building strong networks with some of the influential organisations in the continent. The COMESA, Africa’s largest Economic Community, is fielding a strong sourcing team of 87 members. Over 500 buyers from these countries have already confirmed their participation.

Some of the well-known corporations like ABB are also bringing large delegations. For instance, ABB, the engineering and energy equipment giant will be present with a large delegation of 87 members.  

Mr Shah said, though with a low base, the good thing about India’s engineering exports is that an impressive expansion of business is being witnessed in some of the high tech and mission critical items such as aircraft and spacecraft parts and even the material used in the nuclear parts.

“It sends a very positive signal about India’s
capabilities to  deliver  mission  critical  engineering  materials  to  all  around  the  world. Though the scale is still provided by the mass items such iron ore , non-ferrous  metals, transport equipment, auto components, we are moving up the global manufacturing value chain. What is even more pleasing is the fact the engineering exports are still dominated by small and medium enterprises which are also seen on the learning curve,” the EEPC chief said.

Citing examples, he said exports for ships and boats grew by 485 per cent while it was 678 per cent higher for critical consignment in October 2013. The spacecraft category exports shot up to USD 536 million in October 2013 compared to mere USD 92 in the previous corresponding year. The ships and boats exports saw an increase from USD 38 million to USD 295 million.

IESS 2014 will also be showcasing the sunrise industry of Robotics.  Industrial Robots from German major Kukka and household robots of our homegrown Milagrow will be showing their prowess at IESS this year.

To drive home a point that India can deliver some high-tech solutions to the best of the organisations in the world, the state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation and the Indian Army would also making a strong presence at the IESS, Mr Shah said. 

Several states which want to see fast industrialisation, particularly among the SMEs, are also fielding their delegations. They include Bihar, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Jharkhand. Some of the chief ministers of the partner state are, expected to visit the IESS.