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India serves as a strategic pillar for Silmax’s Asian expansion: Dr Fumagalli
Articles- Nov 29,25
In this interview with Rakesh Rao, Dr Dario Maria Fumagalli, President & CEO, Silmax, elaborates on the growth potential of India’s machine tools industry and the company’s long-term commitment to the country’s industrial ecosystem.
Established in 1819, Silmax SpA, the Italian manufacturer of precision milling and drilling tools, opened a new manufacturing facility in Bengaluru in November 2025 to meet the growing demand in India. The Bengaluru facility will enable localised production, rapid customisation and closer collaboration with customers in aerospace, defence, EV and high-precision sectors. In this exclusive interview with Rakesh Rao, Dr Dario Maria Fumagalli, President & CEO, Silmax, elaborates on the growth potential of India’s machine tools industry and the company’s long-term commitment to the country’s industrial and talent ecosystem.
How has Silmax’s two-century legacy shaped its approach to technology, innovation and global competitiveness?
With more than two centuries of history behind the company, certain lessons have become central to its identity. This long legacy has taught Silmax the value of precision while reinforcing the need to continuously evolve. Sustained leadership is not built on tradition alone but on adapting to new materials, emerging machining technologies and rising global expectations.
This legacy drives the company’s modern approach, where R&D investment, automation and digital innovation are central to maintaining global competitiveness. Today, Silmax’s strength lies in its ability to merge historical expertise with forward-looking technological development.
How does Silmax evaluate the growth potential of India’s machine tools industry compared with other emerging markets? What key strengths or gaps do you observe?
From Silmax’s global vantage point, India is positioned as one of the most promising emerging markets for machine tools. The country offers robust domestic demand, rapid industrialisation and a vibrant ecosystem covering automotive, aerospace, defence and precision engineering. The company identifies several strengths in India, including high-quality engineering talent, competitive manufacturing costs and a willingness among industries to adopt advanced technologies.
Silmax also notes areas for improvement, including the need for wider automation adoption, increased localisation of specialised tooling and stronger industry–academia collaboration. These gaps represent significant opportunities for global players to contribute technology, expertise and advanced manufacturing capabilities.
What strategic considerations led Silmax to establish its first Indian manufacturing unit in Bengaluru, and how does this support the company’s global roadmap?
Silmax chose Bengaluru due to its status as India’s innovation capital and its strong base in aerospace, defence, semiconductor and high-precision engineering industries. The city provides access to skilled engineers, excellent R&D capabilities and proximity to major manufacturing clusters across South India.
The Bengaluru plant fits into Silmax’s global strategy of decentralised, customer-focused manufacturing, bringing production closer to high-growth markets, improving delivery speed and supporting customer-specific requirements. India now serves as a strategic pillar of Silmax’s broader Asian expansion.
How will the new 5,000 sq ft Bengaluru facility, with a monthly capacity of 4,000–5,000 tools, enhance Silmax’s precision and customisation capabilities?
The new facility allows Silmax to deliver high-precision, customised tooling solutions with significantly reduced lead times. The ability to manufacture 4,000–5,000 tools per month locally helps the company respond rapidly to evolving customer specifications, especially in sectors such as aerospace and general engineering where tolerances are extremely tight.
Local production also supports collaborative design, faster prototyping and application-specific tool development, ensuring customers receive global-quality solutions tailored to Indian industry needs.
Silmax aims to achieve ?100 crore in India. Which growth drivers or industry segments will support this expansion?
Silmax’s growth strategy in India is anchored on three key drivers:
- Expansion of high-precision sectors such as aerospace, defence, EVs, die–mould and medical devices
- Increased localisation of specialised cutting tools historically imported from Europe or Japan
- Stronger customer partnerships through application engineering, rapid prototyping and after-sales support
The company sees particularly strong momentum in aerospace components, automotive tier-1 suppliers and the rapidly advancing EV ecosystem.
With India emerging as a global manufacturing hub, where does Silmax see the strongest opportunities for advanced cutting tools and machine tool technologies?
Silmax identifies the greatest opportunities in industries requiring high-precision, high-complexity machining. These include aerospace, space technology, defence, medical implants, the EV sector and renewable-energy manufacturing.
India’s shift towards indigenous production and export-grade manufacturing is expected to substantially increase demand for solid carbide tools, special tools and digitally integrated machining solutions.
Which Indian sectors are expected to offer the fastest growth for machine tool makers over the next 5–10 years?
According to Silmax, the fastest-growing segments will include:
- Aerospace and defence, supported by government-led localisation
- EV and e-mobility, driven by the adoption of lightweight, precision-machined components
- Medical devices, requiring high-accuracy and contamination-safe manufacturing
- Renewable-energy components, especially solar and wind equipment
- Die and mould manufacturing, expanding across automotive and electronics industries
These sectors demand sophisticated, high-precision tooling—an area where Silmax has strong technological strengths.
How are automation and AI transforming the manufacturing and machine tools ecosystem?
Silmax observes that automation is reshaping the modern shop floor by enhancing productivity, consistency and safety. CNC automation, robotic handling, IoT-based monitoring and real-time machine diagnostics have become central to advanced manufacturing.
AI is further accelerating this transformation through predictive maintenance, tool-wear analytics, adaptive machining and the automatic optimisation of cutting parameters.
For tool manufacturers, AI enables the design of more efficient tool geometries and performance simulations, resulting in higher accuracy and reduced setup time for customers.
How does Silmax plan to contribute to India’s manufacturing talent ecosystem through its upcoming skill-development programmes?
Beginning in 2026, Silmax will introduce structured training programmes aimed at young engineers entering the manufacturing sector. These programmes will focus on advanced machining, tool design, digital manufacturing and real-world industrial applications.
Through these initiatives, Silmax intends to support the creation of a highly skilled, future-ready workforce capable of driving India’s growth in precision engineering. In the long term, the company plans to expand its manufacturing footprint, strengthen application-engineering capabilities, collaborate with academia and industry, and position India as a significant global hub within Silmax’s R&D and production ecosystem.
Dr Dario Maria Fumagalli
Silmax
Italy
Machine Tools
Cutting Tools
Precision Engineering
Aerospace Manufacturing
EV Components
Bengaluru Facility
Automation
AI in Machining
Industrial Innovation
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