In presence of who's who of the industry and key government functionaries, curtains of 3i EXPO 2022 will be raised on May 20, 2022 at Nehru Centre in Mumbai. Som Parkash, Union Minister of State, Commerce & Industry, Government of India, will grace the event as the Chief Guest. Dr P Anbalagan, CEO, MIDC; Sanjay Bhatia, Upa-Lokayukta of Maharashtra; and P M Parlewar, Director, MSME Development Institute will be the other key dignitaries who will share their views during the 3i EXPO.

With manufacturing emerging as one of the high-growth sectors, the Government of India launched the ‘Make in India’ program to place the country on the world map as a manufacturing hub and give global recognition to the Indian economy. India has the potential to become a global manufacturing hub and by 2030, it can add more than $ 500 billion annually to the global economy. With India aiming to become a manufacturing factory of the world, adoption of modern manufacturing technologies (including Industry 4.0) becomes imperative.

To fulfil this need of the manufacturing, Industrial Products Finder (IPF) - a 50-year-old publication that has been a partner in India’s industrial growth since its inception in 1972 - will be hosting 3i EXPO 2022 (IPF for Industry 4.0 & Innovations Expo) with the sole aim of making India ready for Manufacturing 4.0. The Expo will display technologies and products that will help companies transform their factories and industrial units or machinery to win the benefits of Industry 4.0.

Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) is the Presenting Partner of 3i EXPO, while IFM Electronic is the Associate Partner. In addition, a host of institutes have extended their support to the event. A few among them are Automation Industry Association (as the ‘Knowledge Partner’), CareEdge (as 'Analytics Partner'), ITAMMA (Indian Textile Accessories and Machinery Manufacture Association), Process Plant & Machinery Association of India (PPMAI), and MAIT. More importantly, 3i EXPO is approved & recognised by Union Ministry of MSMEs, as a result MSME exhibitors get 80% rebate on build-up space rent paid.

The 3i EXPO 2022 will be a 3-in-1 event comprising Exhibition, Conference and IPF Industry Excellence Awards (for innovative products, progressive companies & start-ups, and enterprising entrepreneurs).

3i Conference: Knowledge sharing platform
Industry 4.0 is revolutionising the industry by focusing heavily on interconnectivity, automation, machine learning (ML), real time data, etc. During the conference at 3i EXPO, experts will deliberate on innovative approaches and strategies for taking Indian manufacturing sector to the next level by establishing a right ecosystem of suppliers/service providers and skilling/training people to make them future ready. Two-day conference will have experts speaking on Industry 4.0, Robotics, AI, ML, Advanced Automation, Exports, 3D Printing (Additive Manufacturing), etc.

Advanced manufacturing technologies such as 3-D printing, sensors and intuitive machinery are quickly finding inroads to the core of today’s industries. Manufacturing leaders should be ready to deal with rapid technological changes, modernise their legacy assets and incorporate new system designs. The conference will bring together the manufacturing leaders who will highlight on implementation challenges for Industry 4.0, embracing right adoption strategy for automation and importance of developing a technology driven business model. The conference will have a mix of speakers from the user industries and automation solution providers who will share their perspective on the topic.

Some of the confirmed speakers for the conference are Anil Bhatia, VP and MD, India Automation Solutions, Emerson; Sundararaman G, Co-CEO, Wipro PARI; Sanjeev Dharwadkar, Sr. Director - Manufacturing, Sanofi; Zurvan Marolia, Sr VP, Godrej & Boyce; N C Chakrabarti, VP & Head - Smart Manufacturing, Reliance Industries; Vivek Bhatia, MD, Thyssenkrupp; Priten Bhadrakumar Bangdiwala, Sr. VP & Head – Industry 4.0, Aditya Birla Group; Sandeep Shukla, Regional COE Head – Digital Manufacturing, TATA Technologies; Manish Bhuptani, MD, TUV India; and Sajiv Nath, MD, Yokogawa India, among others.

3i Exhibition: Showcasing unlimited possibilities
Over 50 companies will exhibit at 3i Expo and showcase their innovative products and solutions that can propel Indian manufacturing sector’s journey towards Industry 4.0. Visitors can gain knowledge on the most trending technologies and engineering processes for meeting the need of Industry 4.0. Exhibitors will include companies from sectors such as automation & robotics, additive manufacturing (3D printing), Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), Augmented Reality (AR)/ Virtual Reality (VR), connectivity modules, data analytics, electronics components, industrial IoT solutions, sensors, motors & drives, rapid prototyping & tooling, and vision systems, among others.

Some of the exhibiting companies are IFM Electronic; Robro System Pvt Ltd; Bohmen Industries; Steam Solutions; Varay Image Runners; Avcon Controls; Subtronics India; Surface Modification Technologies; etc

IPF Awards 2022: Recognising excellence
As part of its extension programme to connect better with the stakeholders, Industrial Product Finder (IPF) annually hosts IPF Industrial Excellence Awards - the only event that recognises innovative products in a wide range of categories. Awards are presented to companies and individuals to appreciate and acknowledge their contribution to the growth of the manufacturing sector. The 6th IPF Industrial Excellence Awards will be hosted along with 3i EXPO 2022 and present awards in following categories:

Promoting Industry 4.0
Run up to the 3i EXPO, IPF hosted multiple webinars and roundtables to create awareness of various aspects of Industry 4.0. The first webinar in the series was titled “Aatmanirbhar Bharat: The story so far”. The panelists of the webinar included Anup Wadhwa, Director of Automation Industry Association (AIA); Milind Kulshreshtha, Founder & CEO of AiKiaros; Samiron Ghoshal, Senior Partner of Amrop; Sanjay Deshmukh, Head of Global Presales at Findability Sciences; and G Sundararaman, Senior Vice President & Head, Wipro PARI Automation business.

As highlighted in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, sustainability has to be the core business strategy for the future. Some researchers estimate that Industry 4.0 technology alone could reduce emissions by up to 15% by 2030. Against this background, IPF hosted the second 3i EXPO series webinar - titled “Industry 4.0 for Manufacturing Sustainably” - to dive deeper into how Industry 4.0 can help in reducing carbon footprint and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Panellists for panel discussion included industry experts like Abhishek Das, Director (Technology and Digital Risk Consulting), EY; N D Mhatre, Director General (Technical), Indian Textile Accessories & Machinery Manufacturers' Association (ITAMMA); Rajeev Solanki, DGM (Manufacturing Technology & Process Development), Schneider Electric; and Zurvan Marolia, Senior Vice President, Godrej & Boyce.

Roundtable discussion
Manufacturing sector (in India and globally) has been in VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) conditions since Covid 19 emerged in 2020. As a result of the pandemic, the manufacturing industry faced a lot of challenges such as human resource shortage, skill gap, supply chain disruptions, rising raw material prices, etc. Uncertainty in the global market kept exporters guessing.

Against this background, as part of pre-event marketing activity for 3i EXPO, IPF hosted two roundtables at Pune and Bangalore to highlight on how technology can be an enabler for Indian manufacturers to tap the emerging opportunities. During the roundtable, Rajesh Nath, Managing Director of VDMA India (German Mechanical Engineering Federation), gave a keynote address highlighting the evolving global machinery market and opportunities for Indian machinery makers. Ganesh Barbhai, MD of Industry Apps; Sunil Mehta, GM - e-F@ctory Strategic Planning, Factory Automation & Industrial Division of Mitsusbishi Electric India, and President of Automation Industry Association (AIA); Sivaram PV, Mentor & Advisor of Centre for Industry 4.0 Lab (C4i4 Lab), etc also participated in this discussion forum.

A must visit EXPO
3i EXPO will offer participants an opportunity to network with government decision-makers, business leaders, buyers and investors from across the region. It will be definitely be a place to identify trends and issues that will shape the future of India’s manufacturing sector. Be there to learn from the experts and take a lead in the Fourth Industrial Revolution!