Could you brief us about Fuji Electric’s India operations?
The association of Fuji Electric with India goes back to more than three decades. Fuji Electric India, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Fuji Electric Co Ltd was established in 2009. We acquired Consul Neowatt power solutions which was the largest UPS provider in India in 2019 and with that, our expansion strategy in India went on a fast-track. We are now able to make inroads across the country and offer solutions which are made in India, while staying true to our Japanese technology.

Fuji Electric India manufacturers single phase UPS, three phase UPS, AC low voltage drives, medium voltage drives, active harmonic filters, solar inverters, servo stabilisers, servo systems, HMI, motion control, factory & process automation, instrumentation and power semiconductors. We are registering a growth of over 18 per cent year on year and we aim to move from the ‘1000 crore company’ tag to ‘1500 crore company’ by end of 2024.

Fuji Electric India has a total of 35,00,000 sq feet manufacturing facilities in Chennai and Pune with state-of-the-art manufacturing process and testing equipment. The key industries that we serve include steel, manufacturing, port & crane, heavy industries, metro and airport.

Recently, Fuji Electric India opened its new facility in Tamil Nadu. What is the significance of this for the company and its customers?
The new factory for drives and automation in Chennai is to strengthen our local capabilities. With this, Fuji Electric India will be able to produce 120K drives annually and also make 200K PCBs. Localisation of PCB manufacturing will prove beneficial to all stakeholders concerned. The investment put into setting up this most modern manufacturing plant in India will fulfil our vision to manufacture automation products, help us meet customers’ demands and also propel to becoming a 1500 crore company by the end of 2024. As for the Indian customers, they will get made in India products powered by the best of Japanese technologies.

As one of the leading suppliers of drives and automation products, how do you analyse the market at present in India?
Our country is registering a higher growth rate and there are huge opportunities available. There is demand from tier two and tier three cities. As the companies revive themselves in the post pandemic, scenario the demand increases. Both the organised and unorganised market is opening up. The initiatives of the government of India like the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’ are also playing its part to increase the demand.

The market requirements are increasing manifold and so are the customers’ demands. It is to harness this demand, that we inaugurated the new facility in Chennai. We are on a relentless drive to improve all aspects of our operations and maintain our status as one of the best in the industry.

What are challenges and new opportunities before companies like Fuji Electric in India?
We are looking to further invest upto Rs 400 crore in India, over the next four years. We are looking forward to serve more Indian customers with our increased capacity and also are looking at opportunities to export made-in-India hardware to South East Asia, Middle East, Africa, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and among others.

We have already surpassed Rs 1000 crores for the financial year 2022-23 and we are aiming at Rs 1500 crore in annual revenue in India by 2024. This is the fantastic time to be in the Indian market. The Indian economy is growing at a steady pace and the economic fundamentals are in place. Large investments are happening in various sectors generating huge business opportunities. The budgetary allocation of Rs 35,000 crore towards renewable energy projects and the customs duty waiver on import of components for manufacture of lithium-ion batteries will work to our advantage.

The key challenges are semiconductor shortage and raw materials availability. The average semiconductor sourcing lead time is between six months to two years. Some chips have sourcing lead times that are beyond two years.

How are massive capital investments in infrastructure, power, railways/metros, electric vehicles, renewable energy, etc leading to increase in demand for Fuji Electric’s products and solutions?
We at Fuji Electric India are focused towards make in India initiative. Our recent inauguration of automation factory was part of our expansion plan to strengthen our manufacturing base in southern India. We are witnessing a lot of investments in infrastructure, power, railways/metros, electric vehicles, renewable energy, manufacturing and electronics space in the country as part of government initiatives. Such new investments are certainly going to boost our demand going forward. We are growing in tandem with these sectors by offering made in India solutions.

How much do exports contribute to Fuji Electric India’s turnover? How do you intend to scale it up?
The products from Fuji Electric India are primarily for the Indian customers. The contribution of exports is 2 per cent at the moment but we aim to increase it to 10 per cent in coming years. We want to give made-in-India products with Japanese technology to our customers.

What are the emerging trends in the manufacturing/engineering industry?
Cloud adoption, analytics and big data, industrial IoT, artificial intelligence and machine learning, product as a service, smart factories and manufacturing, digital twin technology are some of the emerging trends. Sustainability is another major focus and companies are looking at ways to meet wider net-zero targets.

What are your long and short-term growth plans for your company in India?
Fuji Electric 2.0 plan for India provides a roadmap to achieve the vision which is to become the premier, preferred, and leading energy and automation solutions provider. The focus is also on constantly improving the manufacturing, R&D, and human resources capabilities – in India, and for India. In long term, we want to be premium player in India providing energy and automation solutions and in short term we want to be 1500 crore company by next year.