Ashwin Dhingra, Managing Director and CEO, MACHT Technologies Pvt Ltd, says that given India’s large pool of engineering manpower, the country’s manufacturing sector has the potential to overtake IT as the primary creator of jobs and revenue by several times. The Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh)-based MSME, MACHT provides solutions to the automobile and precision engineering industry in design and manufacture of machines tools, modular units, automation systems, tooling, jigs and fixtures, and precision machined parts. 

 

In conversation with Manish Pant, Dhingra tracks the development in Indian manufacturing sector and the growth plans for his company.

 

To begin with, tell us something about your products?

 

We are a 23-year old “young company”. My late father and I started the firm in 1994. We launched with a view to providing engineering solutions to the auto and precision engineering Industry. We started out with manufacturing a very small batch of precision components and today we make multi-axes linear & rotary transfer machines. Rotary transfer machines have been around for some time, but they are mostly used for drilling, tapping and other simpler operations. We wish to take  rotary transfer machines to a level where they shall perform complete machining operations required of the part to provide well-engineered solutions to our customer.

We have also come out with a two-axes CNC machining unit, which is something totally new in the Indian market. It is an A2-4 sized servo self-feed spindle unit, coupled with a facing head that is also actuated through a servo motor. This unit can be used in rotary transfer machines to perform a variety of operations like contour turning, grooving, ID boring, etc. Then we also have our work horse, CNC turning lathe, which was developed way back in 2011. We are not marketing this standard machine as we are of the firm view that one shirt size does not fit all. Therefore, we’re very happy with our ‘made- to- order’ machines business. Give us your specifications and we will give you a machine that best suits your requirement.

 

You spoke about multi-axes machine tools. So, what sets you apart from competition?

 

Every part requires a number of operations and the cost of the component is governed by the number of operations that are required to be performed. We try to conceptualise the machine wherein we can do many operations simultaneously so as to reduce the process time. And if that is not feasible, we break the processes into stages and build them around a rotary indexing table. All these operations are performed simultaneously, albeit sequentially, on the parts presented at the stations. Our focus mainly is on productivity, which has a direct relation to the cost of component

 

You claim that your products are completely indigenised. How do you achieve that?

 

Basically, we go in for ideas. Mechanical engineering industry has almost come to a saturation point, with not many new things being developed. Over the years, we have learnt to adapt a particular technology for the customer. Once we know their requirements we collectively begin to apply our knowledge as a team to develop a product or machine to suit their requirements. We thus end up developing a completely new product which might be an amalgamation of many different types of technologies.

 

Where do you have your development centre?

 

Our primary development centre is basically in our brain! I might just get an idea while sitting here and then it has to be implemented. Once while I was in a dentist’s chair and the doctor was drilling in my mouth, I suddenly saw one small tool in her hand and that gave me an idea for a machine. Afterwards I made a sketch and sent it off to my team. Our plant in Ghaziabad is where we implement these ideas that we generate. Since we are into a specialised business, it is quite possible that you might see ten of our machines on a shop floor, but with none resembling each other. 

 

How do you see the manufacturing sector evolve?

 

The manufacturing sector in India has a fantastic potential. And so far, our potential has not been fully utilised. Indian companies have been mostly selling their skills in the IT sector, which is experiencing a downside. Young people who have studied to enter the industry, are disillusioned as they are unable to find work. We in the manufacturing sector have the manpower, technology and knowledge, but what we do not have is a market and that needs to be created. You will not find such cheap engineering manpower anywhere else in the world. I worked in Germany for two years and I do feel we can, with our vast engineering resource, be equally successful in providing engineering solutions to the Western world as we have done in the IT Sector.

 

Does that mean we will see more innovation happening here?

 

I certainly hope so. India has leapfrogged the Industrial Revolution. Not so long ago we used to drive bullock carts. However, today ISRO is sending several satellites into space in one go. How did this happen? The British brought technology such as railroads, textiles, automobiles, etc. Over time, modes of communications also evolved and that helped in faster exchange of ideas. Soon we began adapting new technologies in our companies that we imbibed from other countries. 

 

In the last 20 years the Indian IT industry has made a lot of money. From their humble beginnings in a shop or garage, today most IT services providers have their offices in large industrial parks in Bangalore. A large volume of their business comes from providing technology resources to clients in the form of a software engineer or programmer with skills. This certainly brought India on to the world stage, however, in my opinion, we have undervalued ourselves as a country. We are worth much more than the hourly dollar rate that an average engineer earns for us. Therefore, the way forward it to realise the value that the manufacturing sector can add to the nation. The sector needs to be supported with the right kind of resources, including skilled manpower. Real money and job generation can only happen through manufacturing. For an IT job you are required to have at least a diploma. That means you have to be at least a high school graduate. However, in the manufacturing sector we have boys who have only studied till eighth standard. Even in a small firm like mine, they make a decent amount of money, while also availing of all other statutory benefits.

 

What is the percentage of exports in your total production?

 

The machine tool industry is not at its best performing level as the market is presently down. Last year, we exported nearly 50 per cent of our total production.

 

Are you looking at any joint ventures or tie-ups with foreign players?

 

It will be wrong on my part to say that I am not looking for partnerships. Partnerships should be on the basis of synergy that can be created by joining hands with firms who have common or similar goals. We won’t join hands with companies who just want to come in to India to sell their products through us. We would rather join hands with someone who makes us stronger to produce innovative products for India and the world.