Expertise borne from 35 years of machine tool experience, U-Tech has represented cutting-edge solutions in machine tool peripherals and sub-assemblies. In this interview with IPF, the Director of U -Tech Associates, Anant Deshpande provides update on the present status of Indian machine tool industry alongwith the company’s contribution in the same.

 

Could you take us through U-Tech's profile in brief?

U-Tech is a group of 3 companies making its mark in the field of CNC machine tools with products ranging from ATC’s, rotary tables, coolers and chillers, coolant filtration products, chip handling products and air filtration products. Vision of U-Tech is to be the best source of machine tool peripherals, sub-assemblies and accessories in India. Although we don’t manufacture any CNC machines, we have products to cater to this industry in terms of sub-assemblies and peripherals. We have taken a huge step in manufacturing innovative products like chip compactor which helps any company generating tons of scrap to compact form and save a lot in terms of transportation and storage space.

 

Which segment do you cater to majorly?

We only cater to the metal cutting machines. 

 

Machine tools industry has been catering largely to automotive and auto component industry. Are you seeing machine tool makers diversifying into other industries as well? Which are these new industries?

Machine tool industry is now looking for huge jump in sales to the aerospace industry. Moreover, in the present scenario, lot of emphasis for sales of these metal cutting machines are given to the Indian Defence establishment where there has been a surge of new procurements. Apart from these, we feel there will be an upward trend in the consumer durable industry.

 

With the opening of defence manufacturing sector, do you see a rise in prospects for machine tools industry?

Absolutely. There is a huge demand in this industry for new machines at the moment. The defence sector is being given a major boost by the present government and things are now moving in a positive direction.

 

How do you view the market for machine tools (metal cutting and/or metal forming machines) in India? Which end-user industries are driving the demand for machine tools and its accessories?

The market for machine tools is always growing. The Indian manufacturers however need to build machine with better capability comparable to machines from Japan, Taiwan. At the moment, approximately 50% of Indian machine tool consumption is catered by imports. If Indian manufacturers are focusing on high end machines, there is always a good opportunity to take away some part of the share catered by imports. End user industries like defence and auto ancillaries are the ones driving the industry at the moment.

 

Where do you see prominent business opprtunities for machine tools industry?

Machine tool industry has a very good opportunity in railways, ship building and medical equipment and instrumentation industry. I hope these industries take full advantage of the capability of the Indian machine tool industry.

 

Is Indian machine tools industry ready for adoption of new technologies (such as automation, robotics, 3D printing, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, etc)?

I would say they are not entirely ready 100%. But, there are a few manufacturers who are actively taking up Industry 4.0. I think it is high time Indian manufacturers take this up on priority since we are still way behind products which are imported in the Indian market.

 

Any new launches in the pipeline for India? If yes, please elaborate

Yes, we are launching two new products in IMTEX 2019. One of them is Gulpy, which is a sump cleaner for the machine tool industry. This product acts like a sump cleaner mainly to be used to filter and clean a CNC machine tool coolant tank without any fuss. It has a very high powered vacuum pump to suck all the muck which is settled at the bottom of the tank and clean it in a very short amount of time. Second is a new variant of the chip compactor Briketto which is much more compact and efficient. The compactor also has one more unique feature which I would not disclose now but you will see it working in the exhibition.

 

What are the benefits offered by your products & services to your customers?

U-Tech offers a complete solution including pre-sales assistance and more importantly after-sales service which is a very important part of the system. The products manufactured by U-Tech are mainly inclined towards solving problems which are normally faced by the maintenance department in any end-user industry. All in all, U-Tech can provide its customers end to end solutions related to coolant handling, chip handling, air filtration and sub-assemblies like ATC’s all under one roof.

 

Who are the leading users (customers) of your products and services?

BFW, Fanuc, Mazak, Maruti, Kennametal, RICO, LMW, BFL, GREAVES, BOSCH, Wendt, EFD, Sandvik, Ashok Leyland, Titan, Delphi,  Federal Mogul, Aequs, Billforge, Inducto Therm, Dunung, Axles India, Amul Industries, Force Motors, Global Auto, International Tractors, Kirloskar Ferrous, Toyota, Sound Castings, Sebros, to name a few.

 

What are your growth plans for the Indian market?

With the growth in our business during the last quarter of 2017-18, we are planning to shift to a new facility with a bigger work space catering to the increased business. We are also aggressively targeting major OEM’s for our filtration products which are known for their quality. We are also bringing in new products for the machine tool shop floor which would make life of a maintenance engineer easier.