We opened a new office in Germany named ACE Micromatic International

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We opened a new office in Germany named ACE Micromatic International

We opened a new office in Germany named ACE Micromatic International

Interviews
Aug 29,23

Ace Micromatic Group is a global machine tool group offering a variety of solutions in turning, milling, grinding, IoT, 3D printing and smart manufacturing. Ace Designers Limited is the group company which deals into turning machines. T K Ramesh, Managing Director, Ace Designers Limited in this interview with Ayushi Khandelwal shares the trending drift in products as well as demand in the machine tool industry.

We opened a new office in Germany named ACE Micromatic International

Can you brief us about the Ace Micromatic Group?

Ace Micromatic Group is in the machine tool business which includes turning, milling and grinding. We produce CNC turning machines, CNC machining centres, CNC and non-CNC cylindrical grinders. We sell around 7000 CNC machines every year. These machines are used widely for different operations. But with the change in the type of product it produces, changes in the tools, speed, feed, cycle time, production number etc of the machine. So, we also offer customised machines to our customers with their specific needs. Tooling, workholding, coolant, program, installation etc are some solutions offered by us. We have different group companies categorised on the operations they cater to. For instance, Ace Designers are into turning machines, AMS is into milling, Micromatic Machine Tools is into sales and services, Micromatic Grinding Technologies is into grinding, Taurus is into SPM business, and SINAR is into laser cutting.

From a service perspective, we offer installation, commissioning, warranty support etc. We have tech centres that have a representative selection of CNC lathes, machining centres, and grinders available for customers to get hands-on experience with the machines. Our team of engineers has extensive experience in process development, tooling, fixturing, and programming to provide the best machining solutions. These products and solutions are used across various manufacturing industries, automotive being one of the biggest shares in it, medical machining, aerospace, general engineering, railways etc. Market-wise, either OEMs are the direct buyers of our machines or the suppliers who provide parts to these OEMs.

What are some new products/solutions launched by Ace Micromatric Group in the past year?

Every year we bring out at least two to three new products for each of the group companies in different sectors such as turning, machining centres etc. Recently, we have entered into additive manufacturing and 3D printing. This is a new initiative of the ACE Micromatic Group. We have set up a new company in the group called Amace which is into 3D printing. We also introduced five axis turning centres in the last year.

How are you geared up for EMO Hannover 2023 happening in September 2023?

We are exhibiting at EMO Hannover. As the Ace Micromatic Group, we are presenting our products/solutions in four halls at EMO. We are showcasing two CNC turning machines, drill tap machining centres, cylindrical grinding machines, tooling and turrets at the event.

What are some emerging trends in the machine tool industry?

There are a few trends emerging in the industry. See, ultimately everything is about cost, quality and delivery. People nowadays are demanding machines that have a certain built-on intelligence on them which can lead to digitisation. The demand from these machines is not only to produce parts, but with the help of AI/IIOT, these machines can reflect on process control, future failures, maintenance needs etc. People are looking for a layer of intelligence on the machine. Another trend that is emerging in the industry is the demand for just enough machines. People do not want to increase their capital costs by buying a machine that has extra features that are not required. They want to invest in a machine that can produce the parts as per their requirement.

Today there is a lot of emphasis on automation. Another important trend emerging in the industry is the machines with material handling characteristics. No one wants hazards. So, machines that can load, unload, move parts etc are in demand. Some of these demands are accomplished in some cases by robots, gantries, conveyors etc. These trends were already there in the market but because of the cost and awareness didn’t get the momentum. But nowadays, people are becoming aware of it and can afford these technologies. These complete solutions are called turnkey solutions. We as Ace Micromatic Group have a set of people who can provide such complete turnkey solutions and we have several such installations in the automotive and general engineering industry.

What are some industries in India creating a demand for machine tools in the market?

The automotive industry has always there in India, but now they are becoming bigger and global. As we have seen over the last 15-20 years, all the major automobile manufacturers, from all parts of the world, are making their products in India. Availability of engineering talent, machines etc are some of the reasons for it. The change which took place is, today they are also making parts, cars or finished products which are being exported to other parts from India. At the same time, they are also supplying these parts to the assembly plants all over the world. So, from a quantity perspective, India is becoming global. It has become a source of parts. So, the capacity requirement for the manufacturing industry is really growing.

Other industry such as electronics manufacturing, which was not big in India, is also becoming bigger today. Parts manufacturing for the electronic industry is growing. Another sunrise industry that is growing in India is medical machining. There are a lot of requirements for filling, bolts, nuts, balls and sockets, knee replacements, X-ray machines, CT scans, etc. The aerospace sector is also growing and increasing demand.

How was the year 2023 for the Ace Micromatic Group and some growth plans for the coming years?

For FY23 we closed our books at around 3000 crore and we're looking at least about 20 per cent growth for the coming year. Our exports at this point are around 10 per cent. We now have a new office in Germany called ACE Micromatic International. We are aggressively making export investments which we believe will help taking our exports to about to about 25 per cent in the next three years.