Process Plant Equipment (PPE) basically comprises heavy equipment used in various process industries for the production of goods. This equipment is used in the oil and gas (including refinery), chemical, fertilizer, petrochemical, power, cement, food and beverages, and pulp and paper, and other industries. While there are no definitive figures available for the total volume and value of equipment used in such diverse industries, Technavio, a leading technology research and advisory company with a global coverage, had forecast that the PPE market in India would grow at a CAGR of 11.18 per cent over the period 2013-2018.

Like many other industry segments, the PPE too has? a small number of highly organised corporates including multinational players occupying the top end of the market in value and sophistication, but the bulk of the players are in the unorganised sector catering to the lower end of the value chain. Among the large players are companies like Alfa Laval, Alstom India, Godrej & Boyce, Larsen & Toubro, FLSmidth & Co, Ingersoll-Rand, Swetha Engineering and Walchandnagar Industries

With over 70,000 products, India is the 6th largest producer of chemicals in the world, the 3rd largest in Asia. The country is also the world's third largest producer of agro-chemicals. India also accounts for approximately 16% of the world production of dyestuff and dye intermediates. And except for certain products reserved for the MSME sector, 100% FDI is allowed under the automatic route in the chemicals sector, subject to all the applicable regulations and laws.

The estimated size of the Indian chemicals industry is US$ 144 billion. The total production of the Indian chemicals industry was 19.30 million MT in 2013-14. The global manufacturing industry has always had an eye on the Indian markets, which is now leading to the next step of actually investing in the country with the great initiative of the new government to "Make in India" - that emphasises on making India a global manufacturing hub of which the chemical industry is an important part. Along with the manufacturing facilities comes the need for chemical process equipment, which comprises of several types of equipment such as pressure vessels, columns, towers, heat exchangers, reactors, evaporators, crystallisers, dryers, storage tanks, stirrers, and furnaces, among others.

Similarly, the Indian food industry is poised for huge growth, increasing its contribution in world food trade every year. In India, the food sector has emerged as a high-profit sector on the back of the scope it offers for value addition, particularly with the food processing industry getting recognised as a high-priority area. Accounting for about 32 per cent of the country's total food market, the food processing industry is one of the largest industries in India and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. The total food production in India estimated at US$ 258 billion presently is projected to touch US$ 482 billion by 2020. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 per cent of the country's total food market, 14 per cent of manufacturing GDP, 13 per cent of India's exports and six per cent of total industrial investment.

The Process Plant & Machinery Association of India (PPMAI), as the name suggests, is the association of Indian Process Plant and Machinery (PPM) industries that has estimated capacity of US$ 6.00 billion per annum. The association, now in its 51st year, has made significant contribution in establishing the Indian process industry. PPMAI today represents a world class pool of talent in engineering and management skills, having proven track record in basic design, multidisciplinary detailed engineering, manufacturing of plant and equipment, transportation, installation, construction at sites, erection and commissioning of process plants.

India has a well-developed process industry. It is the second largest refiner in Asia. India has petroleum-refining capacity of over 160 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). The world's largest grass root refinery with 32 MTPA capacity is located in India. It has a number of gas cracker complexes with down stream facility producing 5 MTPA plastics and polymers. India produces 15 MTPA of fertilizers; and has the widest range of chemicals like caustic (2.4 MTPA), soda ash (2.7 MTPA), and sulphuric acid, dyes and dye intermediates and fine chemicals. India has fast growing pharmaceutical industry with well-developed drug intermediate manufacturing facilities.

PPMAI members provide products and services to diverse range of industries in India and abroad such as oil & gas, hydrocarbon refining and processing, fertilizer, chemical, paper & pulp, synthetic fibre, food & dairy and environment control. The members also participate in the infrastructure projects like power generation, ports water and effluent management and airports. The PPM industry, which has developed all round skills with ingenuity in the former closed economy, has now become globally competitive in the new liberalised environment in India. It has exported its systems, equipment and services to almost every part of globe. Its contribution to process industry in Middle East, South East Asia and Africa is significant. In fact while just a few years ago Indian process equipment makers were mere visitors to ACHEMA but are today prominent participants with technologically advanced products for the global market.

Indian Companies at ACHEMA

When the curtains came down on ACHEMA 2015, the leading triennial global trade fair for the process industry, held in June 2015, the organisers had reasons to be pleased with the statistics. With over 170,000 attendees from more than 100 countries and 3,800 exhibitors from 56 countries, the event surpassed the figures achieved at the 2012 edition and proved to be the world's most comprehensive - and most inspiring event for the chemical process industries.

There were over 170 companies from India participating at ACHEMA 2015. Among the participants were companies like Kirloskar Brothers Ltd, Praj Industries, Swiss Glascoat, Filtromix, Khosla Profil, Investa Pumps, J D Jones, Leak-Proof Engineering, Metflow, and many others. Praj Industries, a global process solutions company, showcased its Biowiz Bioreactor for the biopharma industry along with integrated, energy-efficient solutions for water and wastewater treatment for industrial applications and critical process equipment and systems, which is serving the process industries globally. Kirloskar Brothers too announced the launch of its technologically advanced ROMAK Pump at ACHEMA, through group company Kirloskar Pompen B V.

In fact for the first time, more than half of exhibitors (53.9%) came from outside Germany. China was second in the exhibitor number rankings behind Germany and was ahead of Italy by only the narrowest of margins. According to the organisers, there was also a substantial increase in the number of companies from Turkey, Taiwan and India; and Austria, the UK and Spain showed the largest increase in the EU region. In fact maintaining the technical edge of German and other European companies in face of growing competition from other countries was a major concern during the event.

The focus of this edition of ACHEMA, for the first time, was trained on three major themes: Process Analytical Technology (PAT), Industrial Water Engineering and Biobased Production. Apart from these, the other areas, ranging from laboratory and analytical techniques to packaging machinery, from pumps, valves and fittings to the complete range of process engineering through to plant engineering and construction, were also well represented.