QUALITY
MATTERS
The
Machinist spotlights the metrology sector in India and elaborates on
the current trends in this space
With
the manufacturing sector moving towards tighter design specifications
for materials and products, margins are getting smaller and therefore
the parts and products have to be manufactured with greater accuracy.
In recent years accuracy of production and measurement has attained
crucial relevance, which has led to the active usage of sophisticated
measuring. The general mood in the Indian metrology industry is one
of optimism.
While
the future prospects critically depend on the change in customers' mindset
and quality consciousness, companies that are customer-oriented are
expected to be more successful than others. India can also become a
manufacturing hub for major metrology companies world over, albeit with
certain changes in Government regulations.
Renishaw
Plc has a wholly-owned subsidiary in India. This British major has an
annual turnover in excess of £110 million and exports over 90 per cent
of its annual production from its base in Gloucestershire, UK.
Supplying
products to the world's leading industrial nations, Renishaw is acknowledged
as one of the worldwide technological leaders in metrological equipment.
Mark Chappell, Director and Country Manager, India Operations, Renishaw,
shares his views on the current status of the metrology sector in India,
in a tête-à-tête with Chitra
Sethi.
What
is the market size of the metrology segment in India? How is the market
the world over and what percentage does India have in the global pie?
Metrology
as a whole encompasses a broad spectrum of products such as verniers,
calipers, form, surface and optical measuring equipment, coordinate
measuring machines (CMM), gear measuring equipment and calibration systems.
The market size of the metrology segment in the manufacturing industry
in India could be fairly placed in the order of about 5-8 per cent of
the total production outlay.The world metrology market saw a huge slump
post September 11, 2001.
However,
a recovery has been seen over the past one year.When it comes to the
global share, India currently contributes between 1- 2 per cent. We
have seen a steady growth in the demand for measuring machines and associated
metrology/metrological equipment in the Indian market in all segments
– small, medium and large scale industries.
As
a leading global player in the field of metrology,what are your plans
for India?
We
consider India as one of the markets that is growing rapidly. It is
one of the few countries which has a complete array of manufacturing
products spanning from general engineering to space technology.As a
result, the metrology requirement for these industries is also varied.
Renishaw's probe systems for CMMs are an industry standard, and the
use of the company's touch probes for machine tools is accepted practice
for automating tool setting,workpiece set-up and gauging on machining
centres and CNC lathes. We do not stop at CMM probing.
We
can offer positional devices (encoders), calibration devices, allied
comprehensive software, online measurement through CNC machines and
a comprehensive product range. Our full-fledged subsidiary office is
based in Bangalore to meet the needs of both the original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs) and the end users.We have appointed distributors
across the country to promote our products. We do have competition all
over the world in various forms.
But
as a company,we have invested in giving the customers in India what
they actually require – good quality products, a team of competent technical
support engineers, locally stocked products and, most importantly, a
solution for all metrological requirements. Renishaw has the necessary
infrastructure in place both in terms of sales network and support.We
have done so when the industry was going through a lean....
.........CONTD
