<\/p>\n
Q.\u00a0Can you tell us about your company?<\/strong> Q.\u00a0The pandemic has affected businesses\u00a0globally. How is FIBRO India dealing with\u00a0<\/strong>the current business environment?<\/strong> Q.\u00a0What lessons has the lockdown taught you?<\/strong> Q.\u00a0Do you have any suggestions for the\u00a0government to help the economy revive?<\/strong> Q.\u00a0COVID-19 has adversely impacted the global\u00a0supply chain. Businesses across the world\u00a0are struggling to get on track. How could\u00a0India rise up to the challenge?<\/strong> Q.\u00a0What can Indian tool makers learn from the\u00a0<\/strong>current scenario?<\/strong> Q.\u00a0How do you foresee the future of Indian\u00a0<\/strong>manufacturing industry?<\/strong> This interview was first published in TAGMA Times newsletter\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Q.\u00a0Can you tell us about your company? FIBRO India, a 100% subsidiary of FIBRO GmbH,\u00a0was established in 2008. Initially, our company\u00a0operated from a rented space, but, in 2013, we\u00a0acquired our own premises to work from. In 2017,\u00a0we expanded to incorporate our second phase\u00a0of operations, which included manufacturing rotary tables for the automation industry. Over […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11849,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-views"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11848","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11848"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11848\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11850,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11848\/revisions\/11850"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11849"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11848"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11848"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mfgtechupdate.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11848"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nFIBRO India, a 100% subsidiary of FIBRO GmbH,\u00a0was established in 2008. Initially, our company\u00a0operated from a rented space, but, in 2013, we\u00a0acquired our own premises to work from. In 2017,\u00a0we expanded to incorporate our second phase\u00a0of operations, which included manufacturing rotary tables for the automation industry. Over
\nthe years, we added newer products to our\u00a0manufacturing list depending on the domestic\u00a0as well as international markets\u2019 demands.\u00a0Staying in line with our company\u2019s motto, FIBRO\u00a0India focuses on producing quality products
\nwith \u2018German Precision, Crafted in India\u2019. Our\u00a0headquarters in Germany offers us all the\u00a0encouragement and technical support we need\u00a0in order to do so.<\/p>\n
\nEverything was going well till 2018. However,\u00a0in 2019, owing to various factors, the global\u00a0economy began to witness a decline in growth.\u00a0And, the COVID-19 outbreak, only worsened\u00a0the scenario. The world is already facing the\u00a0consequences of the pandemic. Fortunately, for\u00a0us, we had already started re-strategising our\u00a0business plans from 2019 itself. For instance,\u00a0we decided to focus on e-commerce and\u00a0developed our webshop to help customers\u00a0place their orders from anywhere. We also\u00a0started capitalising on digital marketing to\u00a0grow our presence on social media and conduct\u00a0webinars to educate customers on our new\u00a0offerings. Additionally, we began developing\u00a0products required by the market but were not\u00a0made in India.
\nThese strategies proved very beneficial during\u00a0the lockdown. The webinars on our new product\u00a0offerings received an overwhelming response.\u00a0We started receiving orders for those products\u00a0as soon as the industry resumed operations. We\u00a0then took up similar products for development\u00a0to expand our range of offerings. In fact, we\u00a0recently launched our new Aerial CAM unit on\u00a0the digital platform.
\nFor the time being, we put on hold our investment\u00a0plans and instead of buying machinery and\u00a0equipment to manufacture some components\u00a0in-house, we have asked our vendors to supply\u00a0those critical components to us.
\nAlso, many companies have been downsizing\u00a0their staff, but FIBRO India has not done so.\u00a0Rather, we are looking to equip our company\u00a0with additional talented employees.<\/p>\n
\nThe most important lesson we learnt is that\u00a0except manufacturing, most other operational\u00a0functions such as sales and marketing, purchase,\u00a0and accounts design, among others, can be\u00a0performed on the digital platform without being\u00a0present in the office\/factory premises. And now,\u00a0with the \u2018Smart Factory\u2019 in place, manufacturing\u00a0operations can be held on the shop floor with a minimum physical presence. In fact, post\u00a0COVID-19, this is going to be the new normal\u00a0for the manufacturing industry, apart from the\u00a0use of masks, sanitizers, and maintaining social\u00a0distancing. A lot is already beginning to change.\u00a0Even many MSMEs, which were reluctant to\u00a0adopt automation, are turning to low-cost\u00a0automation solutions to deal with the situation.<\/p>\n
\nThe government is already taking commendable\u00a0steps to support the MSME sector. For starters,\u00a0it has redefined the criteria for MSMEs\u2014a\u00a0move that will help many borderline industries\u00a0expand. The government has also directed\u00a0banks to extend the credit limits without asking\u00a0for additional documentation. Economists have\u00a0estimated that it would take a couple of years\u00a0to reach the pre-COVID economic status, but\u00a0with the current tempo, the Indian engineering\u00a0industry might arrive at that point in less than\u00a0six months.<\/p>\n
\nThe pandemic has certainly disrupted the flow\u00a0of the global supply chain. Its impact on the\u00a0manufacturing sector is clearly evident. But, on\u00a0a brighter note, it has also opened doors for\u00a0our local industries to develop. India will face\u00a0new challenges, but we have to work towards\u00a0overcoming them to make \u2018Atmanirbhar Bharat\u2019\u00a0a reality. It will take some time for the \u2018Vocal for\u00a0Local\u2019 initiative to materialise, but, once it does, it\u00a0will see the rise of start-ups contributing manifold\u00a0to the economy and result in the creation of\u00a0many more employment opportunities.
\nAs a step in this direction, the government has\u00a0already undertaken initiatives to cut red tape\u00a0by making most of the processes online. This\u00a0has ensured that MSME owners do not end up\u00a0wasting time visiting government offices for\u00a0sanctions.
\nAs per the \u2018Doing Business\u2019 2020 report, India\u00a0jumped 14 places to the 63rd position in the\u00a0ease of doing business rankings. This certainly\u00a0indicates that India is able to attract FDI in the\u00a0manufacturing sector. But this is only one side of\u00a0the coin. The government still has to tackle major\u00a0roadblocks such as equipping the country with\u00a0skilled manpower, infrastructure, uninterrupted\u00a0stabilised power supply, roadways, seaways\u00a0and airports, etc. It has already taken up the\u00a0implementation projects in roadways and\u00a0development of ports, but it will take a few more\u00a0years for it to complete. The roadmap for India\u00a0to become the global manufacturing hub is\u00a0already set.<\/p>\n
\nIndian tool makers have a lot to learn. The most\u00a0important lesson is that tool makers need to\u00a0train the young aspiring tool makers the tricks\u00a0of the smart manufacturing trade. Tool making\u00a0is one of the most creative fields and should be\u00a0able to attract young talent.
\nRecently, I read a newspaper report which\u00a0stated that more than 30% seats in engineering\u00a0colleges are vacant. This indicates that there\u00a0are no jobs for engineers and hence, it is no\u00a0more as lucrative a career option as it used to\u00a0be. It is a simple demand and supply equation.\u00a0There is more supply of engineers but not\u00a0much demand for them.
\nThe quality of education is another big issue.\u00a0The government has already announced a\u00a0new education policy to be implemented\u00a0from 2022. This means that it will take at least\u00a010 years for quality engineering graduates\u00a0in all disciplines to be made available for the\u00a0industry. But, better late than never. So, for\u00a0now, it\u2019s best that every industry trains their\u00a0workers\/ engineers and staff for at least 6 to\u00a012 months before they are expected to start\u00a0delivering results.<\/p>\n
\nAs per the fourth census of MSMEs report\u00a0published in 2012, MSMEs are the second\u00a0largest employers after agriculture, accounting\u00a0for 72% services and 28% manufacturing\u00a0jobs. They also account for 45% of total\u00a0industrial production, 40% of total exports\u00a0and significantly contribute to the GDP. I\u00a0believe some good incentives like low-cost\u00a0finance, increased duty drawback, etc., would\u00a0certainly make MSMEs more cost competitive\u00a0and help them compete with other countries\u00a0like Vietnam, Indonesia, and China in the\u00a0international market.
\nConsidering the current international economic\u00a0and political situation, multinationals are\u00a0planning to set up multiple manufacturing\u00a0locations in different countries so that their\u00a0businesses remain unaffected. As such, they\u00a0would establish a supply chain in different\u00a0countries. India can certainly take advantage\u00a0of this situation.<\/p>\n