Finnish company Metso unfazed by mining hiccups

The company is betting big on the Indian market; expects it to be top five in next 5 years

Metso Group, which supplies technology and services in various sectors including mining, is betting big on the Indian market. It expects to be in the top five in the next five years.

Currently, India is among the top 10 markets for the company and contributes eight per cent to its global sales.

“We expect the Indian market to double in size in the next five years,” Joao Ney, president (services business line), Metso Group told Business Standard. The company’s global sales stood at ^7.5 billion in 2012.

When asked if the ongoing crisis in India’s mining sector has impacted the company, he said: “Certainly, there has been an impact.” However, the impact has been mitigated by an increase in revenues from the services segment. “We have registered about 17 per cent growth in services segment and it contributes to 30 per cent to the total revenues. There was a flat growth in the other segment,” said Ney. The mining industry in Karnataka, Goa and Odisha — the three major iron ore producing states — is under crisis. The Supreme Court had banned mining in Karnataka in July 2011, but it was lifted partially last year and again in April this year. Goa, which accounted for more than half of iron ore exports from India, is still awaiting a verdict from the apex court. The court had banned mining in Goa in September last year.

Metso recently invested about Rs 40 crore for expansion of its foundry in Ahmedabad. “With this expansion, we will improve our capability to supply wear parts to our mining and construction customers close to their operations and further develop our services business.”

The Ahmedabad foundry, a greenfield project, was acquired in 2000 and operations started in 2001. Ney said about 50 per cent of the company's global requirement would be met from the Ahmedabad foundry. "We have about 12 such export hubs across the globe."

The company is also open to acquisitions in India to increase its capacity or to strengthen its services offerings. “We are looking at it. The discussions are going on, but it is in very early stages.”