SMEs favour new, cheaper machines

While imports continue to be the order of the day in acquiring metal forming machines, SMEs in India are slowly moving away from the pre-used machinery market for low and mid-range-priced machines. They are now looking at new products from the domestic market as well as those from countries like China, Taiwan, Korea, Brazil and Turkey.

As per figures provided by the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA), quantity of consumption of metal forming machines for April to September 2009 was 2636 units where the value of consumption for the same period was Rs 1119.5 crore. Of total consumption, India roughly imports around 60 per cent. It is estimated that around 10 per cent of total consumption comprises of pre-used machines.

“From 10 per cent, consumption of pre-used machines is coming down to the 8 per cent mark. However, whether this could decline further or go up would depend on the market,” said V Anbu, executive director, IMTMA.

Industry players say that SMEs are now looking at competitive products offered by producers in China, Brazil, Turkey and to some extent in India which is proving to be an attractive alternative to pre-used machinery. It is estimated that cost of machines from China are sometimes as low as 20 per cent as compared to prevailing market rates.For high-end technology, however, countries like Germany, Spain, Italy and Japan continue to be preferred.

“Import of pre-used machines is not as attractive as it used to be. In terms of functionality and productivity, there are now options available in the domestic market itself. Indian manufacturers have improved their offerings. Moreover, the rising rupee has made import more expensive,” said C P Rangachar, managing director of Yuken India.

Rangachar said that despite the recessionary condi-tions of the last year, the metal forming industry was showing signs of growth. To tap new opportunities in the forming industry, the IMTMA, will be holding an exclusive exhibition on forming technologies this year. Titled ‘IMTEX Forming 2010’, the exhibition will be held between 21 and 26 January 2010 at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) and will showcase recent trends in forming technologies in metals, plastics, ceramics, composites and advanced materials.

Exhibitors from 26 countries are expected to participate in the exhibition. IMTMA is looking to generate business enquiries worth Rs 2,000 crore. It expects business of around Rs 200 crore to be conducted during the exhibition. In its previous exhibition in 2007, it had recorded 1,30,000 visitors and conduced business of Rs 120 crore in the metal forming industry.

Companies like Amada, L&T, Schuler, Bayer, Carl Zeiss, Komatsu, Siemens, Sahjanand Laser and Yuken India may take part in the event.