Giampaolo Roccatello, Sales Manager, KAISER Precision Tooling Ltd
Please highlight the latest innovations at KAISER?
We work on innovation of new products and solutions throughout the year. This year we are planning to launch six new innovations. We recently launched a complete range (from 0.4mm to 3 meter) of digital boring head that is available on the digital space. We are the only ones coming up with such reliable digital tools with 0.001 mm/Ø resolution and IP69K protection, tools for daily usage and not only for nice show.
Please elaborate…
Available digitally means, the incremental adjustments will be displayed digitally and user friendly for operators. In a digital tooling solution the operator does not have to look at numbers and align the Vernier accordingly, but the change will be visualised in a digital way. This will help companies achieve greater speed and productivity, as it will eliminate inaccurate of the Vernier. It will actually remove the human error and cut down on cycle time and scraps percentages. Since it will help companies avoid human errors and enhance the speed, the return of investment
will also be high. According to me, this is the future of the tooling industry.
Apart from this we have launched a very precise damper bar, which is ideal for both milling and boring applications. We can say it is one of the best options available in the market as our tools have 60-65% higher cutting feed than our competitors. We are also working on some new technologies for the damper bar and that will be one of our premier launches this year.
A few months ago, we launched a boring head with hydraulic clamping that provides extra speed and precision. Another recently launched tool is the digital head with PSC (Polygonal shank connection) mono block made of aluminium and we are the first to do so. All the above developments happened in the last 6-8 months. Therefore, yes there is a lot more to look forward to this year.
Kaiser is a renowned brand with its presence in various countries. What kind of customer sales and service do you provide to ensure customers satisfaction?
We have a very unique to guarantee customer satisfaction. The KAISER sales structure always promises to have one person like myself in the field and an internal sales manager for each sales area. The internal sales manager attends to the customer requests in the absence of the field sales manager on an immediate basis. Always co-ordinating with the respective business partner, sales manager, internal process, etc. to assure a quick and accurate reply in shortest time. Furthermore, we have all the tools in stock from 0.4mm to 2 meters, in all the size and models. So every PO, be it any model, will be dispatched in an hours’ time. In India it might take longer because of the customs.
Apart from this, if any customer wants any particular customised solution, we give our best, thanks to our efficient research and development team and deliver a quotation of the same in 24-48 hours.
Can you tell us more about your R&D activities?
We believe in —“Kaiser must be one step ahead”, so 12% of our work force is dedicated to the R&D activities. Not only this, 10% of our overall revenue goes towards R&D/ innovation.
How is the present industry sentiment like, how has the industry evolved over the years?
The last five years have been tough, especially in Europe due to the economic downturn in 2008. It changed the market a lot. Luckily Kaiser, starting from 2008 invested a lot in R&D and company expansion as well as new markets and today we see our growth beating the market expectations.
Today, we see more demand for performance, repeatability, and process stability. Why? Because the market is very challenging, no one has the time to wait and the OEMs give less time to the vendors for the trial.
What is process stability? Everyone says they can provide you 2-micron accuracy, but the real question is how often? Maybe twice, for a week, for a month or for a year or for life? We can guarantee our customers two-micron accuracy for life. We have boring heads running in India since last 30-32 years and still delivering 5-micron accuracy. We still have those tools functioning at HAL, LMW Group, etc. With Kaiser tools the boring process has become an easy task, first cut is the last cut, we reach the desired measure immediately and we maintain the same throughout the lot size, this will reduce drastically the machining time, consequently helping our customer reduce cost per component.
You have been present in India for the last 15 years, how do you see the Indian market?
The Indian market has suffered a lot for the last couple of years. 2014 also was a tough year due to the elections and new government coming into the picture. Market was not good in India. But, what I realise after meeting various industry people at IMTEX is that there is a positive vibe. People have a vision and are optimistic about the change. According to me, in a few months when many projects related to engineering and infrastructure will be implemented there it be a different market. This year end will be a turning point. We see positivity and that’s why we are investing in India, we are absolutely ready to accept whatever challenges we face.
What’s the basic difference between customer preference across the world and India?
Very much different! Dealing with a Swiss is not same as dealing with an Italian and dealing with an Italian is not same as dealing with an Indian. Everyone is different.
What I try to do is provide better quality and tools that fit their requirement.
Let’s talk about Swiss mentality. For them before talking about price, they say let’s talk about solutions and the value that I can get. Because at the end, it does not matter how much the tool cost itself, what matters is the value for money you make out of it. This is the only mentality that wins.
I have customers here in India and they trust us, now they agree on this. Now, they have the same number of machines and output has increased by 30%. So this 30% is money in the pocket and also the advantage. Initially, it’s very difficult to convince Indian buyers as money comes first here, but now we see that demand for good technology is increasing and there is awareness about the benefits of investing in technology.
I met people at IMTEX 2015, who asked questions like cycle time, can you do it and can I achieve it among others. The mentality is changing and this is a good sign.
The “Made-in-India” label has to go global; we see many good technologies coming from India. So it’s a good opportunity for us too, if India plans to export they will need to enhance the quality level and to enhance they need quality tools. It’s a win-win situation.
Industries creating more demand…
Automotive industry is going through a rough patch, but we expect it to bounce back soon. For us aerospace is the main focus area in India apart from the energy and die and mould industry.
Your future plan for the Indian market…
India is one of the most important markets for us and we are looking at doubling our sales force by the end of 2015. So we are looking for good sales engineer to enhance our sales capability. We are also planning to build good relationship with machine builders so that we can offer a package to the customers. This way we will be able to offer complete solution at affordable cost and it will enhance our offerings.
