L Krishnan, MD, TaeguTec India, and President, IMTMA
Please brief us about TaeguTec’s product, innovations and its journey in India.
TaeguTec has attained its market position by introducing pioneering technologies which are the result of extensive R&D.
TaeguTec India was established in 2000 with the philosophy of being the customer’s partner in cost reduction. The company manufactures a comprehensive range of tooling from the state-of-the-art facility at Bommasandra, Bangalore. Within a short span TaeguTec was certified as per ISO9001: 2000 thereby reiterating the commitment to quality. A well trained and motivated team of young engineers manage every function in the manufacturing facility. TaeguTec has a wide reach in the Indian market with eight branches across the country and presence of distributors in every major industrial town. Service to the customer is backed by the support of a dynamic and competent team of sales and technical support engineers.
As product life cycles decreases, industry demands increase. In this scenario, TaeguTec’s R&D meets the demand by providing world class products as per the customers need. In many cases, we assist customers throughout the development stage of a new product. This allows our R&D team to provide new, unconventional solutions to reduce costs before production actually begins.
The TaeguTec manufacturing facilities utilise the latest manufacturing technologies available. Our advanced, computerised production control systems ensures that production is identical to the engineering requirements.
TaeguTec is an AS9100 Rev B (ISO 9001:2000) accredited manufacturing entity. We are also certified for ISO 14001 (EMS) and OSHAS 18001 (Health and safety).
Tell us about cutting tool technology. Any major developments since its inception?
The cutting tool industry is very dynamic. As our manufacturing industry evolves with every new product design, material and coating technology, the cutting tool industry rises to the occasion with suitable products. For example, with the aerospace industry moving from Al to Ti to Composites, tools and tooling solutions are also evolving to meet new challenges.
Please tell us about some of your recently launched products? How do you see the future of those products in the Indian market?
TaeguTec and IMC are at the forefront of development of several new products and solutions. Our most recent success is the Rhino Rush, which are smaller-sized inserts (compared to ISO inserts),but available in same thickness and superior durability. The smaller size of these inserts combined with its unique rigid clamping has been instrumental for many a revolution on the shop floor and has led to immense savings for our customers. Then there is Typhoon, a revolutionary new high-speed spindle developed for applications using high RPM for small diameter tools that can be used on limited RPM machines. The new spindle is designed for high-speed machining in milling, hole making and grinding applications. The Typhoon does not replace the existing machine’s spindle, but it improves the existing machine’s performance, surface finish and tool life capabilities. There have been quite a few other innovations and many others in the pipeline.
The current scenario in global and Indian machine tool industry…
Certain broad themes are driving the industry globally and in India, they are:
a) Efforts to make machining operations faster.
b) Reduce non-cutting time.
c) Reduce power consumption.
d) Make process more eco-friendly using technologies like MQL and dry machining.
Around 60% of machine tool in India is imported, how India can cut back on this dependence?
To localise machine tool manufacturing, one requires certain critical volumes besides technology. We generally see large high-value machines, niche-technology machines being imported. They form substantial part of imports. As local volumes increase, we will find domestic players coming up with such products and solutions too.
IMTMA’s efforts are to make machines locally and increase contribution of domestic production to a level of 60-70%.
What are the other challenges that you face in a price conscious market like India?
The Indian market has a few challenges:
a) Highly value-conscious customers.
b) We have very old machines and modern machines co-existing in the market place. Hence, the market requires a bigger bouquet of offerings.
c) Need for efficient logistics to ensure tools are available at a point of use within a short notice. It’s our constant endeavor to cater to the emerging needs of the Indian market.
Which are the emerging sectors creating demand for your tools?
For a long time, Indian manufacturing has been dominated by auto & auto-ancillaries. In the times to come, we believe sectors like power, aerospace, railways & heavy engineering will also become significant contributors. They will create new demand for tools in the Indian market.
How has the current downfall affected the industry? Any positive signals post the election?
When the manufacturing industry goes down, it does impact the cutting tool industry significantly owing to our products being industry consumables. Normally, the cutting tool industry is the first to drop as well as recover. We are expecting the market to start growing in the next 6 months and we hope it will be a long term growth of Indian manufacturing. Post-elections, we must acknowledge that the sentiment has turned positive, if not demand.
Since India’s biggest machine tool show IMTEX is around the corner, what are your plans for the show?
IMTEX being the largest machine tool show in this part of the world, it is very important for us. We will be showcasing several new products and solutions for the manufacturing industry.
