CE Industry Boosts Localisation Through Supplier Collaborations
The CE Manufacturing and Supply Chain Summit, themed ‘Towards Making CE Manufacturing Future-Ready,’ served as a platform for industry stakeholders, policymakers, and thought leaders to discuss crucial topics, including technology and people-led transformation, modern and sustainable equipment, and a strong supply chain for local to global growth.
The impact of the Construction Equipment industry, as it facilitates infrastructure development in the country, is much more than what the industry numbers show,” said Mr. Vinod Sharma, Member Executive Committee – ELCINA (Electronic Industries Association of India) and Managing Director – Deki Electronics Ltd, during his special address at the 2nd CE Manufacturing and Supply Chain Summit organized by the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers Association (ICEMA) – an affiliated body of CII, in New Delhi on 19th February 2024.
Elaborating upon the all-pervasive role of Electronics in strengthening Supply chains across sectors, including the CE industry Mr. Sharma added, “Electronics impacts all aspects of life today, from smartphones, to drones, to AI, in terms of providing modern facilities and ease of operations.”
Construction Equipment (CE), which accounts for approximately 20–30% of the investment in a typical infrastructure project, is a critical enabler of the infrastructure sector which helps connect the remotest corners of the country, bringing them into the mainstream of economic growth. The CE Vision Plan 2030, which targets a 14% CAGR to triple the industry’s market size from its current USD 8.5 billion to 25 billion, and its global ranking from third to second by the end of the decade, hinges critically upon the ability of CE manufacturing to meet future demand in terms of both, quantities and the evolving requirements for new-age machines with advanced technologies and a strong component of environmental responsibility.
Commenting upon the importance of adopting advanced technologies holistically, in the context of making the CE supply chain resilient and robust, as well as with regard to emerging as a global CE manufacturing hub, Mr. V. Vivekanand, President ICEMA and Managing Director, Caterpillar India Pvt. Ltd. said, “A vibrant CE manufacturing sector is not only about building capacity, but also capability as we need to become globally competitive to be able to emerge ss truly resilient. For this we need to embrace technology holistically.”
In this context Mr. Vivekanand alluded to the CE Technology Vision Roadmap 2035 recently released by ICEMA, which defines how the technologies driving the Construction Equipment industry will change between now and 2035.
The proceedings of the Summit also generated consensus on the criticality of creating a facilitative environment to strengthen MSMEs which manufacture around 90% of CE components, accompanied by incentives such as PLI scheme would go a long way towards bolstering the localization efforts of the industry.
“There is a strong imperative for strengthening MSMEs as well as for attracting FDIs into the industry to boost domestic manufacturing, especially of high precision, high value components for which we are heavily import dependent currently. ICEMA has submitted a PLI proposal for the CE industry to the Government, which is now at an advanced stage of consideration”, said Mr. V. G. Sakthikumar, Convener, ICEMA Manufacturing & Supply Chain Panel, Treasurer ICEMA and CMD, Schwing Stetter India Pvt. Ltd. in his welcome address at the Summit. “As the industry undergoes transformation to become future-ready, these initiatives will enable creation of a supportive ecosystem and a robust supply chain to propel the manufacturing sector on a high growth path,” he added.
The Summit featured a localisation zone to display CE components that have been identified for localisation by the industry. This feature provided CE manufacturers and suppliers an opportunity to evaluate the possibilities of collaborating with industry leaders for domestic manufacturing of critical components that would strengthen the CE industry’s supply chain.
Chairing the panel discussion on Technology and People: Transforming the Future of CE manufacturing, Mr. Sitaram Ganeshan, Co-Convener, ICEMA Manufacturing & Supply Chain Panel & President and Head, Wipro Hydraulics Ltd. said, “In view of the geopolitical uncertainty prevalent across the globe, and the China+1 trend, there is a prime opportunity for India to step in and make headway towards achieving the USD 25 billion market size set out in the CE Industry Vision Plan 2030.”
Subject experts from research institutes present at the Summit contributed insights on the need for industry-academia connect to encourage innovation and excellence in research, to come up with product offerings and manufacturing practices that can hold their own in terms of global quality standards. The panelists from OEMs shared information and opinions on their own experiences and expectations in technology adoption and collaboration with academia and research institutes.
The deliberations of the Summit further shed light on the skilling initiatives for industry. Besides industry-specific programs and state-of-the-art training facilities, efforts are also underway to reorient the workforce to bridge differences of perspective across age groups as well as to induct more and more women for greater inclusivity. Attracting quality workforce into the sector also emerged as an urgent need to make the industry future-ready.
“The Construction Equipment industry is one of the few industries with a forward looking Vision Plan, not only for growth but also for technogy adoption,” said Mr. Jaswinder Singh Bakshi, Vice President- ICEMA and Senior Vice President – Tata Capital FinancialnServices Ltd., as he delivered the Vote of Thanks in the Opening Session of the Summit. Expressing his confidence in the ability of the Indian CE industry to become number one globally, as envisaged by the Hon’ble Minister, MoRTH, Shri Nitin Gadkari ji, Mr. Bakshi added, “ICEMA has also been working proactively to provide financing solutions for Construction Equipment manufacturers as part of the endeavor to catalyse a conducive environment to boost CE manufacturing and a resilient supply chain for the industry.”
Since the Construction Equipment industry facilitates the infrastructure that connects communities, drives economic growth, and shapes the future, the decisions, policies, and practices centered around the industry will be instrumental in shaping the future of the country, leaving a lasting legacy for generations to come.
The 2nd CE Manufacturing and Supply Chain Summit provided a platform for deliberations and discussions on making the CE manufacturing processes as well as product offerings future–ready and facilitated stakeholder consultations and collaborations for the synergetic growth of the Indian CE industry.
