30% energy saving possible with German tech: Rajesh Nath

India is now the third largest sales market in Asia for the German engineering industry. ?Presently more than 550 VDMA member companies are engaged with their own business in the Indian market. In 2016, the bilateral trade between India and Germany grew to Euro 17.42 billion from a figure of nearly Euro 17.29 billion in 2015. Indian imports from Germany amounted to Euro 9.8 billion. The exports from India to Germany attained a value of Euro 7.62 billion in 2016,? said Rajesh Nath, Managing Director of VDMA, German Engineering Federation, India, while speaking to the Indian Textile Journal.

While speaking on the demand of German equipment in India, he added, ?Among the machinery sectors, major demand of German equipment was for power transmission engineering (10.8 per cent), textile machinery (without dryers) (8 per cent), machine tools (6.09 per cent), plastics and rubber machinery (6 per cent) and valves and fittings (5.03 per cent). As reflected in the statistics, German textile machinery have the second highest demand amongst other equipments in India.?

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Please trace the growth of VDMA India since its beginning.

VDMA identified the potential of the Indian market way back in the 1990s. That time the export of the German machinery to India was to the tune of only Euro 400 million, not large by any standard. However VDMA saw a big future in the market and decided to open its own office in India.

India is now the third largest sales market in Asia for the German engineering industry. Presently more than 550 VDMA member companies are engaged with their own business in the Indian market. In 2016, the bilateral trade between India and Germany grew to Euro 17.42 billion from a figure of nearly Euro 17.29 billion in 2015. Indian imports from Germany amounted to Euro 9.8 billion. The exports from India to Germany attained a value of Euro 7.62 billion in 2016.

Since the inception of VDMA office in India, the export of German machinery to India has grown seven folds. In 2016, the total import of machinery from Germany reached a volume of Euro 2.97 billion. This was an increase by 1.7 per cent compared with the same period of time in the previous year.

German companies are now setting up manufacturing in India in addition to the sale and service office. Maharashtra with around 39 per cent share of German investments remains to be the most attractive destination for German investments in India. In the last 4 to 5 years, Pune has become the hotbed for new German investments. Karnataka and Gujarat are other important destinations.

What are the various activities of VDMA India, and how has it been promoting the interests of the textile industry, particularly.

VDMA organises a broad range of activities for its members. One of the focus is on the reports and newsletters giving information on different industry verticals. To promote and create the awareness of the German industry in India, VDMA India publishes a Quarterly Newsletter ? German machinery industry.

This newsletter is distributed to the 550 VDMA member companies in India, around 400 other Indo-German companies in the engineering sector and to around 6,000 Indian companies in various engineering sectors, textile machinery being one of them. Beyond that we participate and organise seminars and roadshows giving opportunities to members to connect and network with Indian industry.

Which are the segments in textile machinery industry in which German technologies have grown quite well?

The members of VDMA textile machinery offer machines and accessories for all production steps of the textile industry. The spectrum ranges from classical spinning or weaving machinery to specific machinery for geo-textiles, fish nets, mooring lines or artificial lawns, to name only a few. In 2016, the overall German exports summed up to 2.4 billion Euros. This was a little negative as compared to 2015, but in general, the business was still on a good level.

Give us some recent instances wherein German technologies have benefited Indian textile industry.

Since energy is a major cost driver, textile producers in India are increasingly interested in energy-efficient technology. Experts of VDMA member companies examined the energy-saving effects over the entire production chain of five textile products: a cotton t-shirt, a functional t-shirt, a textile billboard, an architectural textile and a hygienic nonwoven. The result of this in-depth analysis is impressive: In the production of these products up to 30 percent energy can be saved with German technology of today compared to the one available 10 years ago. In that way the Indian textile industry is taking advantage of German technologies.

What are the efforts taken up by the VDMA India to promote Indo-German manufacturing activities, particularly in textiles?

Recently, VDMA participated In the 57th Joint Technological Conference, which was held on February 17-18, 2017 at the premises of The Bombay Textile Research Association (BTRA). I gave the keynote address during the inaugural session. The focus of the event on the first day was on ?Geosynthetics / Geotextiles?, VDMA showed the technology competence and process know-how of its member companies in this particular field of technical textiles. VDMA also provided a new publication at this occasion for the benefit of participants/textile manufacturers being interested in the development and production of geotextiles.

On the second day, Jamly John, Regional Manager West, VDMA India moderated the VDMA Technology Session. Presentations were made by VDMA member companies: a presentation on ?Latest technique and technology for the production of needle felted nonwovens and their applications? was made by Hjalmar Schwab, Sales Manager, Dilo Systems and another presentation on ?Latest machine innovations for treatment of Geotextiles? was made by Juergen Hanel, Business Development Manager, Technical Textiles, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen.

What is the future strategy to bring in more German textile technologies into India and what will be the role of VDMA India in this?

In 2016, the total import of machinery from Germany reached a volume of Euro 2.97 billion. This was an increase by 1.7 per cent compared with the same period of time in the previous year. Among the machinery sectors, major demand of German equipment was for power transmission engineering (10.8 per cent), textile machinery (without dryers) (8 per cent), machine tools (6.09 per cent), plastics and rubber machinery (6 per cent) and valves and fittings (5.03 per cent). As reflected in the statistics, German textile machinery have the second highest demand amongst other equipments in India.

In order to become successful in India, companies need to know the characteristics and peculiarities of the Indian market. Here, the VDMA offices in India support the company based on the needs of the members. These support activities include the provision of information on taxation and the Indian market, such as market entry barriers, future market developments or the current legal situation. In addition, the VDMA India office represents the interests of the members, including support for promotion actions, for example through participation in fairs and the organisation of symposiums, meetings or similar presentation platforms for companies. With four offices in India, VDMA is geared to cater to the needs of the members and acts as an important bridge-head between the German and Indian industry.