Venkatesh Kini of Schunk Metal & Carbon (India) says that the automotive industry is undergoing change in terms of technologies, skills, and the overall mindset of its stakeholders
Venkatesh Kini, Manager – Sales and Application Engineering, Schunk Metal & Carbon (India) Pvt. Ltd. The company is among the leading suppliers of industrial brushes, carbon and graphite solutions for a range of industries including automotive, energy, and electronics.
The PMI score in January was 55.3, which showed a spike in production and hiring levels in manufacturing companies. How do you see the overall sentiment in the industry?
The spike that was saw this January is just intermediate; mainly driven by after-market requirements for the BS6 norms. This is what we have heard from a majority of our customers – what they say is that for the next three months, we will see an increase in the requirements that’s mainly driven by after-market requirements. So, after March, the demand will remain the same. The Indian automotive industry is poised for a change in mindset whether it is the manufacturers or the consumers.
What is your experience of this year’s Auto Expo?
Our expectation is to give the visitors an understanding of the technologies that we have in our product range. It is to educate customers that they will have to think out of the box to make a difference in the industry. Electric Vehicles (EV) are the need of the hour and there are a lot of solutions for EVs, it’s just that you will need to think differently to partake in this journey.
What impact do you see of the shift to BS6 on India’s auto industry?
BS6 will have a positive impact for the simple fact that it is good for the environment. The overall carbon footprint will reduce because the norms are tightened and there is a lot of emphasis on technologies like regenerative breaking. I don’t think we are implementing BS6 a month ahead of Europe, the Euro6 was launched 4 or 5 years back in Europe; BS6 is in line with Euro6. They are far-far ahead from us in terms of standards and technology.
India’s automotive industry is at the forefront of the adoption of industry 4.0 technologies like robotics, additive manufacturing, et al. What are the main factors driving the adoption?
It is the global competitiveness that is driving the adoption. We are competitive because we are a part of the group of low-cost manufacturing countries. Even the industry people need to upgrade their skills to stay competitive as well as relevant in the market. So, today’s mechanical engineering graduates might think that they have got a lot of opportunities but over a period of time it could only be electrical engineers who are running the automotive industry, with the ubiquity of battery-powered EVs. We are also talking about unmanned vehicles that would call for a lot of software, sensors and other requirements. So, you will have to upgrade your skills accordingly and change your way of thinking as well.
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