L.S. Umesh, CEO, Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd. and DMI Industry Influencer 2022 shares with us his vision for the industry, his company, and his professional journey.
Work-Life Journey
L.S. Umesh hails from a place near Shimoga, a scenic city popularly known as the “Gateway to Malnad (the land of hills)” nestled in the Western Ghats in Karnataka. Mr Umesh was born on 31st December 1958 in a middle-class family to parents Smt. and Shri Shankar Narayana Bhat. He spent his formative years in Udupi and went on to get a Graduation degree in Mechanical Engineering from the prestigious National Institute of Engineering, Mysore, which counts among its alumni the popular Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath.
Mr. Umesh joined Mysore Kirloskar Limited (MKL), Harihar, in 1981, then a pioneering Machine Tool Company in India as the Design Engineer. At MKL he got the opportunity to work across the whole spectrum of machine tool building processes ranging from design, fixtures, tooling and marketing which helped develop applications for Turning Centres, Machining Centres and Grinding Machines.
After MKL, Mr Umesh joined Ace Manufacturing Systems Limited, Bangalore, (AMS), an Ace-Micromatic Group company. At AMS. Mr Umesh has served a host of functions including the departments of marketing, machine assembly, and design, and presently, he heads the operations of the company as its Director and CEO. In 2001, Mr Umesh received the Best Exhibit award on behalf of AMS during the International Machine Tool Exhibition, IMTEX.
Mr Umesh strongly believes that hard work backed with dedication leads to positive results. He is a person with a strong conviction and capability for excellence and works toward building an enduring sense of workmanship among his fellow teammates. His mantra for success is to have a positive attitude aided by hard work, dedication, and self-belief.
Industry Vision
The industry is at an inflexion point of growth aided suitably by the government’s Performance Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes across various sectors, namely automobile, electronics, defence, and renewable energy. The government’s spending on the infrastructure of Rs 100,000 crore over the next five years will augment the prospects of the Machine Tools Industry, which is expected to reach Rs 40,000-plus crore by 2027 at an estimated CAGR of 28 per cent in production terms.
Our estimation of the machine tools industry’s growth could be tabulated as follows:
| 2022-23 | 2027-28 (E) | |
| Domestic Market Share | 50% | 60% |
| Exports | 07% | 15% |
| CAGR | 20% | Min 25% |
Organizational Vision and Contribution to Industry Growth
• The company continues to meet customer needs through innovative products, solutions and technologies, a robust and agile supply chain ecosystem, smart global manufacturing facilities, inspired people and visionary leadership leading to strong organizational growth.
• The company started in a small way in 1994 selling seven machines. In FY 22-23, it clocked sales of about 2,000 machines. It has successfully leveraged the market trends to grow at a CAGR of over 7.7 percent during 2018-22, a challenging period for industries globally.