MAG drafts India script

MAG Industrial Automation Systems, headquartered in Michigan (US) is entering India to meet the machine tool needs of the automotive industry. As part of this plan, it has floated a 100 percent arm, MAG India Industrial Automation Systems. The first step will be to establish a sales-and-service office in Bangalore after which the manufacturing facility will logically follow.

MAG is scouting for locations and will make a final choice by the end of this calendar. Production will begin within 18 months of acquiring the land, said president of MAG Industrial Automation Systems, Roger W Cope in an exclusive interview to this publication. The Indian facility is expected to help it become cost-competitive to the extent of 20 percent.

The company has earmarked $14 million to construct the first module. MAG has operations in the US, Germany, China, Korea, Brazil, France and the UK with installations in about 40 countries accounting for a combined turnover of about $1.5 billion. Cope said that Russia was also on the company’s radar. According to him, India is fast becoming a mature market for sophisticated and hi-tech manufacturing practices to meet complex production requirements. MAG can offer the right equipment at the right price, said president of MAG India, Eswari Prasad.

SERVICE SUPPORT

The Indian operations will cater to the needs of emerging markets and also provide service support to existing customers. About 550 machines of various MAG brands are already operational here. MAG India will support its customers in terms of sales, service, spares, training and application engineering.

Besides, Cope added, its range of machines will target small and medium enterprises. It will also offer ‘Freedom E-Log’ which is a remote diagnostics service for customers to enhance productivity. Most machines are TPM (total preventive maintenance) friendly embracing lean manufacturing and compatible with remote diagnostics. “India’s auto sector represents about two-thirds of the total machine tool industry and MAG plans to be part of the growth process which will make us register about $200 million by 2010,” Cope said.

The company plans to localise castings and forgings as well as source parts for both domestic consumption and for other facilities outside India. It is also looking at leveraging the IT and software skills of India by outsourcing some projects. Some work has already kicked off in design with some companies like the Bangalore-based Quest.

Asia contributes to a considerable part of MAG’s business (in addition to North America and the European Union). Once the Indian operations are in place, the revenue component from the continent will only increase. Apart from automotive, the Indian operations will also focus on other critical sectors like aerospace, heavy equipment, power generation and general machining.

SLEW OF BRANDS

MAG Industrial Automation has a host of machining manufacturing companies under brands like Cincinnati, Fadal, Giddings & Lewis, Cross Huller Ex-Cell-O Lamb, Huller Hille, Hessap, Witzig & Frank, Maintenance Technologies and Boehringer. The company has classified these brands under five strategic business units: MAG Powertrain, Cincinnati Technologies, Blue Technologies, Special Machining Technologies and Maintenance Technologies.

T MURRALI