“IMTEX Forming 2024 provides that opportunity to machine tool makers to showcase machines, which are actually working, and machines, which are actually producing parts. Moreover, the customers get to see these machines and have technical discussions with the vendors to decide exactly what sort of machine they require, because every machine is sort of customized.”
Jan 2024 : Zinnia Banerjee, Assistant Editor at Pro Mfg Media, caught up with Jamshyd N. Godrej, Chairman-Exhibitions of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers Association (IMTMA) at the inauguration ceremony of IMTEX Forming 2024. He highlighted how IMTEX Forming 2024, which is taking place between 19th January to 23rd January at BIEC in Bengaluru, showcases the role played by the mother machines in the progress of the manufacturing industry through technology and innovation. Mr.Godrej also underlined the pivotal role played by IMTMA and the IMTEX exhibitions in influencing the manufacturing sector in India.
What role does IMTMA play in shaping the future trajectory of manufacturing in India in the context of IMTEX 2024?
Machine tools are mother machines which make other machines. The future of manufacturing and the future of technology and industry depends a lot on the ability of the machine tool industry to be able to provide the type of machines that are required. And over the last 50 years, IMTEX has been a big catalyst for the engineering industry to demonstrate what machine tools can achieve. It is very important to be able to actually demonstrate machine tools because this is not something that you can go and buy in a shop. You have to be able to understand exactly what the technology is, what it can do, etc. So, IMTEX Forming 2024 provides that opportunity to machine tool makers to showcase machines, which are actually working, and machines, which are actually producing parts. Moreover, the customers get to see these machines and have technical discussions with the vendors to decide exactly what sort of machine they require, because every machine is sort of customized.
How has IMTEX impacted the manufacturing sector in India?
Well, this is a long gestation industry. You will not necessarily see something dramatic happening from IMTEX to IMTEX. But it is the evolution over time of what machines are capable of doing. Machines today are maybe 100 times more productive than machines five years ago. What happens is that it's an ecosystem, it's the machine, the cutting tools, the software and programming. There are a lot of things that have to come together to improve productivity, and industry needs to improve productivity all the time. And we really look for huge jumps in productivity. So, this is what IMTEX is able to demonstrate through our machine manufacturers at this exhibition.
Why hasn’t the Tumkur machine tool park taken off the way IMTMA really wanted to?
There are many issues. I don’t think you can attribute it to the slow growth. COVID had a lot to do with it. The distance from Bangalore is also dampener. But look at Hosur, at one time, it was a little village. Today, it's a huge big city, it doesn't even depend on Bangalore, for its infrastructure and social structures, etc. Same thing will happen in Tumkur, you know, and the machine tool park will grow. The important thing is that it has been designed from the point of view of being able to produce machine tools. So, they have understood what we require as an industry and it caters to that. It will grow on its own. South India is the centre for machine tools. Whether it is in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka or Kerala. The whole ecosystem in the south is very good for manufacturing and technology and will all grow.
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