‘Make in India’ Is a Win-Win Situation

#PrashantSardeshmukh #MMCHardmetalIndia #IMTEX2023 #CuttingTools

Niranjan Mudholkar

So, customers have been visiting our Technology Centre at Pune and we have been conducting several training programmes for them. Having a great tool is one thing, but knowing about the tool and using it for the right application is another thing!

March 2023: Niranjan Mudholkar, Editorial Director, Pro MFG Media, recently caught up with Prashant Sardeshmukh, Managing Director of cutting tools major MMC Hardmetal India Pvt. Ltd. to briefly understand MMC Hardmetal’s evolution in India and how it is geared up to serve customers not just through its manufacturing base but also through its Technology Centre in India.

Briefly tell us MMC Hardmetal India’s journey so far.

MMC Hardmetal India is a hundred percent subsidiary of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation Japan. We started in India way back in 1998 as a representative office. Then, in 2006, we opened the Indian operations. In 2016, we started our manufacturing facility in Aurangabad and in 2020, we opened the Technology and Regrinding Centre in Pune. So, it has been a long and fascinating journey for us.

How has the manufacturing facility helped the business?

That has helped us in a great way. We have taken benefit of the Make in India campaign and started the facility at Waluj in Aurangabad (Maharashtra). We are mainly manufacturing all steel products there along with the special tools. That has helped our customers because the lead time of procuring these special tools from Japan was very high. Also, the price was becoming uncompetitive in certain cases. Now, with the help of our in-house manufacturing facility in India, we are able to deliver solutions for customers well in time and at a much reasonable price. So, thanks to Make in India, our manufacturing plant is a win-win situation for the customers as well as for us.

What exactly is the objective of the Technology Centre located in Pune?

The key objective of this Technology Centre is to educate our own employees, educating our business partners & their employees and, mainly, educating our customers. So, customers have been visiting our Technology Centre and we have been conducting several training programmes for them. Having a great tool is one thing, but knowing about the tool and using it for the right application is another thing! We train our customers to use the right tool for the right application. Thus, the Centre has helped us in a big way with regards to customer training. We also have engineering students and ITI / NCVT graduates getting trained at the Technology Centre so that our industry can get an industry-ready workforce.

Besides growing organically, MMC Hardmetal India has also been growing inorganically through acquisitions. How is the Moldino acquisition helping?

This acquisition has been of great importance for us. Moldino was acquired by Mitsubishi Materials Japan way back in 2014-15. However, in India, the business was still with Hitachi Metals India till recently. From April 2022 onwards, we started selling Moldino products as well in the India market. With DIAEDGE – our very popular brand in India – and Moldino, we are now geared up to offer all kinds of solutions to our esteemed customers.

Which are the key industry focus areas for MMC Hardmetal, besides automotive and commercial aerospace?

We are focussing on energy and medical, apart from automotive and aerospace. Of course, automotive still remains the major chunk of business for all cutting tools and machine tools players, as of now in India. However, the scenario will soon change in the years to come. Aerospace is picking up; medical and energy sectors are also picking up.

Today, the world is upbeat about the India Growth Story with manufacturing playing an important part. What role do you see MMC Hardmetal playing in this?

Well, we have plans to expand our manufacturing base in India. At present, we have one manufacturing plant in Aurangabad. Currently, we are actively looking forward to establishing the second plant for manufacturing steel products. Going ahead, we would also like to establish plants for solid tools manufacturing as well as for PCD / CBN tools manufacturing. The location could be either Aurangabad or Pune.

The above interaction took place at IMTEX 2023.

MORE FROM THE SECTION