The Hindu Business Line : Automation industry aims to grow at 20-25% per annum

WITH automation emerging as a focus area for not just large integrated manufacturing industries but even for medium and small units, the Rs 4,000-crore Indian automation industry is hopeful of growing at 20-25 per cent per annum for the next few years, according to Mr Ravi Uppal, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of ABB Ltd and President of the Automation Industry Association of India (AIAI).

Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of a one-day seminar on the automation industry and automation technologies here on Friday, Mr Uppal said the fortunes of the automation industry would be driven "significantly" by the metals industry comprising steel, aluminium, copper and zinc.

With the capacity of the steel industry expected to go up from 38 million tonnes per annum at present to well over 100 m.t. over the next decade, the automation industry is very "upbeat" about its growth prospects over the next few years.

Mr Uppal said, "the next decade of metals belongs to India and we have no legacy baggage to carry". As such, Indian industry is free to choose from the best of technologies with a view to ensuring cost-effectiveness, higher productivity and flexibility. Adoption of automation and information technology would also facilitate integration of manufacturing processes with business systems. According to him, adoption of automation technology would also reduce India's dependence on imported manufactured goods for industries like automobiles. "Even today, about 70 per cent of the steel required by our domestic automobile industry is imported. With automation, we can manufacture the exact quality of steel that is needed by our automobile industry right here in India", he said.

While large new industries are totally focused on automation, existing large industries and downstream units are starting to catch up. These units are ramping up their automation initiatives on a Level I, Level II and Level III basis. The smaller units, though, have just realised the imperatives for automation, thanks to low productivity and high rate of rejections now faced by them. Mr Uppal said a gradual reduction in the cost of automation equipment and the cost-benefit achieved by companies owing to interface of business systems that were facilitated by automation would drive the growth of the automation industry.

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