The Hindu Business Line : Japanese expert favours `leaders in manufacturing'

Coimbatore April 1 Dr Shoji Shiba, Professor Emeritus of Tsukuba University, Japan and international expert in total quality management (TQM), has expressed the need for creating leaders in the Indian manufacturing space.

"The country has in the last decade or so emerged as an IT hub. This deviation is not healthy considering the manufacturing sector's export volumes (at more than 75 per cent of total exports) is just about 17 per cent of India's GDP compared to the manufacturing sector in the East Asian economies such as China (35 per cent) and Thailand (34 per cent).

It is critical to create leaders and usher a total transformation in the manufacturing practices," he told Business Line.

Dr Shiba plans to assist seven Indian companies identified by the CII in their pursuit of breakthrough management and in helping them chart a strategic vision.

They are Brakes India, Ucal, TVS Motor Company, Lucas TVS, Technova Imaging Systems, SRF and Sona Koyo Steering Systems.

CII sources said that these units are conversant with concepts like TQM.

On his visit to Coimbatore, Dr Shiba said: "SMEs play a vital role in the transformation of the Indian manufacturing sector.

They face issues that are specific to them.

The need for a creative leadership in the owner and CEO is important at this juncture."

He plans to launch a national programme called `Visionary Leaders in Manufacturing' in the Indo-Japan Friendship Year (2007), aimed at ushering in new thought process and skills among players in the manufacturing space.

"The National Manufacturing Competitive Council has helped initiate this programme with IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIM Kolkata and CII counsellors," he said.

"The programme for future executives and managers would start in July.

"We have limited the participation to 50 per batch in each category."

He added: "Nine experts from Japan will take them through intensive training and they would need to take on challenging role to complete the programme. Orientation and aptitude to learn would be the criteria rather than the age of the participant."

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