What’s common between power equipment maker Toshiba JSW and luxury car manufacturer BMW?

Top executives of the companies, who were in Chennai recently to attend a programme, would say it’s their resolve to use advanced technologies for competitiveness and environment sustainability.

Robert Frittrang, Managing Director, BMW Plant Chennai, said the company is in the process of an “iconic change” in technology and is exploring new business models that would comply with lower emission norms in markets such as the US and Europe.

BMW is not only working on improving efficiency of the internal combustion engines, but also getting into hybrid and electric cars – the i3 is an example of this model.

Participating in a panel discussion organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry – Southern Region on competitiveness, Frittrang said BMW is also looking at becoming a premium service provider in transportation. There is a growing trend of people preferring to rent a car rather than own one. In Munich (Germany), people can rent a BMW for an hour or two as needed.

BMW is looking at a niche offering in this service that would suit its brand, Frittrang added.

Yoshiaki Inayama, Managing Director, Toshiba JSW Power Systems, which manufactures steam turbines and generators for power projects, said the company makes a super critical boiler capable of handling steam at 600 degrees centigrade that will give 42 per cent efficiency in a thermal power plant.

The next step is an advanced super critical boiler capable of handling steam at 660 degrees to make the power plant work at over 46 per cent efficiency, he said at the discussion.

This is not just about costs, but also about sustainability. A more efficient boiler will spew out less carbon into the atmosphere.

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