Indian market should open up after IMTEX, feels Mr Tyagi

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2015-03-13 13:09:45

In 1894, Heller, the manufacturers of four and five axis machines, was started as a company by making patented products and watchmaker’s tools. Initially, the company also traded and manufactured diverse range of tools, including parallel jaw vices in enhanced design.

By 1920, what started as a small trade company, developed into a profitable machine building business with the development of a cold circular metal sawing machine, saw blade skiving and thread cutting machines. In the following years, Heller continued consistent development of this particular machine technology and by 1950, the company developed electro-hydraulic controls and introduced 24V relay control for machine tools. As early as 1962, Heller built numerically controlled milling machines and machining centres featuring automatic tool change, enabling to perform complex operations on a single machine.

Today, the company has taken on multiple turnkey flexible system projects, which has accounted for its rapid sales growth across the globe. With an employee strength of 2,500 and five manufacturing plants in China, United Kingdom, the USA, Brazil and Germany, the company has a turnover of 550 million Euros. It began its India operations in 2010.

Sharing his views with CNCTimes during IMTEX 2015, Heller India’s MD, Mr Mahesh Tyagi said Heller India has 12 employees and sells the machine directly as well as through distributors. “The company has installed 54 machines at lines at Fiat and many other lines in India, We are known for our quality and it is that parameter on which we never compromise,” Mr Tyagi said.

When asked about his opinion on the adaptability of Indian market, he said, “Indian market is very price sensitive and sometimes quality is not judged. Our machines are the best in the world that give best results to the users, we are working on the pricing factor.”

While the company has not launched any new machine during IMTEX, Mr Tyagi said the exhibition is a platform to give proper information about products to the buyers/users. He, however, hoped the Indian market to open up after IMTEX and believes that it is a podium where everyone from the industry come together and share their expertise. “At IMTEX, networking of information is done in a correct way since the customers want to get educated in a proper manner,” he opined.

“Machining approach has changed considerably in India,” Mr Tyagi said and added that Heller India’s vision is to be the top supplier in the world of technology-oriented products. “We are not mass producers. Our machines are exclusive with the best quality. We have to maintain the technology as well as our brand,” Mr Tyagi concluded.

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