Premier Lathe Manufacturing Company is a manufacturer of various types of lathe machines. Manufacturing top quality lathe machines, the company has invested in a well-equipped manufacturing infrastructure. High emphasis on quality is backed by a quest for cutting edge technology, pro-active services and stringent quality control procedures. Excerpts of an interview to Eliza Waghmare.
What is your view on the current machine tools industry of India?
The machine tools industry is currently experiencing a slowdown. The scenario is sluggish for certain, and there are many factors that have led to the slowdown. We are hopeful that the machine tools market will record a growth in the next few months.
What according to you is the current market size?
It would be hard to describe the current market size in numbers. What I could say for certain is that the current market size is down 30 per cent as compared to the market size the year before.
Have you introduced any new products in the Indian market? If yes, kindly elaborate.
We already have a very wide product range. We offer light duty lathe machines, medium duty lathe machines, heavy duty lathe machines, extra heavy duty lathe machines, hi-cut lathe machines, roll turning lathe machines and drilling machines. At present, we have no plans to introduce any new products, or machines.
What are your upcoming plans?
We specialise in manufacturing of lathe machines and pillar drill machines. Considering our current product range, we are looking at affordable geared lathe machines for heavy shafts; and for heavy jobs that require the requisite hardware.
What are your expectations for the industry in future?
The machine tools industry is the mother of all industries. This industry is always in demand. Currently, there may be a slowdown, but in the next few months, we expect a positive outlook. And in the coming years, we expect the industry to clock 10-12 per cent growth.
What is your view on the use of machine tools for the automotive segment?
The automobile industry is one of the major consumers for the machine tools industry, since it caters to mass production. Perhaps, its the most important consumer of the machine tools industry. Therefore, the growth of the automotive segment is directly proportional to the growth of the machine tools industry.
What are the major challenges that this industry faces?
A major challenge for the Indian machine tools industry is the lack of skilled labour. It is becoming increasingly difficult to get skilled labour. With a wider choice of fields to choose from, not many are keen to take to the machine tools industry.
What are your expectations from the government towards the promotion of this segment?
We are looking forward to the new government to declare rebates to the machine tools industry. The government should provide relief to taxes. In fact, the machine tools industry in India is presently in need of some incentives in view of the slowdown.
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