Sridhar Dharmarajan.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Manufacturing which generated about 16-17 per cent of India’s GDP pre-pandemic, is projected to be one of the fastest-growing sectors, according to India Brand Equity Foundation. Global technology provider for industrial enterprises, Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, is looking to harness this growth to strengthen its position in India, its executive vice president and managing director - India, Sridhar Dharmarajan told DH’s Lavpreet Kaur in an exclusive interaction.
Edited excerpts.
What does your portfolio look like and who are your major customers globally?
Hexagon has a €4.5 billion turnover and has two major divisions- a geospatial division and an industrial division and both are roughly around the same revenue. Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence, which is over €2 billion, is the largest division under the industrial segment. We offer both hardware and software technologies in key sectors including automobiles, aerospace, electronics and pharmaceuticals. Hexagon technologies are used to manufacture 95 per cent of every automobile produced worldwide, 90 per cent of aircraft, 75 per cent of smartphones and our key customers include automakers from Tata Motors to Porche, Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, aircraft manufacturers - Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Honeywell, NASA and many more.
How has India performed in niche technologies, in the global context?
We have done extremely well in the automotive and aerospace industries, even though not much has been done in the commercial aircraft space but good work on the defence and space side. While these big guys like Tata Motors and Mahindra are already doing a lot of good work, our major strength is MSME. And if we get these MSMEs to adopt the latest technologies to manufacture, they can be the supplier to the world.
In addition, while India already has demonstrated agile product development in the software space, we can also show that leadership in the manufacturing world too. We are in a sweet spot right now. We have established leadership in the software world, capital is coming to India and the country has an advantage due to China+1, all of which can help take our manufacturing share in GDP from a single digital number to about 30 per cent of the total GDP. We need to skill our workforce to go in that direction.
What do you make of businesses exploring options to move from China to India
China’s contribution to our business is pretty solid. Whatever we might say about China, we have to admire the work they have done in the last 15 years. If China and India work together, we can definitely beat the world. I strongly believe that the least we must do is replicate China, to be able to eventually do better than that.
What are the challenges for India in becoming the next manufacturing hub in the world?
There are two main challenges- one is ensuring that there is a sustained capital inflow, for which the government should make India more investment-friendly. Some steps have been taken, but I think we can do much more. This is the key because manufacturing is capital-intensive. The second thing is skills. We need to ensure our engineers are skilled enough to use the latest technologies in this product development.
What is India’s status in your business plans?
India’s share in the €4.5 billion company stands at a higher single digit currently, which we intend to increase to 30 per cent, higher than 27 per cent of China, in the next 10-15 years. In fact, we are targeting 30 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue in India this fiscal. We are also looking to match at least 50 per cent of this growth with our headcount, which is presently 2,700. We currently have a manufacturing facility in Noida spanning 15,000 square feet and we are in the process of setting up a 25,000 square feet office and manufacturing intelligence experience centre, expanding our presence here in Bengaluru.
What is your outlook for India’s manufacturing?
Going forward, manufacturing is going to be very critical. The key trend would be smart manufacturing. This will need us to ensure that companies do a lot of work in the digital space - the more work they do, the better product they develop. The second major trend is being a leader in disruptive technologies like EVs and autonomous technologies. Another area where India can actually play a big role today is additive manufacturing or 3D printing. Gone are the days when we need those large factories. The future is going to be micro-factories, moving from mass production to production masses.