Focus now on new R&D and technology centres at Karjan plant
The growing textile market is not just a boost to the economy but generates significant opportunities for all the sectors involved, from farm to fabric. Saurer, taking advantage of these opportunities, has established itself as a formidable player in the industry.
The Saurer Group is a leading globally operating technology leader focusing on machinery and components for yarn processing. As a group with a long tradition, Saurer is known for its highly innovative approach. Today it comprises the two segments: Saurer Spinning Solutions and Saurer Technologies. Saurer Spinning Solutions offers high quality, technologically advanced and customer-specific automation solutions for processing staple fiber from bale to yarn. Saurer Technologies specializes in twisting and embroidery as well as engineered and polymer solutions.
With annual sales revenues of EUR 1.1 billion, 4,300 employees and locations in Switzerland, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Mexico, the US, China, India and Singapore, the strongly growing group is well positioned to serve the world’s textile industry centers.
Saurer India, a substantial contributor to the group’s success, has been performing well, embracing the changes in the Indian market with current sales of around EUR 127 million. Today, the company stands stronger than ever, with a current production capacity of 800,000 to a million spindles per year, while dominating exports. The new Director of India Operations, Mr. Vikas Sharan, has ambitious plans for growth over the next five years.
Currently, Saurer India manufactures roving and ring frames, including spindles and drafting systems for the world market, from its state-of-the-art plant located at Karjan, Vadodara, in Gujarat. It also intends to manufacture pre-spinning machinery in the same location. Over the past few years, Saurer has transformed from a traditional machinery supplier into a fully integrated smart solutions provider capable of catering to almost any conceivable need a customer could have for a spinning project.
With a newly instituted R&D and Product Management team, Saurer is growing its footprint in the Indian market and continuously increasing the country’s share of production, both of machines and machine components. This strategy will help to develop a sense of assurance in customers, as producing the machines in India and selling them in INR locally will reduce delivery times and the impact of exchange fluctuations. While Saurer’s strategy coincides with the Government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign, the group’s aim is to benefit the Indian customer by providing products that are suited to local market conditions.
Saurer is one of those companies possessing abundant knowledge of the market and one of the few who are able to realize its power. Today, it has taken solid steps towards becoming a solutions supplier, going beyond traditional machine manufacturing and installing. The aim is to integrate all the elements of the value chain in order to enhance efficiency. To fulfil this purpose, Saurer has introduced pre-spinning machines to the Indian market consisting of blow-room and carding machinery.
The ideology at Saurer is clearly customer oriented. It acknowledges the various challenges and works towards resolving them by relying on customer feedback. The team has knowledge of the technicalities, can understand the customer’s requirements, and, based on these inputs, the experts at Saurer can devise solutions best suited for clients. Supplying solutions does not just mean providing a gamut of machinery – this is just one part of the process which incorporates building a close relationship with customers and ensuring that Saurer’s offerings truly address clients’ individual needs.
As a global solutions provider, one of the company’s priorities is to supply the best of machinery and solutions. This is not just a priority of a manufacturer, but also a need of the hour, to develop a machine that would perform consistently even after years of operation. The leaders at Saurer believe that customers should get value for their money. This is something the company has always worked tirelessly to achieve. The entire back process, logistics, team management, sourcing, etc., all require significant efforts, and Saurer is dedicated to providing customers with the best for their investment.
Mr. Sharan is moving toward tackling newer challenges that this role has brought up. It is crucial for a business to grow, and in a certain fashion for which the team and resources need to be promptly available when required. The most important resource for any company is its staff. Businesses expand when its people work in teams with the aim of achieving common goals. Mr. Sharan’s priority is to get the team aligned with the company’s market goals and the overall goals of the corporate. This involves careful planning where people, positions and succession are concerned.
Another crucial aspect on which Mr. Sharan’s leadership is focused is training of the workforce. Growth in the company means portfolio expansion and the introduction of new services and products. Instead of hiring more people to take care of every new element that is added to the portfolio, the existing workforce is being given the requisite training and being instilled with a strong mindset to handle the new technology and machinery, in order to convey their advantages to the customers in the most effective manner.
Saurer has been present in the Indian market for more than eight decades and has spent most of this time gathering knowledge and providing machinery and solutions based on the same. The company’s success in the industrial domain underscores the sustainability of business.
A well-known brand in the global textile industry, Saurer has incorporated various popular names into its offering. Integrating all these names, the leaders of the company wish to establish a single entity that connects to the people and emerges as a one-stop solution provider for all their requirements.
This effort (or transition) will bring a lot of change to the company’s image. People’s minds will have to be oriented to accept this development while highlighting that the machines’ ability to deliver remains as before, and this is one of the major tasks to which Mr. Sharan, along with the other leaders of the company, has devoted himself.
The company has made a mark in this customer-oriented market with a simple progressive idea of ‘learn from the failures, bask in the glory of success, and share the success with those who have helped in achieving it’. Saurer is now operating in a structured line of operations, and it possesses the required insight to triumph in the market along with a strong team that can be trusted to achieve the desired results.
Mr. Sharan, along with support from the local management team and the Business Line Directors based in Germany, has put in place a strong R&D center in India, which will become fully operational in 2019, in order to cater to the needs and expectations of Indian customers in the best possible way. As he mentioned, “when this plant grows beyond certain stature, an R&D unit here will benefit the customers tremendously, as it will allow us to forge closer relationships with them by speeding up processes and gaining deeper insights into the local market”. This will not only give an edge to localization but will also help the company understand the mindset of the clients better.
The company is also committed to establishing a Technology Center at Karjan, which is the company’s center of gravity, with all its operations, including logistics, warehousing, sale and manufacturing based here. This Technology Centre will house all the machinery and components coming from the stables of Saurer in working condition, where customers can send their materials for testing as well as see these technologies operating under one roof in order, thus showcasing the company’s capabilities. It will also have a repository of information available to customers, with various training programs for workers and mill management also on offer.
Mr. Sharan aspires for expanding Saurer’s share in the Indian market and strengthen its position as a leader in this space, while retaining its top-ranking position globally. Accepting the fact that the group faces sizeable competition and a dynamic market environment, he is positive that the company is ready to face these challenges head on.
The group’s ambition is to become a game changer with its technologies and strategies – its team is prepared to deliver what is required by the market. It is adding new technologies and upgrades to match Industry 4.0 criteria to its offering, and focusing on evolving with the needs of the customers. The ultimate aim is to ensure that Saurer remains ahead of the curve and one step ahead of its competition. The company has a number of innovations in the pipeline that will make their impact in due time.