The machine tool manufacturing sector comprising mostly of small players is currently focusing on technology upgradation to give fillip to the present growth momentum, after 2 years of depression due to global economic slump.

In view of this, the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association (IMTMA) has requested the Centre to grant Rs 2,000 crore for technology development in the sector.

In a bid to enhance competitiveness of the MSME-dominated machine tool industry in the domestic as well as global market, the sector has decided to invest Rs 2,000 crore over the next 10 years for technology upgradation, says IMTMA ex-president C P Rangachar on the sidelines of a recently held press conference in Bengaluru.

“To meet the rising demand for technology development, we expect the government to provide an additional Rs 2,000 crore as corpus,” added Rangachar.

According to Rangachar, the Rs 2,000-crore investment as well as the matching corpus grant will be given to sectoral players at minimal interest rate to help them upgrade technology in their manufacturing facilities.

Brighter road ahead

By 2015-16, the industry expects the demand and production of machine tool market to touch Rs 7,560 crore, which reflects excellent growth trend over the coming years.

However, IMTMA urged the sectoral players to raise their production capacity to cater to robust demands from industries such as construction, energy, aerospace, healthcare and defence, among others.

“Post-recession, we have been able to register fair growth primarily on the back of domestic demand and expect the trend to continue in 2011,” said Balasubramanyam R N, proprietor of Bengaluru-based Sree Sainath Creations, a small machine tools manufacturer. “We are trying to bring in innovation and install latest technology in our production units, but liquidity crunch and absence of bank support are restricting us,” added Balasubramanyam.

Over the next 10 years up to 2020, production of machine tool is likely to achieve Rs 23,000-crore mark.

To give the small sectoral players a major boost, the government has evoked a positive response to IMTMA’s proposal to sanction Rs 1,400 crore for a machine tool park.

The industry currently is looking forward to the upcoming 15th IMTEX, where 24 countries including India will display innovations and technological refinements.