Overseas auto companies have begun to cancel orders and are doing a re-think on the launch of new models and production plans for the Indian market. The automation and robotics industry in the country is beginning to feel the pinch of this cutback.
?Few overseas players are canceling production plans for India. The impact will be felt in the next six months to a year,? Raj Singh Rathee, MD, Kuka Robotics (India) Pvt Ltd said. ?Indian demand for robots is very low. The market had started picking up in the last couple of years and the slowdown occurred,? he said. Rathee estimated the demand for robots in the Indian market at about 1,000 robots per annum. Kuka supplies robots to Tata Motors, Volkswagen, Hyundai, ancillaries of Mahindra & Mahindra and Ashok Leyland.
Precision Automation & Robotics India Ltd (PARI) says although there have been no project cancellations till date, delays had begun in some of the projects. ?There have been one or two programmes that have put their plans on hold for the next three to four months. The company?s Rs 12 crore order for Chrysler is currently on hold,? Mangesh Kale, MD, PARI said. ?Barring these, the company?s programmes for Tata Motors are being completed. PARI is supplying equipment ranging from Rs 25 to 50 crore to the Tata Motors plants in Jamshedpur, Pune and the Fiat project at Ranjangaon. The company had also supplied equipment for the Nano project at Singur and this will now be re-installed at the Pune plant in a month or so,? Kale said. PARI?s project for General Motors that has put up a plant in Talegaon is on schedule. The company has orders worth Rs 45 crore on hand this month from the earth moving equipment and the auto sector.
Gudel, a player in linear robotic technology and automation systems says some projects have been put on hold and payment issues have begun to crop up. ?Some companies are facing cash flow problems,? Sunil Raibaghi, MD, Gudel said. Gudel has set up a $2.5 million plant at Pirangut in Pune to manufacture industrial robots, gantry, and systems with articulated robots.
?The automotive sector is a major customer, and we are executing orders for Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland as well,? Raibaghi said. Gudel has begun a 5-day week in its Pune plant in anticipation of the slowdown.