Automotive Component
Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA), the apex body of the Auto Component
Industry in India, hosted its 56th Annual Session & National Conference in
the Capital with a session that focussed on ‘Winning with Quality and
Innovation’
ACMA’s Annual Session was addressed by key
ministers and eminent leaders from the automotive industry which included Anant
Geete, Union Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Nitin
Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, R C Bhargava
Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India, Guenter Butschek, Chief Executive Officer&
Managing Director, Tata Motors, Dr Naushad Forbes, President, CII &
Co-Chairman, Forbes Marshall, Vinod K Dasari, President, SIAM & Managing
Director, Ashok Leyland and Arvind Balaji, President, ACMA & Joint Managing
Director, Lucas-TVS and Rattan Kapur, Vice President, ACMA & Chairman &
Managing Director, Mark Exhaust Systems Ltd.
Meanwhile, Rattan Kapur was appointed as President and Nirmal K Minda
as Vice President ACMA 2016-17. The announcement was made at the 56th ACMA
Annual Session during its Executive Committee meeting.
ACMA’s study conducted by
McKinsey & Co. themed “Winning with Quality and Innovation” was released by
Anant Geete. The study reveals that the auto component industry, in order to
stay competitive, will be required to develop capabilities for in-house design,
harness frugal engineering and create product differentiation through innovations.
A move towards product & process innovation and organisation wide culture
of quality and innovation will be integral to this change.
Geete said, “The
auto-component industry, has displayed excellent performance in the last
decade. The growth has generated tremendous employment opportunities for
India’s population, of which youth are 55 percent. Since, the automotive
industry will be the primary contributor to the growth of manufacturing sector
and to the ‘Make in India’ programme. Therefore, we will help resolve all
issues and concerns of the automotive industry by giving it our full support.
With implementation of GST, it will further boost the prospects of the
industry.”
Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Union
Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Government of India, said, “This
year the automotive industry had a satisfactory performance achieving an
overall growth of 8 percent with exports of Rs. 70,000 crore. In coming years
the government’s focus will be to adopt economic policies that are conducive to
the growth of the industry and help strengthen exports. Innovation, technology
and quality will be the three main pillars for industries competitiveness. We
have the potential to grow exponentially from the current Rs. 4.5 lakh crore to
Rs. 20 lakh crore in the next 10 years, making us one of the world’s foremost”.
Emphasising on the road map
for the auto component industry, Arvind Balaji said, “The Indian Auto Component
industry is at a point of inflection, quality and technology will be the key
differentiators for industry’s competitiveness. Globally, the automobile
landscape is undergoing a rapid change with the integration of digital and
intelligent technologies in vehicles, much higher consideration for environment
protection, reduction of fossil fuels, enhancement of safety features and
changing user preferences. Additionally, concept of digitization of the
manufacturing sector is fast emerging. Changes such as these and others will
have to be addressed by the auto component industry by investing significantly
in R&D and creation of new products.”
Expressing optimism, Rattan
Kapur said, “we as an industry have to graduate from one that merely ‘builds
from print’ to one that ‘innovates and experiments’. To achieve this, the
component industry needs to strengthen its relation with its customers’ i.ethe
OEMs to become co-development partners. This calls for ‘sharing-risks’ in new
areas especially those related to technology and product development.”
In his keynote address, RC
Bhargava, Chairman, Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, emphasised, “the auto component
manufacturers need to have a singular focus to scale up their businesses with
quality and technology as the bedrock. The industry needs to invest in design
and capability, as also in world class testing and manufacturing facilities,
improve profitability of operations to order to become integral to the global
supply chains.”
Speaking on the theme of
Quality and Innovation, at the 56th ACMA National Conference, Guenter Butschek
noted, “The Indian auto industry is going through a very dynamic phase and is
witnessing a dramatic shift in landscape for the auto components industry.
Quality and Innovation are the cornerstones for success in today’s business
environment and at the core of Tata Motors’ new mission and vision, along with
a continued focus on R&D investment in design and engineering. We at Tata
Motors are looking to streamline our supply chain operations and focus on
suppliers with comprehensive capabilities and high performance levels in areas
of technical know-how, quality, cost, delivery and financial health. We will be
rolling out a new supplier capability assessment process with the intention to
bring synergies and efficiencies in the whole ecosystem and create win-win
situations for both, Tata Motors and the supplier fraternity.”
McKinsey’s research shows that
Culture is the most critical dimension of quality wherein 30 percent of quality
outcomes are linked to culture. Contrary to popular belief, culture of quality
can be created in all organizations regardless of age and size. However,
culture shifts are not possible without leadership’s commitment to quality.