As the manufacturing industry embraces technologies like IoT, how does it impact demand for cables?

Industry 4.0, Internet of Things and Smart Factory - these concepts are no longer a vague promise of what is to come. Companies are already able to benefit from the use of intelligent systems and products. We have developed sophisticated smart plastics, by using diverse sensors and monitoring modules for energy chains, plain bearings, linear bearings and slewing ring bearings. These intelligent isense modules can predict the service life which will be helpful in planning for replacement and any course of action.

The Financial year 2019-20 started steadily, however the couple of months have been disappointing and order intake has been dropping significantly. Major pie of the growth is shared by machine tool and automotive segments which is not withstanding the current state of automotive. We believe that intelligent isense modules will be improving productivity in automotive by being able to move from preventive maintenance to predictive maintenance.

Which industries are driving growth for you?

With the mantra of ‘igus for all', we offer lubrication free, maintenance free and cost-effective solutions to many industry segments like automation industries, packaging, textile, material handling, machine tools industries and many more to count on. Our cables are catering to all the industries which are together helping us grow.

What challenges cables manufacturers are facing India? How are you dealing with those challenges?

We have our manufacturing only in European Countries. igus India is a sale driven company. One of the most serious challenges that we face are on the standards of the cables. In India, these standards are not well established as compared to other countries standards such as CE and UL standards from Europe, US and Canada. Also, there is a high competition in the country. This coupled with challenges in regards to standards, cable manufacturers have to be agile enough to respond quickly to changing levels of demand standards.

How has been market for cables faring in India?

After facing a major decline in the demand for cables, the industry has begun to see increase in demand in the recent years. We have done quite well in special cables for the machine tools industry and parking systems. Further, we are hopeful that we will keep growing and expand our business with our products line-up.

So far, how has been this financial year for you?

Our company had a very strong show in FY 2018-19. The current FY started on the same note. However, the order intake has dropped significantly from end of Q1. We consider the automotive industry as our bellwether segment as we have many products going on board automotive as well as into machines and production systems supporting the production of automotive.

As inventory has piled up and demand is not picking we see a clear downturn in automotive and sectors associated to automotive industry. This coupled with the lack of funding avenues and concerns of BSVI norms being implemented from April is continuing to slow down demand. We believe and hope that the Government would take crisp measures to spur demand and support dissipating inventory and create fresh demand.

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