Toyota Motors has achieved 10 to 25 per cent energy savings through innovation by its skilled manpower on the shop floor.

“The company through in-house innovation has managed to reduce sheet metal pressing lines from four to three. This has resulted in significant energy savings,” said Vikram Kirloskar, President, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, and Vice-Chairman of Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

Training, skill upgrade “We also were able to achieve high steel-yields. This was able through employee training and skill upgrade on our shop floor,” he said on the sidelines of the IMTEX Forming and ToolTech 2014 expo. .

Advising the machine tool and metal forming industry, Kirloskar said the sector should make use of the current slowdown to improve ones efficiency, productivity and quality. “After adopting all this at our second plant, our quality level has significantly improved, costs have come down,” Kirloskar said.

“Industry should also make use of the situation to retrain and go for skill upgrade. For, they will not get another opportunity when the demand picks up.”

Foreign companies interest Jamshed N Godrej, chairman-exhibitions IMTMA, said good amount of interest has been shown by foreign companies to invest in India.

“Companies from Europe and Japan have realised that it cannot be China alone for setting up factories. Competition in global markets has given the Indian machine tool makers some opportunity to tap the unexplored potential for exports.”

L Krishnan, President IMTMA, said: “With the automobile sector facing a slowdown, the machine tool and sheet cutting industry is not in peak of its curve, but there is sliver lining through orders from tractors makers, railways, defence and aerospace industries.”

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