The Hindu Business Line : Micromatic Machine Tools plans office in China

MICROMATIC Machine Tools Pvt Ltd (MMTPL), a prominent manufacturer of CNC machines, is considering opening an office in China to capitalise on China's drive to become a major manufacturing source for global clients.

The company, which sold over 1,500 CNC machines last year, expects to sell nearly double that number during the current year.

Speaking to newspersons in Coimbatore, Mr T.K. Ramesh, Vice-President, MMTPL, Bangalore, part of the Ace Micromatic group, said the company wanted to benefit from the efforts of China to become a global outsourcing hub.

It was looking at opening an office close to Shanghai in China that will be manned by Indian staff.

They would be involved in looking after the import of machines and customising them and for distribution, the company would appoint local dealer.

Asked about the number of machines his company hoped to sell in China, he said during the first year, the numbers might be around 30 but in the second year, it should be at least 200 for the entry into China to be economically viable. In the next five years, the company would expect the sales in China to reach 500 machines a year level.

He said his company was looking at Thailand with whom India had signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

At present, the company exports to France, Italy, Germany, Australia and the US.

He said as part of efforts to reach out to customers and to meet their specific requirements, the company will be opening a chain of technical centres that would also display the company's products in the country.

Generally, the buyers visited the manufacturing facilities to decide on the type of CNC machines they would like to purchase.

But the technical centres would obviate the need for such visits.

Already, the company has such a centre in Pune and the next would come up in Delhi and this facility would be extended to cities such as Chennai, Bangalore and Coimbatore in a phased manner.

Mr Ramesh said the company would launch its latest CNC lathe Super Jobber at the INTEC 2005 fair opening here on July 6. It will be priced around Rs 15 lakh.

During last year the group recorded a turnover of Rs 360 crore.

This is expected to go up to Rs 600 crore during the current year.

Mr C.R. Raguramachandran, Assistant Manager-Marketing, said the company's earnings from CNC machines in Coimbatore last year was around Rs 20 crore.

During this year, he expected a 30 per cent increase in sales from Coimbatore, where the CNC machines market was valued at Rs 100 crore annually. The company was also planning to open an office in Tiruchi.

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