Modern metrology products with scanning systems and wide range of services with strong customer focus are expected to further grow Carl Zeiss presence in India.
Dr. Ohnheiser, an authority in Industrial Metrology, with more than 25 years of experience in Carl Zeiss – an Industry leader, shares his views on opportunities in the current market scenario and strategies his company would adopt for growth. Dr.Ohnheiser heads the global business of Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology.
Can you please tell us about the technical advancements in Metrology over the years?
What I can see in the Metrology business is that the future in the probing technology will be mainly, solely scanning systems. If you look at the modern metrology products you will see that they are not only scanning products but products with integration into a system like a handling system. This is something that gives the advantage for Carl Zeiss in the market.
What are your strategies to utilize the Indian Engineering skills for your global operations?
A big part of our team in India is excellent educated and well trained to support the customers. We also have a big team in the services and in the applications. If I look into engineering inputs we see two major parts. One is we continuously improve on our application side, including development of local service software and its adaptations. There is a local demand for software adaptations for customizing. So we are building up a software team for doing this localization. The second thing that we are building up is a project group, which means that we are handling projects with integration with the material flow and integration with the processes. So this is special skills which we are developing here in close coordination with our global team.
Would this be used by your global team or is it only for India now?
We already have our teams at various countries looking at India to work closely with the team here. So their experiences in the project business, handling systems and material flow could be used to engineer and execute projects together.
Do you have any plans to start manufacturing Carl Zeiss machines in India?
It is in our wish list. It very much depends on the number of units we are selling here. Once again I think at the moment it is most important to be ahead in the application and having the local capabilities for software and for application. That is the key focus in our strategy now.
It may take some time to start manufacturing Carl Zeiss machines in India. It is very dependant on the suppliers we have developed and also dependant on the number of units that we can sell in India. Clearly if the market is continuously developing as it does, that is an option and a prospective for us in future.
Are you increasing your head count in India?
We have increased our strength in the last one and a half years by more than 50% and we have still hired people in the last few months.
Considering the current market dynamics, which are your preferred verticals to drive your growth in India?
It is true that our main installations till now are around the automotive Industry. But nevertheless we have strong legs in Aerospace industry which is clearly developing in India. Power, Energy, transport or any industry where precision is of importance are our prospects. Carl Zeiss products are used to achieve better quality in high precision parts where ever they are needed, say in energy technology like big turbines, big engines, big generators, wind mills and so on. Beside the automotive sector we continue to develop our business in the Aerospace Industry and in the Energy sector.
What future you foresee for Carl Zeiss in India, in the background of India becoming the global manufacturing hub? What role you like to play?
We are clearly giving a contribution to the quality of the manufactured products that meets the expectation level of the customers. Our products can really improve the quality of the parts manufactured. The very fact that a company is using Carl Zeiss machines will give their customers and prospects a better confidence that the quality is well taken care of .
What are your strategies to address the Indian market especially in the wake of the current slow down and the competition from other players?
Our strategy during the last few years was not to focus only on selling products but on strong focus on developing our services. Classical services like technical services but also new services like application service. This is now a very important factor in a weaker period of business cycle because our customers realize that we are available for him and they can rely on us. On the other hand it is important because part of our business is services. That is important for the challenge in the Indian market and we clearly believe that being a service and a solution partner for our customers we are much ahead of our competition.
Dr. Ohnheiser, an authority in Industrial Metrology, with more than 25 years of experience in Carl Zeiss – an Industry leader, shares his views on opportunities in the current market scenario and strategies his company would adopt for growth. Dr.Ohnheiser heads the global business of Carl Zeiss Industrial Metrology.
Can you please tell us about the technical advancements in Metrology over the years?
What I can see in the Metrology business is that the future in the probing technology will be mainly, solely scanning systems. If you look at the modern metrology products you will see that they are not only scanning products but products with integration into a system like a handling system. This is something that gives the advantage for Carl Zeiss in the market.
What are your strategies to utilize the Indian Engineering skills for your global operations?
A big part of our team in India is excellent educated and well trained to support the customers. We also have a big team in the services and in the applications. If I look into engineering inputs we see two major parts. One is we continuously improve on our application side, including development of local service software and its adaptations. There is a local demand for software adaptations for customizing. So we are building up a software team for doing this localization. The second thing that we are building up is a project group, which means that we are handling projects with integration with the material flow and integration with the processes. So this is special skills which we are developing here in close coordination with our global team.
Would this be used by your global team or is it only for India now?
We already have our teams at various countries looking at India to work closely with the team here. So their experiences in the project business, handling systems and material flow could be used to engineer and execute projects together.
Do you have any plans to start manufacturing Carl Zeiss machines in India?
It is in our wish list. It very much depends on the number of units we are selling here. Once again I think at the moment it is most important to be ahead in the application and having the local capabilities for software and for application. That is the key focus in our strategy now.
It may take some time to start manufacturing Carl Zeiss machines in India. It is very dependant on the suppliers we have developed and also dependant on the number of units that we can sell in India. Clearly if the market is continuously developing as it does, that is an option and a prospective for us in future.
Are you increasing your head count in India?
We have increased our strength in the last one and a half years by more than 50% and we have still hired people in the last few months.
Considering the current market dynamics, which are your preferred verticals to drive your growth in India?
It is true that our main installations till now are around the automotive Industry. But nevertheless we have strong legs in Aerospace industry which is clearly developing in India. Power, Energy, transport or any industry where precision is of importance are our prospects. Carl Zeiss products are used to achieve better quality in high precision parts where ever they are needed, say in energy technology like big turbines, big engines, big generators, wind mills and so on. Beside the automotive sector we continue to develop our business in the Aerospace Industry and in the Energy sector.
What future you foresee for Carl Zeiss in India, in the background of India becoming the global manufacturing hub? What role you like to play?
We are clearly giving a contribution to the quality of the manufactured products that meets the expectation level of the customers. Our products can really improve the quality of the parts manufactured. The very fact that a company is using Carl Zeiss machines will give their customers and prospects a better confidence that the quality is well taken care of .
What are your strategies to address the Indian market especially in the wake of the current slow down and the competition from other players?
Our strategy during the last few years was not to focus only on selling products but on strong focus on developing our services. Classical services like technical services but also new services like application service. This is now a very important factor in a weaker period of business cycle because our customers realize that we are available for him and they can rely on us. On the other hand it is important because part of our business is services. That is important for the challenge in the Indian market and we clearly believe that being a service and a solution partner for our customers we are much ahead of our competition.
Originally posted at http://machinist.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1921&Itemid=2
