MaxWatt will be integrated into the turbo business of Man Diesel and Turbo and the new entity will run under the name MAN Turbomachinery India Pvt Ltd, says K Chandra MohanMAN Diesel & Turbo (MDT) SE, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAN SE (part of Volkswagen AG) acquired 100 per cent stake in Bangalore-based engineering firm MaxWatt Turbines, an Indian company specialised in engineering, production and servicing of steam turbines for application in power generation and mechanical drives. India has an installed power capacity of 200,000 mega watt and the government wants to double the capacity in ten years. Turbines become an important part of the business and MDT wants to be in the centre of the power industry's growth.MaxWatt will be integrated into the turbo business of MDT and the new entity will run under the name MAN Turbomachinery India Pvt Ltd. The current MD of MaxWatt, C.G Venkatesh, will continue to lead the business. With this acquisition, MAN will not only cater to the Indian market, but it will expand its footprint to South East Asia.However, the company did not disclose the price of the acquisition. Sources add that the company was acquired for a little less than $90 million. MaxWatt's turnover last financial year was a little more than Rs 100 crore.“MaxWatt is an established player in the Indian and Asian power generation business in the lower power segment,” says Dr Uwe Lauber, CEO and Chief sales officer of MAN Diesel & Turbo SE.“By acquiring them we expand our portfolio and add steam turbines for numerous standard applications to our existing range," says Uwe Lauber. He added that the move will also help the company gain access to new customer groups and market segments. "MAN Diesel & Turbo has always chased M&A projects, if they satisfy a sound strategic rationale. With MaxWatt there are close to zero overlaps in the product ranges, which is why it is an excellent match for us," he said.MaxWatt Managing Director C.G Venkatesh says “MDT is a leading power generation business and our customers across the globe will profit from an extended product range from this acquisition."MaXWatt provides employment to more than 150 people in engineering, production, sales and service. It has installed a three-digit number of steam turbines in the field and caters a worldwide customer base. Besides MAN’s workforce in India will further increase to over 650.MAN Diesel & Turbo sees a positive response from the government, since it has set a course to trigger growth and further update the country’s infrastructure. The 'Make in India’ campaign is focused on creating the availability of skilled manpower and a strong judicial system to provide a good platform to expand a manufacturing firms local footprint. MAN has a turbomachinery installation and service shop at Vadodara, in the state of Gujarat and engineering and production centre for large Diesel engines in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
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A BW tribute to the late Surinder Kapur of Sona GroupThere are many sectors where the popular slogan "Make in India" has remained just that; a slogan. While launching his Digital India mission recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi lamented how electronic goods constitute the second largest component of India's import bill. Even as Modi was unveiling his impassioned vision in the company of tycoons like Anil Ambani, Cyrus Mistry and 15,000 other people, family members of Surinder Kapur were mourning his death. The founder chairman of the $800 million auto components conglomerate passed away in Germany on June 30.It would have been fitting if the master communicator Modi had used the Digital India function to pay a small tribute to one of the pioneers of the Make in India movement. Long before the term had become a popular slogan and theme, Surinder Kapur had actually demonstrated that manufacturing in India is possible, and can be a success. Many names are thrown up when it comes to discussing the success of automobile manufacturing in India. Brijmohan Lal Munjal comes to mind; so do Ratan Tata and Anand Mahindra. Even Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge is celebrated. But as important a role was played by Kapur, whose 1988 partnership with Maruti Suzuki literally launched the auto components manufacturing revolution in India.Just look at the numbers. In the last five years, exports of auto components have zoomed about three times from a little more that $ 4.5 billion in 2010-11 to close to $ 13 billion in 2014-15. Despite the continuing global recession and despite the sustained slump in the Indian auto sector since 2013, the auto components industry has grown at double digit rates every single year; both in terms of domestic sales and exports. The seeds of this durable success were sown when Kapur convinced the then CEO of Maruti Suzuki, R. C Bhargava that his newly formed company Sona Steering could manufacture steering wheels for the auto maker in India. So impressed were Bhargava and his colleagues at Suzuki that Maruti even picked up a stake in the new auto components company. A collaboration with the Japanese company Koyo added technological muscle and both the Sona group and the Indian auto components industry have never looked back. In this day and age of frenzied headlines, furious debates and short news cycles, his death perhaps did not attract the attention it deserves. Tributes did come from both the Automotive Components Manufacturers Association ( ACMA) and Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM). Kapur had been president of both the industry bodies. The current president of SIAM Vikram Kirloskar said, "Kapur was one of the doyens of the auto component industry who played a pioneering role in creating a modern automotive supply chain in the country,He epitomised the spirit of entrepreneurship and professionalism and was looked upon as a role model for the manufacturing sector and for the entire component supplier industry".ACMA President, Ramesh Suri said,"A true believer of globalisation, he not only led the Indian auto component industry to export, but was also a pioneer in international acquisition. Kapur will also be remembered for his contribution to several national and international forums, which he served with great passion and dedication." Tributes often become a routine affair. But in this case, Surinder Kapoor truly deserved the words of praise.
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Hopping Chef provides fine dining service to those who are looking for good food at their convenience and in the comfort of their homesMove over restaurants delivering food to homes. Mirah Hospitality has acquired 30 per cent stake in Hopping Chef, a brand by Gritty Foods LLP, that supplies chefs to people's homes. Hopping Chef was launched in December 2014 as a platform to provide fine dining service to those who are looking for good food at their convenience and in the comfort of their homes.Mirah Hospitality has existing investments in Impresario Handmade restaurants (Smoke House Deli, Tasting Room, Socials), Himesh Foods Pvt. Ltd. (Mad Over Donuts) and Massive Restaurants (Masala Library, Made in Punjab, Farzi Cafe and Mithai).Gaurav Goenka, Managing Director, Mirah Hospitality, said that, “This association marks a new beginning. It will enhance the strength of Mirah as a brand, which is looking for growth both organically and inorganically. Until now Mirah has always been in the brick and mortar space. However keeping in mind the latest trend and flourishing prospects in the online space, Mirah decided to diversify its portfolio to the online food space as well. Hopping chef will help Mirah to enhance its current portfolio. I am happy to share that, in the past few years, we have grown without compromising on quality. With this new alliance, I am hoping to provide quality chefs for those who are looking for a global food experience.”Hopping Chef, founded by Shaival Chandra, Dhaval Udeshi and Sid Ugrankar, is currently valued at Rs.10 crore. With the investment from Mirah Group, the Brand will be expanding its network to Bangalore within 2 months followed by 4 other metros in the next 6 months. Currently, the brand has 15 chefs on board, which will be increased to around 75 to 100 to keep up with the geographical diversifications planned. Over the last few months of existence, Hopping Chef has proven to be an ideal place for chefs to showcase their talent and innovation as there is no set recipe or costing which they need to follow.“An investment from a well established hospitality group like Mirah will boost Hopping Chef and will open newer avenues. Mirah Hospitality is known for their unconventional approach to business and I am hopeful that Hopping Chef with this arrangement with Mirah Hospitality will establish footprints in new geographies," said Shaival Chandra, Founder & CEO, Hopping Chef.The hospitality industry in India is poised to register higher growth rate over the next 5 years. By the year 2020, the Indian food market is expected to touch the 40 trillion mark.
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Launch of Colors Infinity, Colors Infinity HD on DTH, Digital Cable to grow the genre: ExpertsEntertainment network Viacom18 has entered the English entertainment sector with the channels Colors Infinity and Colors Infinity HD. Both these channels will be made available on the direct to home (DTH) and digital cable platforms. The channels are expected to be on air in less than a month's time. Media planners and advertisers expect the launch will help expansion of the English GEC space both in terms of volume and value of advertising.In order to present a unique blend of content mix, Viacom 18 has signed multi-year deals with leading US and Europe based content creators including Warner Bros. NBC Universal, Twentieth Century Fox, BBC and Endemol Shine among others.According to Sudhanshu Vats, Group CEO, Viacom18 India has the second largest English speaking population. “English is seen as a ladder to personal progress. Colors Infinity aims to speak to this larger audience which goes beyond the metros and has never been addressed by the category. English is an extremely important space for us and with this move we will further strengthen our share in the category,” said Vats.Viacom 18, a joint venture between U.S. media conglomerate Viacom and India’s Network 18 Group, operates several channels in India including Colors in various Indian languages, Rishtey, Nickelodeon, Sonic, MTV, MTV Indies, Nick jr, VH1, and Comedy Central.The network has not announced any shows yet, but it will offer a gamut of genres including reality, drama, superheroes, comedy, fantasy, crime, and thrillers, the network said during its launch event two days ago. The channels will be co-curated by film director, producer, TV host and actor Karan Johar and actress Alia Bhatt.Experts said since the English language television market has developed over the years due to the long presence of channels like Star World, Zee Cafe, Zee MGM, Star Premiere, AXN and others. Industry estimates suggest that the English general entertainment channels have a market worth around Rs 350-400 crore in terms of advertising revenue built over past 10-12 years.“With more channels like Colors Infinity and its HD avatar, the genre may just take off in the next couple of years. Premium advertisers will get attracted to the viewer-demographics who will ultimately consume the English content on these channels. But much will depend on the content mix Colors offers,” said a senior media planner representing some major automobile and aviation clients.ashish.sinha@businessworld.in
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The Greek crisis notwithstanding, markets closed with healthy gains on Friday (3 July). Sensex closed the day's trade at 28,092.79, up 0.53 per cent on Friday to end the week with gains of 280 points, while Nifty rose 103.80 points in the same period.“The markets seemed hopeful that the outcome of the Greek referendum will not have any significant repercussions on the global economy and especially India,” said Dipen Shah, Head- Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities.The Indian economy is not linked to Greece in any major way and in a macro-economic level, the unfolding events in Greece will not have a substantial influence on India as our exposure to the Euro is negligible. Currently, about 25 per cent of the aggregate forex held by all central banks is Euro denominated. While there can be an impact on currency due to potential outflows, the strong forex reserves should help in reducing the impact to a great extent.Going ahead, CPI numbers, quarterly results and progress of monsoons are the immediate triggers, apart from the Greek referendum outcome. Later in the month, the progress on major bills such as GST in the monsoon session of the Parliament will be the trigger to watch out for.
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Europe's Airbus Group and Mahindra Group have struck a deal to build helicopters jointly as they bid to win an expected wave of orders from the country's armed forces, the companies said in a statement on Friday (03 July). The two groups will form a joint venture in the coming months, aiming to become the first private manufacturer of helicopters in India, the statement said. It did not say how much the two will invest. India is in the midst of a huge upgrade of its armed forces - analysts forecast it will spend $250 billion over the next decade - and Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to encourage more indigenous manufacturing to end India's position as the world's largest arms importer. Airbus Helicopters, part of Airbus Group, is joining forces with Mahindra after talking to several Indian companies that are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to capitalise on the government's push to build arms at home. Other companies in the running for the joint venture included Reliance Industries and Tata Group, an Airbus Helicopters executive told Reuters in February. "Together, we will produce India’s next-generation helicopters that will not only answer our country’s defence needs but will also have the potential for exports in the future," said S P Shukla, chairman, Mahindra Defence Systems Ltd. The joint venture will seek to win orders for reconnaissance and surveillance, naval utility and naval multirole helicopters, Airbus said. Under current rules, foreign ownership in joint ventures in India's defence industry is limited to 49 per cent. (Reuters)
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Over half of the participants claimed that there was a lack of adequately qualified candidates, Simar Singh reports Throwing light on the difficulty of hiring, a new survey has revealed that the majority of employers in India have to compromise when it comes to recruiting new staff due of the shortage of qualified candidates. Surveying 100 Indian hiring managers from a range of sectors including IT, manufacturing, health, finance, construction, professional services, real estate, media and logistics, the study found that almost 60 per cent had compromised on standards while hiring. Over half of the participants also claimed that there was a lack of adequately qualified candidates applying for jobs. The survey was conducted by market research agency IMRB International for Pearson VUE, a computer-based testing company. "Our survey is revealing in terms of the underlying and ongoing challenges for India's employers in finding and retaining skilled, qualified talent and the impact of hiring compromises. However there are solutions to these challenges as well", said Divyalok Sharma, director of client development at Pearson VUE. The full report titled "Hiring Challenges for India's 100 Top Employers" will be released on July 23 and will contain statistics on the key challenges that Indian employers face and their possible solutions, their attitudes towards professional qualifications and distrust of the applicants' credentials.
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India's dominant services industry contracted for a second month in June as new business again declined, suggesting Asia's third-largest economy is struggling to maintain growth, a survey showed on Friday (3 July).Any weakness in the economy, alongside subdued inflation, will likely add to expectations the Reserve Bank of India will ease monetary policy sooner rather than later.The Nikkei Services Purchasing Managers' Index, compiled by Markit, dropped to a 15-month low of 47.7 in June from May's 49.6, well below the 50-level that separates growth from contraction.Five out of the six industries monitored reported falling activity and the new orders index sank to 47.3, its lowest level since December 2013.Weak demand also curtailed factory growth, a sister survey showed on Wednesday."June's Indian service sector data disappointed," said Pollyanna De Lima, an economist at Markit."All in all, latest data suggest that the Reserve Bank of India's commitment to support economic growth may result in further rate cuts at its August meeting," she added.At the latest meeting in June, Governor Raghuram Rajan left the door open to a further cut from 7.25 percent if inflation remains subdued.The survey showed prices rose at a slower pace last month, and as retail inflation has plunged since January 2014 the RBI has had room to cut its key interest rate three times already this year.Still, according to a Reuters poll conducted after last month's cut, the RBI is expected to wait until at least October, after the vital monsoon rains, to reduce rates again.(Reuters)
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