:quality(80)/p7i.vogel.de/wcms/ee/f6/eef6c42963a6bb637b7a29a24ae1667e/97236971.jpeg "Hans Beckhoff, Founder and Managing Director Beckhoff Worldwide (Source: Beckhoff Automation)")
:quality(80)/images.vogel.de/vogelonline/bdb/1838700/1838749/original.jpg "Hitachi Astemo Automotive Systems’ new brand image (Hitachi Automotive Systems China)")
:quality(80)/images.vogel.de/vogelonline/bdb/1812900/1812994/original.jpg "The 3rd edition of China International Import Expo. (China International Import Expo Bureau)")
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Facility Interview India: Meeting the Rising Demand
UCAM specializes in manufacturing precision CNC rotary tables, Index tables and pallet changing solutions for machine tool applications. In this interview Managing Director Indradev Babu shares the story of the company’s journey.
Kindly elaborate on UCAM’s journey since its inception in India
Indradev Babu: Our company‘s journey has been a long and successful one in the country. UCAM, earlier known as Uday Computer Aided Manufacturing Pvt Ltd started its business as a job shop in 1986, was undertaking jobs for Bharat Electronics Ltd. In the early 1990’s, the company diversified its business into product manufacturing of CNC rotary tables and pallet changers. The initial years were tough as the concept of CNC machines was not familiar in India. At the same time our Indian customers used to import rotary tables as they were not manufactured in India. It took a lot of persuasion and hard work to promote and make UCAM rotary tables acceptable in the Indian market.
:quality(80)/images.vogel.de/vogelonline/bdb/1131700/1131783/original.jpg "Managing director at UCAM Pvt Ltd Indradev Babu.")
:quality(80)/images.vogel.de/vogelonline/bdb/1131700/1131782/original.jpg "The Dobaspet facility, a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, that is built on an area of 28,500 m² and focuses on manufacturing precision CNC rotary tables and index tables for machine tool applications.")
The company‘s success continued and in the early 2000’s, UCAM launched its latest versions of rotary tables at mega events such as EMO 2003 and IMTEX 2004. The products were highly appreciated among the customers. In 2005, the company inaugurated its second unit at Peenya, Bengaluru as the previous one was not sufficient to handle the growth opportunities. Apart from this, new manufacturing and testing facilities were added to the plant which further enhanced its production capacity. In addition to this, a Greenfield plant (third unit) which has the capacity to manufacture 2000 rotary tables was established in 2015 at Dobbaspet near Bengaluru.
What is the total area of this Greenfield facility and which are the different departments involved?
The Dobbaspet unit is a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility that is built on an area of 28,500 m² and focuses on manufacturing precision CNC rotary tables and index tables for machine tool applications. In the first phase, we constructed two hangers; one of them is dedicated to the assembly of large size rotary tables and the machines from the Nimble Machines division. It occupies an area of 1,350 m² and comprises of a crane with a capacity of 40 tonnes. The other hanger has two floors; the machine shop is located at the ground level and the assembly unit for small rotary tables is posited on the first floor. Each floor is built on an area of 1,350 m². This unit is dust proof, fully air conditioned and energy efficient.
Both the hangers are built considering proper ergonomics for efficient working. Importance is also given to natural ventilation in order to reduce power consumption. Also, the entire plant is fitted with LED lights in order to reduce carbon emissions. In the future, we are also planning to tap solar energy. All the operations namely purchase, planning, machine shop, assembly, quality and inspection department, painting and dispatch takes place at our Dobbaspet unit.
What are the company’s initiatives for increasing productivity and efficiency at the shop floor?
The facility at Dobbaspet comprises of separate hangers for standard rotary tables and special rotary tables. The machine shop and assembly section are located in the same building. The layout of this unit is prepared to ensure minimum movement of material. This saves a lot of time in terms of material handling. The machine shop is equipped with hi-tech machineries to manufacture critical and precision components. These machines are capable of quickly changing over from one set up to another by speedily changing their pallets and automations. Various process improvements and Kaizen’s are implemented to enhance the productivity and efficiency at the shop floor. The machine shop is completely backed up by UPS systems to avoid any loss of time owing to power failure.
In the background of the ‘Make in India’ concept, what are the opportunities you foresee in the Indian market?
The ‘Make in India’ initiative by the Government of India has provided a major fillip to the manufacturing industry. Sectors such as aerospace and defence apart from the automobile industry are looking for investments from private companies. Today, many international companies are setting up their units in India and local companies are expanding their capacity to meet the growing requirement. Considering the above UCAM has a great opportunity to be able to support the manufacturing industry through its rotary table and torque motor products.
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