Nasdaq-listed Truck maker Paccar  is tapping India for component sourcing and developing technology for its global operations, but has no plans now to sell or assemble products in the country. The work at the technical centre has already begun and the company will hire 200 employees by the end of this year. “Our focus in India right now is to successfully launch the technical centre in Pune to develop solutions for global requirements and introduce ourselves to the supplier base here,” Paccar Inc Managing Director (India Initiative) Donald J Schulte told the Business Standard newspaper.

What this means

India’s automotive capabilities are expanding to heavier vehicles on side as visible from the action of the owner of the Kenilworth truck brand above. But simultaneously the automotive capabilities can be extended to many other industries that utilize similar manufacturing skills.

Sandvik AB of Sweden will open a medical technology division in the city of Pune (100 miles inland from Mumbai) via its Indian subsidiary to provide manufacturing services for medical device customers. Sandvik is a supplier of materials and manufacturing services to medical device OEMs globally. The Sandvik Bioline medical material range includes stainless steel, titanium and cobalt chrome in various product forms, compliant with  international standards for medical implants and instruments.

Hakan Kingstedt, managing director and president,Sandvik Asia explained that the main application areas for Sandvik’s medical materials are implants and instruments for orthopedics – primarily joint reconstruction, trauma, and spine. The product range also includes products suitable for dental as well as cardiovascular devices such as pacemaker lead wire. Other important application areas are surgical instrumentation, scalpels, bone saws, suture needles and more.

Chandrashekhar Puranik, Vice President, Business development, Sandvik MedTech said: “In India, Sandvik strives to create awareness in implant manufacturers to start using premium medical materials as per international standards. These standards demand lower level of impurities reducing the risk for corrosion.” Sandvik also offers capabilities such as prototyping, casting, forging, machining, tooling and finishing for value added products such as medical implants and instruments.

What this means

India is fast becoming a market for global medical device players. Their supply chain partners find it natural to develop local capabilities to serve the multinational who are already their clients. The India Expert expects Sandvik Asia and others like it to soon serve device companies that originate in India.

Air Marshal Norman Anil Kumar “Charlie” Browne will be India’s new Chief of the Air Staff starting July 31, 2011.  He will take over from the current Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshall P.V. Naik, whom I met in 2009 at Vayu Bhavan (Air Force Headquarters) in New Delhi.

Incoming Indian Chief of Air Staff N.A.K. "Charlie" Browne

(For my Western readers who may be surprised at his western sounding name, note that India has 25 million Christians and the religion first came to India with the Apostle Thomas; Christianity in India predated the induction of the religition into Europe by hundreds of years; Catholicism came to India with the arrival of Portuguese and French traders in the fifteenth century and protestant missionaries from England arrived in nineteenth century. Air Force camaraderie often results in nicknames for officers and with a last name like Brown, it is no surprise that his buddies were reminded of the Peanuts character, who is recognizable in India).

A 1972 graduate of India’s prestigious National Defence Academy near Pune, Browne served as an instructor at the Tactics and Air Combat Development Establishment and the Tri-services Defence Services Staff College in Wellington, India. He has logged 3,100 hours of flying. Before taking over as the Vice chief of the Air Staff in January 2011, he was the AOC-in-C of Western Air Command, the IAF’s most vital operational command since it protects the border with Pakistan.

An ace MiG-21 and Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter pilot, 59-year-old Browne was responsible for establishing the Indian Defense Wing in Tel Aviv, Israel in April 1997 at the time when India was starting to open up to the Jewish state. Under his command, the first landing of a Russian-made AN-32 transport aircraft took place at Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground, at an altitude of 13,300 feet in Leh, Ladakh in September 2009.

According to Aviation Week magazine, “Browne  will oversee substantial changes in asset deployments to give the IAF greater reach and faster response to perceived external threats.  Last October, Browne said the IAF would consider basing detachments of new-generation fighters at its high-altitude border bases, including Su-30MKIs. Under Browne, the IAF also will raise its first fighter squadrons in India’s southern peninsula, including some of the aircraft acquired in the MMRCA competition, to provide security to India’s island territories and sea lanes. Parity with the Pakistan Air Force, and to a much larger extent China’s air force, will be a major preoccupation for the new chief in the face of dwindling aircraft numbers.”

The magazine also noted “His tenure as IAF chief will also likely see the signing of contracts worth tens of billions of dollars.  One key program that Browne will oversee is the $12-billion Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA). Browne played a central role in navigating the MMRCA teams through the competitive process during his 2007-09 tenure as deputy chief of the IAF. During his time in office, the government will likely sign deals for 10 or more Boeing C-17 heavy transports, six new-generation tanker transports (the Airbus Military A330 and Ilyushin Il-78 are in the running), 22 attack helicopters, 12 heavy-lift helicopters and nearly 200 basic trainer aircraft.”

What this means

Air Chief Marshall Browne’s tenure is likely to see continuity in acquisition planning and execution from his predecessor. Western companies should appreciate the stability while being aware that large capital decisions are not made exclusively by the Air Force alone. Other ministries, departments and geo-political forces can also come into play.  Browne’s credentials make him well qualified to deal with the new role. Sadly, given the Indian seniority based systemand retirement policies, his tenure is likely to be too short.

Mercedes Benz now has 650 engineers working at its Bangalore development center. The facility is dedicated to passenger cars, and it currently works in conjunction with Daimler’s German unit in many areas, including development of powertrains, according India General Manager (Product Homologation) Prakash Vermali. The company hired 250 tech staff in the last year and the center serves a global market.

Decades ago, the company had a collaboration with Tata Motors (then called Telco) to build trucks in Pune. In that city, Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India Pvt. Ltd. (MBRDI), a 100% captive unit of Daimler AG, was established as a research institute with eight employees in 1996 and currently has a capacity of 367 employees. MBRDI is the largest Research and Development center of Daimler AG outside Germany and contributes in the areas of Computer Simulation (CAE), Design (CAD), Electrical/Electronics and IT-Services. Research and development engineers at MBRDI assess the performance and reliability of various sub-systems and contribute to product development in all the stages of the life-cycle.

Takeaway:   Neither language barriers, nor quality concerns hold back the best global companies, if they are determined and patient, from benefiting from India’s engineering talent.