“We have set up more than 1000 die-shops in India and abroad; this may be considered as one of the largest number of die shops to be set-up by a single company anywhere in the world.”
Mikrotek, established in the year 1993, is one of the top manufacturers of wire drawing dies and die polishing equipment in the world. An ISO 9001:2008 certified company, Mikrotek has almost three-quarters of all their machines designed and developed in house. Wire drawing dies and equipment for maintenance of drawing dies are well accepted in India and beyond. The company’s prominent -presence in Europe, is an achievement in itself for an Indian company; this confirms MIKROTEK’s strict commitment and adherence to quality.
Mr. B. Kamal Babu, Managing Director, Mikrotek Machines Limited recently talked with our correspondent at Elecrama 2016 in Bengaluru to share his company’s vision and product repertoire. Excerpts:
Wire & Cable India: Tell us something about the origin and progress of Mikrotek.
B. Kamal Babu: I am a mechanical engineer from Bangalore University. After completing my post-graduate diploma in Statistics and Management from IISC, Bangalore, I started working in the watch / jewel industry which when it comes to precision is very similar to manufacture of diamond dies. Having keen interest and ambition to start our own business to manufacture wire drawing dies, we entered into a technical tie-up with a German company.
Thus in 1986, our tryst with drawing dies started.
In 1993, due to reorganization within the company, we had a chance to come into our own as an independent company. We seized this opportunity and began the most important journey, as an independent entity. We have since been expanding our product portfolio, entering into newer markets and increasing capacities.
WCI: As a leading manufacturer of wire drawing dies, brief us about your product portfolio.
BKB: We have three principal product lines viz., 1) diamond dies which includes natural diamond dies, polycrystalline diamond dies, mono diamond dies, and tungsten carbide dies; 2) die-shop equipment like ultrasonic machines, wire polishing machines and tungsten carbide die working equipment; and 3) auxiliary equipment and consumables for drawing die shops such as die inspection microscopes, measuring equipment diamond powder, diamond needles and soldering paste.
We have set up more than 1000 die-shops in India and abroad; this may be considered as one of the largest number of die shops to be set-up by a single company anywhere in the world. Mikrotek also has sold more than 3000 die polishing machines, the highest in the world. In the Indian industry, 95 percent of the die rooms are set up by us; we have trained several numbers of technicians in skills to maintain drawing dies.
WCI: Do you have your in-house R&D team…
BKB: About 16 years back, as a first in the Indian die industry, we set up an in-house department to work on research and development. The department is headed by an R&D Manager, assisted by two engineers. In all, the department comprises of five people with their focus on researching the latest technological trends in the design of dies and die shop machines which we manufacture. We constantly collaborate with manufacturers of drawing machine, users of drawing dies and experts from the industry. As a result of our early and continuous investment in R&D, we have found solutions to ever demanding challenges of the wire industry.
WCI: As known, 80 percent of the machines and tools are designed and developed in-house with Moikotek. What made that possible?
BKB: From the very start we knew that imported machines and equipment were not the solution for the Indian market; in this back drop, we had a group of employees who were trained in Europe and had acquired skills in technology of wire drawing dies. Hence, we combined the skills and the requirements of the Indian market and started developing every machine in-house. Over the years, with experience, we have improved our designs and have evolved as the best manufacturer of dies and die maintenance machines.
WCI: There is enough competition in the market. How do you fare the competition from domestic as well as international players?
BKB: Our strategy is ‘precision with economy’ – to give our customers the precision technology at an affordable cost. From the very beginning we have focused on this strategy, which has given us strength to fight the competition and gain loyalty of our customers both in India and abroad. Looking back on the last 20 years of our experience, we can say that this strategy has been very successful. We can proudly say that we are one amongst the world leaders in dies and die technology
WCI: Your market share in Germany is 30 percent for wire dies technology. Explain this amazing feat of yours.
BKB: Mikrotek apart from being a major supplier of dies for the cable industry, we are also the most preferred supplier of drawing dies for drawing of hard metals such as stainless steel and tungsten wire. This is because of the superlative performance of our drawing dies in drawing of hard metals. This has given us a breakthrough into the German wire industry, and helped us realize a substantial share. Over the years, we have not only retained the dominant position in that market, but also managed to enter into other markets like Italy, France and other European countries.
Today, we supply to more than 30 countries across the globe.
WCI: In wire drawing process, what according to you is important to produce perfect wires?
BKB: In our experience, primary requirement of most customers is to have good roundness and excellent wire surfaces; Then, they want to achieve the above at the least cost of per ton of material drawn. Companies must make a balanced decision when choosing their dies by considering factors such as down time, recuts and reliability in addition to the initial cost of wire dies. We have seen, that most companies in Asia and Europe are making balanced decisions. We definitely have an edge with such customers.
WCI: Tell us something about the reconditioning of dies that you do on a considerable scale…
BKB: At present, 75 percent of dies we manufacture are new ones and 25 percent are reconditioning of dies. Reputed wire and cable companies from India and Europe prefer us for their reconditioning jobs.
WCI: What do you do when you recondition the wire dies?
BKB: A die, after certain usage, wears out, as either its size increases or its surface becomes rough due to which surface of the wire becomes bad. While reconditioning, we remove these defects by re boring (we make the size fit), and by re polishing (we make the surface smooth).
In Europe and the USA, this kind of reconditioning is costly; so they outsource this to either India or China. In India, we are at the forefront. Initially we had some logistical problems; but over the years we have brought down the import clearance time to 7 days. We are closely working with the department to further bring it down to compete with the Chinese market.
WCI: How do you rate the Indian wire industry in terms appreciation of quality and technology?
BKB: Indian customers over the years have bought the best and latest technology by paying even high import duties. As far as our customers are concerned, they always want the best quality in terms of good surface, good roundness, etc. Most importantly, in the last couple of years, these customers have also started demanding that number of wire breaks per ton should be minimum and that they want to run their machines at the maximum possible speed. Normally, an Indian wire manufacturer runs its drawing machine at 70 percent of the maximum machine speed, whereas we are ensuring with our dies that they run their machines at 90 percent of the maximum drawing speeds.
WCI: Share with us the kind of work culture you have envisioned for Mikrotek.
BKB: We give a lot of importance to the human side of the work. It would be clearly evident when you have a look at our factory. Today, about 80 percent of our employees are women – initially we had difficulties which we ultimately overcame. Most of our employees are coming from surrounding villages. We train them for three months in mathematics, English and machine related skills, after which they become an average machine operator; over time, with practice, they become skilled and become experts. We are a preferred employer for people from the adjoining areas as we are known for our socially responsible business ethics.
WCI: Tell us your views on the Govt.’s “Make in India”…
BKB: The ‘Make in India’ concept is very good and very much needed for the country. We are practicing this concept for the last 30 years. We not only develop and manufacture 85 percent of machines in-house, but also export it to various countries. Except raw material, everything is manufactured in house. In coming days, there would be a lot of infrastructure growth in the country creating tremendous opportunities for the wire and cable industry. To gear up to this, we have already started expansion of our company’s infrastructure. At the end of expansion, we hope to have doubled our existing capacity for drawing dies. I hope we would be successful in our endeavor to become the most reliable and preferred die manufacturer in the world.
