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With four facilities for manufacturing hose assemblies, tube assemblies, hose fittings, adapters and fabricated parts Uniflex looks forward to further modernize and expand its facilities. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Venkatesh S Aiyer, Director, Uniflex,</span> shares more on the company and the market opportunities. <p></p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What are the products and solutions offered by Uniflex for infrastructure equipment sector?</span><br />Uniflex has four world-class facilities for manufacturing hose assemblies, tube assemblies, hose fittings, adapters and fabricated parts. Our products are not only sold within India but also exported to the US and Europe.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">How do you look at the current demand trend from infra equipment customers for your products?</span><br />The construction equipment industry is expected to grow to over 120,000 units by 2021 at a CAGR of 20 per cent. The products that we manufacture are an integral part of every construction equipment. We anticipate a robust demand for our products in the current year as well as the years to come.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">How are you prepared as a solution provider with world-class quality? </span><br />Over the past few years, we have been investing heavily in our manufacturing facilities towards modernising them. Some of the initiatives that we have taken include transitioning all machining to CNC, automatic material handling including robotic unloading of components and incorporating &quot;Smart Manufacturing&quot; concepts. By the end of this fiscal, all our manufacturing facilities will be Industry 4.0 enabled.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What are the challenges you encounter in the current industry scenario? </span><br />Even though the business of component suppliers is increasing with the rising demand for construction equipment, the benefits are being passed on only to a section of suppliers. Considering that the industry faced head winds until 2016, the OEMs have probably been conservative in inducting new suppliers.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What are the opportunities for your products and solutions in infrastructure equipment industry?</span><br />According to the Off-Highway Research Indian Annual Review 2018, construction equipment sales in India grew 17 per cent in 2017-18, building on the 36 per cent upswing witnessed in 2016-17. With the government placing tremendous emphasis on infrastructure building, we expect the industry to grow and in turn our business to have a 10-15 per cent growth window across a five-year time frame.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">More and more global equipment players are setting up shops in India. Do you see this as an opportunity or challenge for you? </span><br />For global equipment players to be successful in the price sensitive Indian market, indigenisation is one of the key factors. We consider ourselves to play an important part in this endeavour.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What are your expansion plans, going forward?</span><br />Our expansion plans are centred on customer expectations. We are also mindful of modernising our capabilities to ensure productivity gains which in turn increase our capacities.</p><p> <span style="font-weight: bold;">What is your outlook on the market specific to infrastructure equipment?</span><br />Infrastructure sector is a key growth driver for the Indian economy, given that India has an infra-deficit and needs about $7 trillion over the next seven years. This would itself trigger a construction equipment business of around $180-200 billion at the current rate of equipment penetration over the next 10 years. For every 0.5 per cent increase in mechanisation, the CE demand would rise by $30-35 billion.</p><p>India has a requirement of investment worth Rs 50 trillion ($777.73 billion) in infrastructure by 2022 to have sustainable development in the country. If the required investments are forthcoming, we can expect an exciting future for the construction equipment industry.</p><p></p>