READY TO BOUNCE BACK

The cutting tools industry is also starting to come back to its pre-lockdown numbers, though it may take another couple of months to fully return, says Gautam Ahuja, Managing Director, Dormer Pramet India.

- Niranjan Mudholkar

How would you analyse the cutting tools industry’s performance over the last one year in India?

The cutting tools industry in India is mainly dependent on the automotive industry, and less on others, such as general engineering, aerospace, energy, defence and railways. The automotive industry was on a high in 2018, but since then it has seen a negative growth. Now in 2020 and, following the recent lockdown, the industry and economy have taken a significant blow.

However, we see some green shoots after the pandemic, with the tractor and cycling industry achieving high growth rates in June 2020. Thus, the cutting tool industry is also starting to come back to its pre-lockdown numbers, though it may take another couple of months to fully return. We hope the festive season will be the turning point and the cutting tools industry should be in a positive growth rate by then.

How did your organisation fare in comparison with the rest of the industry last year?

Like many in our industry, 2018 was a good year for Dormer Pramet. Then we saw that most companies experienced a negative growth in 2019, influenced by a global slowdown. However, our indexable brand Pramet continued to perform well in the market, thanks to the dedication and hard work of our whole team.