Haas: Extending the growth horizon

Mr.Terrence Miranda
Managing Director, Haas Automation India Pvt. Ltd.

Q. Haas has gained substantial market share in Indian machine tool industry, please brief its journey from the inception & share some its milestones?
Haas Automation is the largest machine tool manufacturer in the United States, building a full line of CNC vertical machining centers, horizontal machining centers, CNC lathes, rotary tables and 5C indexers. Haas machine tools and rotary products are built to deliver higher accuracy, repeatability and durability than any other machine tools on the market. From its beginnings in 1983, Haas Automation has always produced top-quality products at affordable prices. By relying on volume sales to build the company, Haas delivers more standard features, high-tech innovations and rock-solid engineering than perhaps any other CNC manufacturer in the world – and at better prices!

                HAAS has 2 distributors / dealers in India: CNC Servicing and Solutions (India) Pvt Ltd with HAAS Factory Outlet showrooms or HFOs in Navi Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Ahmedabad and MANAV Marketing Pvt Ltd with HFOs in Bangalore and Coimbatore. There are 2 new HFOs opening this year in Chennai and Ludhiana. HAAS Automation India Pvt Ltd was established in Navi Mumbai in 2009 to provide distributor support, warehouse spare parts and rebuild select spare parts. Our 10000 sq ft facility has dedicated parts storage, training facilities and a rebuild area for specific parts. Our HFOs provide service support within 24 hours and parts are available off the shelf at each location, to ensure that the uptime is near 100% at all times for all HAAS machines irrespective of the location.

                There are over 3500 HAAS machines working with leading engineering companies all over India in diverse applications from automotive to aerospace to medical to molds and other industries. Engineering groups such as AMTEK, GODREJ, BHARAT FORGE, SUNDARAM, SUMI MOTHERSON, SUBROS etc to name a few, all have multiple HAAS machines working at their facilities.

Q. Please brief us about company’s global reach & what are the global alliances that has been made in order to out-front the competition?
HAAS AUTOMATION INC USA is based in an over 1,000,000 sq ft ultra modern facility in Oxnard California with an installed capacity of over 1200 machines per month. Haas distributes its products through a worldwide network of distributors / dealers or HAAS Factory Outlets which provide sales, service and applications assistance. All distributor/dealer service organizations are factory trained, and their service levels are closely monitored, with a goal of completing service calls and having machines up and running within 24 hours.

                To date, HAAS has shipped over 100,000 CNC machines throughout the world from its Oxnard, USA facility. The company currently ships more CNC machines per month than any other U.S. manufacturer. HAAS AUTOMATION EUROPE was set up to support the HFO network in Europe and is based out of a 37000 sq ft facility in Zaventem, Belgium.  HAAS AUTOMATION CHINA based in Shanghai similarly supports the HFO network in China. The newest addition, HAAS AUTOMATION INDIA based in Navi Mumbai is dedicated to support the HFO network in India.

Q. What are the market prospects for the Haas products in India and How do you plan to position these products?
Today, HAAS Automation manufactures four major product lines: vertical machining centers (VMCs), horizontal machining centers (HMCs), CNC lathes and rotary tables, as well as a number of large five-axis and specialty machines. HAAS Automation continues to grow and expand the product line with the new DT-1 High Speed Drill Tap Centre and an all new ST series line of High Performance CNC Turning Centers.

                HAAS products are ideally suited for the Indian market. We offer a unique blend of performance, quality and reliability, backed by outstanding low cost service and parts support from our local HFOs. Our products are innovative and positioned to deliver high technology and value, at reasonable prices. Our ever expanding customer base and growing list of repeat customers in India is testimony to this.

Q. Can you brief us about the marketing strategies that were applied in order to stand out in the competition of machine tool industry?
HAAS Automation has participated in leading machine tool exhibitions in India ever since 1998 and this has continued and grown. Advertising, direct mailing and open houses at the local HFOs are all a part of the marketing initiatives in India and worldwide. The key to our success has been the HAAS focus on getting the basics right : a wide range of quality products, reasonable pricing and great service through a highly trained, well spread out HFO network. This is all part of the carefully conceived and executed: HAAS VALUE PROPOSITION for our customers. At HAAS, we take responsibility for the complete machine and control.

Q. Please elucidate in brief about the Haas India infrastructure & What are the measure that are being taken from the product manufacturing to distribution?
HAAS Automation India Pvt Ltd is based out of a 10,000 sq ft facility in Navi Mumbai. We have dedicated training areas, parts storage and repair facilities run by a key team of trained service, applications and manufacturing engineers. Our focus in on providing technical and parts support to the dedicated HFO network in India. Our HFOs are dedicated solely to the HAAS product line and feature demonstration areas equipped with the latest Haas machine tools – VMCs, HMCs, lathes and rotary products – as well as fully dedicated Haas service departments, training centers and a full consignment parts stock. HAAS Automation India’s presence will further enhance the already strong support provided by this extensive HFO network and reinforce our position as the machine tool of choice, for our large customer base in India.

Q. Brief us about the R&D and Quality policy for your business?
Haas machine tools and rotary products are built to the exacting specifications of Gene Haas to deliver higher accuracy, repeatability and durability than any other machine tools on the market. Before leaving our Oxnard facility, the typical Haas CNC machine is subjected to more than 300 quality-assurance tests, including up to 168 (24 x 7) hours of actual running time while in Assembly. In fact, whenever a machine is not physically being worked on, it is running pre-programmed tasks to check operational tolerances and performance parameters. Quality assurance follows each individual part from initial fabrication through subsequent installations. Static and operational testing continue as each component subassembly is added to the main assembly, providing a paper trail of certification through the entire assembly, testing and shipping process. Haas uses a state-of-the-art ball bar system from Renishaw to check not only linear accuracy, but also machine geometry. This ensures the three-dimensional squareness and accuracy of every machine.

Q. Please comment on the current machine tool scenario in India ?
The engineering industry in India has grown significantly across all segments and this growth has fuelled the demand for quality CNC machine tools. The Indian Machine Tool Industry has been able to meet this demand with a mix of local made CNC Machine Tools and imports. Global Machine Tool Builders have begun setting up offices and manufacturing bases in India and this influx of technology and investment is driving the industry to newer heights. The business environment in India is also being simplified with a clear focus from the government to reduce duties and taxes and bring these in line with global norms. This is also helping both Indian and foreign machine tool builders looking to grow in the Indian market. I believe that the growth momentum will continue and will be combined with a wave of consolidation in the industry to take us to the next level.

Q. Could you brief us on Indian & Global perspective of machine tool industry? What are the distinguishing factors?
The machine tool industry globally is going through a phase of consolidation. The recessionary trends in USA and Europe are gradually easing and the prominent Asian economies such as China and India are showing strong growth.

Q. In your opinion how can the Indian machine tool industry become globally competitive ?
The Indian machine tool industry has a lot going for it right now. Our domestic market is buoyant and this is helping increase volumes for both Indian and US, European, Japanese machine tool builders. Global competitiveness necessitates operations with global reach, to achieve economies of scale. HAAS Auotmation ever since its inception in 1983 has exemplified the fact that drive and innovation coupled with the most highly developed manufacturing and distribution systems can propel a machine tool company to the very pinnacle of success in our industry.

Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving machine tool industry?
CNC Machine Tools: Machining Centers and Turning Centers are becoming faster, more accurate and capable of more complex machining tasks every day. The extensive use of automation: robots loading / unloading parts or automatic pallet systems or barfeeding systems is a clear trend that is being seen in India. HAAS has been at the forefront of this technology, creating products such as the EC-400PP Horizontal Machining Center with 6 station Pallet Pool System and its unique RRI Robot Ready Interface which makes interfacing part loading robots on a HAAS, simple and cost effective. The need to machine a complex component in a single setup is also growing. HAAS offers a range of high performance 5 axis machining centers in vertical or horizontal configurations to machine a range of complex components such as impellers, blades, cylinder heads, cylinder blocks etc in a single setup. The new ST series from HAAS offers high end options such dual spindles, C axis, Y axis and powerful live tooling, all at an affordable price.

Q. What are the best possible remedies you can advise in order to maintain the high profitability in the shrinking margins market of India?
Our customers in India as with most customers worldwide, decide their high value machine tool purchases based on the overall value they perceive in the product. We at HAAS truly believe that the HAAS VALUE Proposition: a wide range of high performance, quality products, backed by a strong HFO network providing service and parts support within 24 hours: all of this at an economical price, is designed to do exactly this. 

Q. What is your vision for Haas India ?
HAAS Automation India endeavors to strengthen and expand the HFO network in India, thereby providing HAAS customers in India with unparalleled service support backed by a comprehensive spares inventory. The combined efforts of HAAS USA, HAAS INDIA and our local HFOs will help us build a sustainable brand advantage for HAAS products in every market in which we compete and deliver optimal machining solutions providing true value to our customers.