The Coimbatore Industrial Infrastructure Association (COINDIA) has mooted a robotics cluster for Coimbatore.
K.V. Karthik, the newly-elected president of COINDIA, told The Hindu four to five companies in Coimbatore were manufacturing robots now, but not on a large scale.
Western countries are increasingly opting for robots in manufacturing and with higher use of robots, these countries will be able to ramp up manufacturing at a lower cost. Countries such as India will lose on cost competitiveness in such a scenario. Development of robots requires more research and development works, testing facilities, etc. The Association will explore possibilities for providing such support to the units here with support from the State government, he said.
“There is just one robotics cluster globally - in Denmark. If Coimbatore is able to develop the cluster, several opportunities will open up for industries here,” he said.
COINDIA recently tied up with PSG College of Technology to train candidates in robotics. “We plan to submit a Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the government requesting for necessary help in establishing the cluster,” he said.
This will be one of the areas of focus for COINDIA, apart from its regular activities such as tool room and training.
Another thrust area for the Association will be supporting micro, small and medium-scale (MSME) pumpset units here to make motors for electric vehicles. “Coimbatore pumpset industry has the necessary infrastructure to manufacture more than three lakh motors a month. The facilities can be used to manufacture EV motors,” he said.
This will be a joint initiative with Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association and Scientific and Industrial Testing and Research Centre. Development of motors for EVs requires time and money for research and development and the State government should support this effort, he said.
While two-wheeler companies are manufacturing motors now for their EVs, if there is an option of sourcing it from MSMEs at a lower cost, they may look at it. “No other city in India can manufacture motors of this volume,” he added.
