The Indian naval industry is competing at the global level
The largest shipbuilding nations currently are without doubt China and South Korea, but the companies who within the coming years overlook the Indian naval industry risk missing out on the construction of its global competitiveness. A Danish director in India explains how it is done.
European mentality and a well educated labour market
India may not be the first choice of Danish companies in the naval industry looking for new markets. The leading shipbuilding nations such as China and South Korea have been the preferred market by foreign players for many years. The Indian naval industry has however already received attention from companies looking for return opportunities and sales channels. Anders N. Jensen, Joint Managing Director for MAN Diesel India, producers of diesel motors for naval use, explains the development.
More than low wages
“For many types of companies activities in India can augment their global competitiveness. If a company is capable of competing in the Indian market, it will also be a strong player in many other demanding markets,” says Anders N. Jensen. With a well educated workforce and a European cultural understanding, India is not only about outsourcing to low wages. Staff costs are low, but not an expression of a low level of well qualified engineers. At an early stage, MAN Diesel established sourcing and engineer facilities, where around 150 engineers now work with product development, sourcing and quality.
Stable and safe development in India
The development in the Indian naval industry is different from that in China. The number and size of the ship yards are far smaller than in China, but an overall plan for the development of infrastructure including ports and ship yards exists. The development happens more slowly than in China, but since India still shows strong economic growth the forecast for the industry is stable. Both ship yards and ports are going through rapid development towards large private facilities, and within ship building among others are the first large yards that can compete internationally both on price and size already in place.
The Danes in Mumbai
More Danish companies have picked out India’s naval industry. In the process of finding a location both SELCO A/S and Viking Life Saving Equipment has chosen DI’s office in Mumbai to intensify their activities in India. Mumbai is the natural choice of foreign companies within the naval industry who wishes to be close to the important decision makers while keeping operational costs under control. The choice has proven to be the right one. Jens Hammer Sørensen, director of SELCO said that the annual budget has exceeded expectations and they have already adjusted the forecast for the year.