Position: One of the German engineering majors Sartorius AG, has identified India as a manufacturing hub for industrial weighing systems and is looking at catering to both Indian and global markets from the country. At present, Sartorius Mechatronics India Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of Sartorius caters to industrial and laboratory weighing systems market in the domestic market.
The company is also looking at setting up a development centre in Bangalore within the next two years focussing on electronics and software development for the global market.
Speaking to FE, Amit Chatterjee, managing director, Sartorius Mechatronics India, said, “The Sartorius Group has identified India as a hub for industrial weighing systems. The vast engineering talent pool in the country is one of the key reasons behind this decision.”
However, Mr Chatterjee has expressed unhappiness over the high customs and import duty prevailing in the country for some key components and parts required for manufacturing some of these machines. “We have to pay 25 per cent basic duty and 16 per cent countervailing duty. Altogether there is an add-on of 52 per cent to the cost compelling us to sell at higher prices. This is also leading to a lot of Sartorius products being smuggled into the country from Middle East into India,” he pointed out.
Except industrial weighing machine, all other products including lab weighing systems and karat and gold scales for the diamond and gold industry is being imported. According to Mr Chatterjee, if the import duty for components are reduced the company would think in terms of setting up manufacturing facilities for these products too which has a huge market in India.”If manufactured in the country at least part of the product we can sell at 15 to 20 per cent less compared to the current prices,” he said.
