The sixth International conference and exhibition of electronic components, materials and production equipment, Componex/electronic India, was held in Bangalore from February 13 to 16, 2001. Germany was participating for the second time at the show, an indicator of the increasing importance the Indian market attaches to the German electrical and electronic industry, besides its machinery and plant manufacturers. indiamarkets had a tete-a-tete with Jens-Uwe Fuhrmann, Managing Director, Productronics.

indiamarkets: What is the relationship between VDMA and Productronics?
Fuhrmann: DMA is the German Machinery and Plant Manufacturers’ Association, while VDMA is a private organisation established way back in 1879. With 3000 member companies, VDMA is the biggest association in Europe. We facilitate interaction between the government and the industry.

Productronics is a part of VDMA and has 100 member companies. It is a customer-oriented group comprising manufacturers of machinery for the production of microelectronic equipment and the products derived from such equipment, i.e., machinery and production systems and even turnkey plants for the production of semiconductors, printed circuit boards, smart cards, data storage.

indiamarkets: In which sectors does Germany’s strength lie?
Fuhrmann:The biggest industry is machinery; Electronics, which is the fastest growing industry worldwide, stands second. Siemens is the first company that has made its presence in different parts of the world and is a good example of where we are leading at the moment.  In a short time, I expect the electronic industry in India to be the biggest. Electronic components for the mobile phone and smart cards are a very big business in Europe and Germany has made a significant contribution in these areas. We have strengths in the automobile sector too.

indiamarkets: Can you talk about trade relations between Germany and India?
Fuhrmann: India has been in good relations with Germany for a very long time. The trade relations are getting better with time. We are in this exhibition for the second time and we see an increasing importance the Indian market attaches for the German electrical and electronic industry.

We already know a few companies; this year, the number has gone up. We are on the way to build good relations with Indian companies to create new opportunities for international technology transfer and trade.

indiamarkets: How supportive is the Indian government in establishing good trade links?
Fuhrmann: This morning, Kumar from the Ministry of IT, India had a conversation with me and we spoke about projects where Germany can offer help. Though projects have not been identified, we have agreed on certain areas where projects could be undertaken. The Indian government will support these projects.

indiamarkets: How has internet enabled the business process? How relevant are b2b portals in Germany?
Fuhrmann: I can only say that internet is a must for companies into the electronic business. Bigger companies order their products via the Internet. Small companies should cater to the need of the bigger ones through the Net. The industry has accepted the b2b model. We are in the process of creating internet markets for our member companies. This is yet to be implemented.

indiamarkets: You have been here for the last three days. How has the response been?
Fuhrmann: I was astonished. Though the first day was relatively quite, the second and third days were very good. The last day (today) too turned out like we expected. Bangalore is a very nice city, I am here for the second time.