Automation ExpoSouth – Showtime at Chennai

Published on : Monday 06-03-2023

Chennai to host the maiden edition of Automation ExpoSouth from April 26-28, 2023.

It is raining investments in Tamil Nadu. One of the most industrialised States of the Indian Union, and a favoured investment destination, Tamil Nadu attracted a record Rs 1 lakh crore plus investments from various companies across diverse industry segments in 2022. The potential of the chemical industry alone is humongous. In early December 2022, Ramya Bharatram Chairperson, Indian Chemical Council – Southern Region and MD & CFO of Thirumalai Chemicals Ltd had indicated that the chemical industry will become a significant sector in Tamil Nadu as it needs to reach USD 70 billion by 2030 in line with the State’s vision of achieving a USD 1 trillion economy. The move is expected to give a fresh impetus to the chemical industry in this southern State which traditionally had a strong base, but had floundered in recent years.
 
Tamil Nadu has always had a strong presence of automotive industry and ancillaries, and at one time boasted presence of such heavy weights as Ford, Hyundai, Nissan/Renault/Datsun and Royal Enfield. The latest to join this bandwagon is Ola Electric Mobility, which recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Tamil Nadu to set up a four-wheeler EV manufacturing plant and a 20 giga watt battery manufacturing unit in Krishnagiri District. The deal, signed through its subsidiary companies Ola Cell Technologies (OCT) and Ola Electric Technologies (OET), envisages an investment of Rs 7,614 cr.
 
It is against this background that Automation ExpoSouth is scheduled from April 26th to 28th, 2023, at the Chennai Trade Centre at Nandambakkam. This will be the first time Automation Expo will hold an event outside Mumbai. “We have been mulling over the possibility of holding an edition of our event in Chennai for a while. The time is now ripe with Tamil Nadu bagging some landmark projects, which bolsters the reputation of this southern State as an attractive investment destination,” said Dr M Arokiaswamy, Chairman & MD, IED Communications, about the decision to take the show to Chennai with a dedicated edition. As the Founder Chairman and Managing Director of IED Communications, Mumbai, Dr Arokiaswamy is the brain behind the hugely successful show, which was conceived in the year 2002 and has since hosted 15 hugely successful shows, all in Mumbai.

“I am really thrilled about the Chennai edition of the Automation Expo. As everyone is aware, events and exhibitions provide a very live experience to the participants – vendors, EPC contractors, professionals and business visitors. I am thankful to the organisers and members of the Organising Committee for bringing the show to Chennai for the first time. Before the pandemic, personal interactions were mainly managed by the vendors by directly presenting the latest developments to their clients on a one-to-one basis. During the pandemic such interactions could not happen due to the physical and commercial constraints; however post pandemic the industries are picking up and we observe that such kind of creating a platform for all to participate, interact for the mutual benefit is really laudable,” says B Sai Ramesh, SVP Projects, Technip India Limited, and DVP – ISA APAC.
 
Jerome Gnanaprakasam, Additional Director Projects at Serum Institute of India Limited, concurs. “From the recent trends, as Chennai ranks high on the global capability test, Automation ExpoSouth would be the best forum to collaborate with new business partners to understand the latest developments and technologies in the field of Industrial automation,” he asserts.
 
“With major stalwarts of the industry, including TVS Motors, JSW, L&T and the Tata Group expanding their establishments in Tamil Nadu, Automation ExpoSouth comes at an opportune moment. The Airports Authority of India is preparing for their new Chennai Greenfield International Airport project at Parandur, Chennai, thus taking a leap step to 'take-off ' facilitating the need of industrial stalwarts. The event, backed by the promoters of India's biggest and Asia's 2nd largest exhibition for the automation industry – Automation Expo – has been conceived and deciphered well, kept an eagle eye on industrial developments in Tamil Nadu, to 'spread their wings' all the way from Mumbai to ‘land’ in Chennai through this maiden Chennai Edition of Automation Expo,” say V B Srikar, Co-Chairman, Nagman Group of Companies.
 
Traditionally large exhibitions are held in Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore. What are the advantages Chennai offers?

“Chennai is the place for the professional development as it encompasses large base for a variety of industries, viz., oil & gas, petrochemicals, chemicals, refineries, pulp & paper, solar, wind mills, pharma, automobiles, etc., and also it is the base of IT and OT services sector and many EPC companies with the universal communication language of English. Tamil Nādu produces a large number of engineers every year due to its education facilities. Hence any interaction with such an ecosystem will be of mutual benefit to all,” explains B Sai Ramesh.
 
According to Jerome Gnanaprakasam, South India has been at the forefront for adapting new technologies. “Particularly in and around Chennai, there are various industries like automobiles, textile, machine tools, agro & food processing, electronic & hardware, defence, aerospace, IT services, prominent engineering institutes for industry/education integration and the added advantage of proximity to other major cities. Chennai is the mid-point of South, which is accessible to other southern industrial hubs” he says.
 
“All these years, traditionally large industrial exhibitions were held in Delhi, Mumbai or Bangalore. The trend-setter in the field of Industrial Automation, Dr M Arokiaswamy, has clearly identified the advantages that Chennai offers, such as recent spate of investments from major industrial groups, startups, FDIs, as well as the continuing relevance of Chennai as an automobile hub,” says V B Srikar.
 
Tamil Nadu remains an attractive investment destination – what attracts global investments in the State?
 
“Foremost, due to the infrastructure, investment climate, and a large pool of resources – be it components or services – at a reasonable cost. Secondly, as you are aware, the government initiatives also play a major role in attracting the investments,” reasons B Sai Ramesh.

Elaborating further on this point, Jerome Gnanaprakasam, draws attention to the fact that Tamil Nadu has the 2nd highest GDP in India, and is a peaceful State with a favourable and industry supporting government with advanced infrastructure and network capacity as well as locational advantages that cater to a well-established manufacturing ecosystem and facilitate exports. “It is home to the largest number of factories in India – 37,220 units. The road, rail network and seven airports are well-developed, and the State's coastline of 1,076 km is the second-longest in India and has 4 major ports,” he explains.
 
For V B Srikar, Tamil Nadu remains an attractive investment destination. The factors that attract global investments in the state include:
• Existing & new infrastructure for easy mobility of   finished products
• Diversified industrial base is covering various sectors
• Availability of huge and cheap land cost compared to other States
• Pro-business attitude & policy maintained by successive governments
• Availability of thousands of qualified & skilled manpower
• Cheap and abundant labour – serving with loyalty
• 'Made in Tamil Nadu' products being exported across the world, and
• Positive growth even during the Covid-19-enforced lockdown.
 
“We have carefully considered all these developments in the State of Tamil Nadu and Chennai as the venue for Automation ExpoSouth. Exhibit – Engage – Explore for infinite opportunities at this event, is our message to all stakeholders of Automation ExpoSouth 2023,” comments Ms Jyothi Joseph, Director, IED Communications, who leads the marketing initiative for the expo.