The Automation Industry Association (AIA) organised a one day symposium on the theme "Integrated Industrial Automation Technologies for Global Competitiveness" at the ITC Hotel Grand Maratha Sheraton and Towers on 8th November 2004 in Mumbai.

Mr. Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science and Technology, Government of India was the keynote speaker. He stressed the role of the manufacturing sector in India's economic growth, underlining the need for Indian industry to adopt best-in-class automation technologies, as India integrates into the world economy and becomes a global force to reckon with. He complimented the AIA for its vision and objectives towards enhancing knowledge, awareness, application and development of such automation technologies.

The symposium was unique insofar as the speakers represented market leaders from 'user industries' across key sectors including power, metals, paper, pharma & life sciences and automobiles. They shared their experiences on how automation technologies are currently being deployed in their premier organizations and outlined their vision for the future and the role of industrial automation in achieving it.

Speakers from leading international consulting organizations provided a global market perspective and useful technology insights. The eminent speakers included Dr.JJ Irani from Tata Sons, Mr. HS Kohli of Reliance, Mr. Pradeep Dhobale of ITC Ltd., Mr. T Sankaralingam of NTPC , Mr. Arun Chandavarkar - Biocon, Dr S Rama Iyer of Kvaerner Powergas, Mr. AM Uplenchwar - Indian Oil, Mr. Rakesh Verma - Nestle, Mr. Andy Chatha, ARC Advisory Group (Boston)and Mr. Ajit Kumar - Accenture.

The CEOs and Senior Executives of the member companies also presided over the event. They included Mr. Andreas Hermann, Siemens, Mr. Ranjan De, Rockwell, Mr. Vinayak Deshpande, Honeywell, Mr. J P Singh, L&T, Mr. Rakesh Gada, Invensys, Mr. Ravi Uppal, ABB, Mr. Sunil Khanna, Emerson and Mr. R Sridharan, Yokogawa.

The forum provided a common cross-industry platform for information and knowledge sharing on the development and deployment of automation technologies, the benefits that can accrue from automation technologies and the challenges that both users and automation solution providers have to address. Around 200 delegates from across the spectrum of user industries as well as automation providers attended the symposium.

"The focus on optimisation and integration of operations and processes is on the rise, as manufacturers increasingly leverage automation technologies for enhanced productivity, efficiency, quality and business performance. Automation solution providers are constantly developing innovative technologies to help user industries in this quest" said Mr. Ravi Uppal, Vice Chairman and Managing Director, Honorary President of AIA, during his introductory address.

By leveraging its competitive advantage, Indian industry must maximize the growth opportunities offered by the domestic market and at the same time position itself as an important global sourcing base. Adopting cutting edge automation technologies to optimize manufacturing processes will play a vital role in meeting this challenge and AIA is committed to facilitating and enabling this process in every way" said Mr. Andreas Herrmann, Executive Vice President and Head-Automation Technology and Drives, Siemens, Vice President of AIA.

AIA's founding members include the Indian operations of ABB, Emerson, Honeywell, Invensys, Siemens, Rockwell and Yokogawa and engineering major L&T. The association functions as an autonomous body, affiliated to CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) and supported by ARC Advisory Group, a leading global automation consulting and research body.

Program Details