The Indian Machine Tool Manufacturer’s Association (IMTMA), is ready to take the manufacturing sector by storm with IMTEX 2011.  IMTEX 2011 - 15th Indian Metal-cutting Machine Tool Exhibition - is being held in Bangalore, the hub of the machine tool industry, from 20th - 26th January at IMTMA’s state-of-the-art exhibition facility the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) on Tumkur Road. IMTEX is the largest exhibition of machine tools and manufacturing solutions in South & South East Asia. This year IMTEX is showcasing an exhaustive range of innovations and technological refinements in the complete product segment of metal cutting machine tools. Along with IMTEX 2011, IMTMA is also holding a concurrent fair, Tooltech 2011 – the 13th international exhibition of cutting tools and tooling technology systems.

After a spell global gloom in 2008-09, the Indian economy showed remarkable recovery in 2010 and this year IMTMA is ready to welcome a new era for the machine tool industry marked by a steep increase in investment and a boost in production capacity.

Chief Guest Mr. Arun Maira, Member Planning Commission, said, “India is now poised to grow at 9 percent per annum and the manufacturing and machine tools industry plays a vital role in economic growth. India is fast emerging as a global manufacturing hub and exhibitions like IMTEX provide a good platform to showcase the latest trends in the machine tool sector and a venue for producers and consumers to interact.”

IMTEX 2011 features over 800 exhibitors and 750 machines with a total value of Rs 1400 crores in their premises. With the top 23 countries in the segment of machining tools, (the largest overseas group participation this year from Germany) and entrants like USA, Russia, Israel and Hong Kong, IMTEX is getting bigger and better this year.

Addressing the press conference in Bangalore, Mr. M. Lokeswara Rao, President IMTMA, said “IMTEX and Tooltech is unique this year because for the first time in India digital factories with ERP (enterprise resource planning) packages will be introduced in the machine tool industry. Also, machine manufacturers will replicate ideal shop floor conditions in the exhibition for consumers to experience the machines in working condition. The two shows – IMTEX and Tooltech will exhibit an exhaustive range of metal cutting machinery under one roof. ”

IMTEX 2011 will focus on high end technology for sectors like defence, automobile, medical engineering. It will showcase the latest trends in metal cutting along with innovations which is imperative for companies to adopt to keep ahead of competition.

Dr R Radhakrishnan, Chairman - ISRO and Guest of Honour spoke about the aerospace industry. He said, “Bangalore is fast emerging as a global aerospace engineering hub. For this growth to continue, advanced technology and manufacturing is essential to make the country internationally competitive and customer oriented. Aviation is a major tool for economic development and IMTEX, with its focus on high-end technology, will benefit the aerospace sector in India.”

Addressing the media after the inauguration ceremony Mr. Jamshyd N. Godrej, Chairman Exhibitions of IMTMA and Chairman & Managing Director, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited said, “Machine tool industry supports the growth of several strategic sectors and industries in an economy. Growth in the Indian machine tool sector is demand driven and it has great potential to become a global player provided there is a thrust on innovation and R&D activities. IMTMA has set a target of compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25 percent for the next 10 years and size of the industry is expected to grow to Rs 23,000 crore by 2020.”

Chief Guest Mr Arun Maira and Dr R Radhakrishnan also presented the H. R. Gupta Lifetime Contribution Award and the Vinod Doshi Outstanding Entrepreneur Award during the inaugural ceremony of IMTEX 2011 to honour top performers in the industry. The H. R. Gupta Lifetime Contribution Award is given to recognize top contributors in the industry and the Vinod Doshi Outstanding Entrepreneur Award 2011 is an initiative to encourage top entrepreneurs of the industry.

About IMTMA:
Formed in the year when India secured its independence, the paradigm of IMTMA involves striving continually to assist the country to become one of the progressive industrialized economies of the world. The nationalistic cause has clearly been the inherent characteristic of IMTMA and its membership.

IMTMA is deeply committed to support its membership to increase competitiveness, enhance efficiency, improve productivity, and ensure growth and prosperity. It does so with the aim to assist the membership to become cost effective, technology driven, and ever responsive to customers changing needs.

And that is precisely why IMTMA is today recognized as the sole voice of the Indian machine tool industry - its membership constituting over 90 per cent of this strategic sector in the country.