During the 1960s and early 70s, the pharmaceutical industry in India was heavily dependent on imported machines from Europe for its processing and packaging needs. Among the major foreign companies that supplied this machinery were Aeromatic, Fete, Glatt, Hassia, Hofliger & Karg, Kilian, Manesty, Sparkler, Stunk and Zanasi, all very well known for their technological excellence in their respective fields.

However, the mid-70s saw the country going through a severe shortage of foreign exchange and, therefore, the Indian government introduced very high import duties and restrictive import licensing policies, resulting in steep rise in prices of imported machinery. Pharmaceutical companies, therefore, compelled to look elsewhere for their machine requirements, encouraged Indian engineering enterprises to manufacture machines locally. This was perhaps the only route for the pharmaceutical industry to enhance production and cater to the growing demands of the domestic market. And, needless to say, this was a great and challenging opportunity for the Indian small-scale engineering companies. Thus a scenario was created whereby hundreds of machinery manufacturers mushroomed to cater to the needs of numerous pharmaceutical companies over a period of time.

It is the initiative of these Indian engineer entrepreneurs that has today resulted in Indian pharmaceutical manufacturing costs being much lower than other developing countries, not to talk of Europe and the US. This was made possible by the huge savings on capital investment of plant and machinery, besides the cheap technical manpower costs.

Pharmaceutical machineries made by India are installed and under operations at FDA-approved manufacturing facilities in the US, Australia, Africa, etc. meeting international standards and parameters to complete satisfaction. As these countries mandate proper validation of the products the importance of machinery that incorporate advanced technologies are also increasing For validation of the products, the machine also should be fully equipped.

The credit for the high credentials goes to the strict quality standards adopted by pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers in India. This has helped many Indian companies to enter into technical tie-ups joint ventures with American. European and Southeast Asian companies for the manufacture of their products in India, which are being marketed in all Asian and CIS countries

Now the machine manufacturers are upgrading themselves by investing in knowledge. Many pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers have begun to visit various countries to observe and learn about the latest developments in technology to improve their production line. In addition to this, there are other visible trends that further reflect the commitment to excellence of Indian machinery manufacturers. Some of these are listed here:

Evidently, Indian pharmaceutical machines, which have already made a dent on domestic soil, have also started making considerable inroads into the international market as well The growing acceptance of Indian machines in foreign countries is illustrative of this trend.

In India. there are more than 800 units manufacturing pharmaceutical machinery, comprising small, medium and large-scale enterprises, with an estimated turnover of Rs. 2,000 crore, of which around 40 percent is being exported to more than 80 countries around the world, including the US, UK and other European countries.

The Indian pharmaceutical machinery manufacturing sector constitutes around 5-7 percent of the global market in value terms. The rise in joint ventures between foreign and Indian pharmaceutical companies proves that India can make world-class products at affordable prices. There are also significant opportunities for pharmaceutical plant design consultancy and related services, especially for large companies adopting USFDA and UKMCC standards. Overall, being the lowest cost producer combined with FDA-approved plants, India promises to be a global outsourcing hub for pharmaceutical products.

Looking at the capabilities of Indian engineering companies, many international machine manufactures have joined hands with them, which has helped the Indian pharmaceutical industry to make further advancements in their products and, at the same time, supplying machinery at a price at least one-fourth or one-third of imported machines.

The Indian Pharma Machinery Manufacturers Association (IPMMA) is committed to achieving common goals whereby the benefits can be shared by all members of the association. Indian pharmaceutical machinery manufacturers have been one of the key contributors to the growth of the Indian pharmaceutical and drug industry and, therefore, the association has made all-out efforts to understand the need for upgrading the manufacturing, designing, marketing and banking skills that are required by the industry and tries to render help to small members to help them grow corresponding with the growth of the pharmaceutical industry. However, the fruits go these efforts will be visible only over the next few years as the association grows in size to handle such major responsibilities.

The association is in the process of coordinating with various agencies. component suppliers, etc. to impart necessary knowledge to its members under a single-roof programmer. This will help both the supplier as well as the industry, saving time and money for all parties concerned. The association also arranges various technical seminars to raise awareness among its members of latest developments.

Today, IPMMA has more than 250 member companies on its rolls and it has been recognised by several governments, semi-governments and trade councils. It is a great pride for the association that these members already export their products to 80 countries spread across five continents and, therefore. the association is i intensifying its efforts to support the non-exporting members in finding overseas markets.

IPMMA is committed to explore various avenues to organise technologically educative conferences seminars so as to instil a sense of confidence among its members. Driven by passion for excellence, the association is trying to build an environment that fosters learning, innovation, growth. excellence and a culture that is focused towards achieving solution-oriented results and sustained growth for its members.

Mr Jhurmarwala is an Executive
Committe member, Indian Pharmaceutical
Machinery Manufacturers’Association