Mr Arjun Prakash
Wholetime Director, Effica Automation.
For Mr Prakash, there is a sense of constant pride in saying that Coimbatore has been built despite all odds. Take any comparable tier II city; you’re likely to find an anchor company, probably supported by the government. From this anchor company emerge a lot of smaller industries. This is true even for the bigger cities. Bangalore has Bharat Electronics, from which came the culture of software. Hyderabad has Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, or IDPL. Most of the pharmaceutical companies are based out of hyd.
Coimbatore did not have any anchor company, especially from the government. But the city owes a lot to Sir Robert Stanes. He travelled to Coimbatore in the 1900s, even earlier and he brought textiles to the city on his own. And the results are clear for all to see. The city owes a lot to him in terms of industry and entrepreneurship, and philanthropy.
The textile industry thrived because of the black soil. From the spinning mills, came the engineering industries that needed to cater to the textile industries, for capital goods too. From this the city moved on to electric motors, pumps so important to the agriculture in India. In many ways, this is how Coimbatore started.
Coimbatore now has a vibrant business ecosystem. Jewellery, poultry, heavy industry… it’s an extensive list. The city is also known for many firsts. It was the first in the country for electric motors and motorsport. It is the largest wet grinder manufacturer in the world. It creates bullet-proof vests and helmets, off-road vehicles, spinning machines, etc.
So much has been going for the city. The question now arises- how did Coimbatore Next come about? The CII study of 2021 showed us many interesting things. The need to act on the things we saw in the report galvanised the movement.
- There are major points the city is lagging in. Salaries are a big part of it. This is especially at top management level. Coimbatore is unable to attract the brightest talent at the upper echelons of industry because the city does not have a robust financial system.
- In comparison to many other tier II cities, there is a deficit of FDI coming into the city.
- Traditional industries have a robust foundation but the city doesn’t have one single large company. Many companies are in the multi-billion dollar segment. But the city doesn’t have its own brand or product. One of the biggest reasons for this is that not enough money is spent on branding, on intellectual property rights.
- Coimbatore has excellent educational institutions; there are a lot of skills in schools and colleges. The city is exploring nano tech and robotics. There is a workforce in place, but none of them are able to take a job in Coimbatore. One of the reasons is not enough investment in the current generation of companies.
Based on this report, Coimbatore Next will work on two different areas to work on.
- Established Industries – The city needs to know how to unlock growth, create economies of scale, put in play plans to go global and national. There has to be strategic thinking, business model innovation and exploring intellectual property. It is important to codify the learnings.
- Net-gen Companies – Coimbatore needs to explore more sunrise industries. These include electric vehicles, and electronics. It is important to step up the game for electric motor manufacturing. Mechanical engineering industries are important here. Precision engineering can bring about a huge difference in the city as well. Like with established industries, it is vital to protect intellectual property rights.