Schmersal India, established in 2007, has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at MIDC, Ranjangaon, Pune producing systems and solutions for man-machine safety. Over the years, Schmersal India has achieved an exponential sales growth, not only in products but also in services. Schmersal plays a significant role in the application of IoT for predictive maintenance in various industries. Its IT professionals, through a Global Competency Center, contribute to developing these user-friendly applications to enhance the customer experience. The tec.nicum business unit adds value to its offerings through a comprehensive service program, which includes manufacturer-neutral safety training, consulting, engineering, integration & validation, further optimizing and enhancing its range of solutions. With a global presence, it operates through a network of branches and eight production sites worldwide. The company remains committed to staying abreast of technological advancements and continuously invests in R&D capabilities. This dedication enables it to consistently provide customers with cutting-edge safety solutions, states Ramji Singh who has recently taken over as the managing director of Schmersal India. In an exclusive interview with Machine Tools World, Ramji elucidates that maintaining leadership position with substantial market share and serving as machine safety partners for the entire industry is his top priority. He is also working towards increasing the number of safety-certified consultants in the market. Offering digitalized safety solutions and software, he is aiming to ensure a 100% safe workplace in the industry. Excerpts:
Ramji Singh
Managing Director, Schmersal India
Q. Schmersal Group has a long-standing reputation in the industrial safety sector. Can you tell us how Schmersal India contributes to this legacy, and what unique strengths it brings to the Indian market?
Schmersal India provides comprehensive solutions from a single source, encompassing components, control systems, and software as a solution. We can craft tailored safety concepts to suit specific applications, ensuring optimal safety measures.
The tec.nicum business unit adds value to its offerings through a comprehensive service program, which includes manufacturer-neutral safety training, consulting, engineering, integration & validation, further optimizing and enhancing its range of solutions.
With a global presence, we operate through a network of branches and eight production sites worldwide. The company remains committed to staying abreast of technological advancements and continuously invests in research and development (R&D) capabilities. This dedication enables us to consistently provide customers with cutting-edge safety solutions.
Q. With the rapid adoption of Industry 4.0 in India, how does Schmersal India leverage IoT, IIoT,AI,and automation to enhance industrial safety and improve operational efficiency?
Schmersal India is leveraging Industry 4.0 technologies such as IoT, IIoT, AI, and automation to enhance industrial safety and optimize operational efficiency. Here’s how:
- IoT-Based Energy Monitoring Systems- We integrate IoT-enabled energy management solutions to monitor and optimize energy consumption across industrial setups. These systems provide real-time insights into energy usage, helping manufacturers reduce wastage, lower operational costs, and support sustainability goals. By aligning energy management with safety systems, the company ensures compliance with safety standards while improving efficiency.
- OEE Monitoring Solutions – To optimize machine efficiency, we offer Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) monitoring solutions. These IoT-enabled systems track key performance indicators (KPIs) like availability, performance, and quality in real time. With OEE monitoring, manufacturers can identify bottlenecks, minimize downtime, and ensure maximum productivity across operations.
- AI for Predictive Maintenance – We utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) to implement predictive maintenance strategies. By analyzing data from connected machines and safety devices, the system can predict potential failures and schedule maintenance proactively. This minimizes unexpected downtime, extends machine life, and reduces maintenance costs.
- Enhanced Machine Safety with IIoT- Our IIoT-enabled safety solutions provide real-time monitoring and control of safety systems across industrial facilities. Devices such as safety interlocks, light curtains, and safety controllers communicate through IIoT platforms, ensuring seamless integration with automation systems. This results in higher safety standards and improves operational workflows.
- Automation for Process Optimization – The integration of automation in our solutions allows manufacturers to streamline processes while maintaining safety. Automation solutions combine safety data with operational metrics, enabling manufacturers to optimize workflows, reduce human errors, and enhance overall efficiency.
- Smart Factory Alignment – Our focus on Industry 4.0 aligns with the vision of smart factories, where interconnected systems enable decentralized decision-making. By leveraging data-driven insights, manufacturers can enhance agility, improve resource utilization, and maintain high levels of safety compliance.
Through these innovative solutions, we are not only advancing industrial safety but also enabling manufacturers to achieve higher levels of operational efficiency and sustainability, making them well-positioned in the evolving Industry 4.0 landscape.
Q. Could you highlight some of Schmersal India’s key solutions in machine safety? How do these solutions align with India’s evolving safety regulations and standards?
The recent technological marvel in our segment is advanced safety automation as a Safety 4.0, IoT enable safety devices, and a complete IOT solution along with SAAS and energy management system aligned with IoT (as per ISO 50001) with support from our global IT and technology center in India (SGCC). SIPL and SGCC are going into the market for development to offer customer oriented customized solutions like we developed recently digital LOTO app to digitalize the digital LOTO process required for all manufacturing plants.
We have showcased certain products and solutions for Indian customers like:
Safety Light Curtains with Bluetooth interface to access important technical data in the user mobile to get value addition during trouble shooting and maintenance activity.
SD bus system is being retained in the new Gateway: by connecting sensors and interlocks with the SD bus in series (an SD Gateway can communicate with up to 31 safety switchgear devices), this safety solution enables extremely lean wiring and reduces costs without sacrificing Performance Level (series connection for applications up to PL e). Setup and commissioning of an SD installation have been designed to be as convenient and straightforward as possible and all devices receive addresses from the Gateway automatically.
Digital LOTO app to digitalize to monitor lag out tag out operation of machine maintenance for manufacturing industries. This helps customer to access entire record easily and smoothly as and when required. Energy Management System as per requirement of ISO 50001 to monitor energy consumption of each activity to optimize the energy consumption. Launch the new risk assessment software to simplify risk assessment report and improve the response to the market.
Q. Schmersal India offers products across various industries. What are some of the industry-specific challenges you encounter, and how do you adapt your safety solutions to meet these diverse needs?
Some industry specific challenges revolve around less safety awareness and skilled manpower to understand more about the benefits of safety products with reference to non-safety in certain areas. Moreover, most of the industries are not considering safety as a mandatory requirement.
We have a separate division which is tec.nicum services, with certified safety consultants to run different programs like monthly webinars, safety trainings, risk assessment, association with government authorities like BIS, DISH, NSC, etc. to improve the Indian Safety Standards aligned with ISO safety standards.
Q. Sustainability is an increasingly important focus globally. What measures has Schmersal India taken towards creating more sustainable safety solutions, and how is this shaping your innovation roadmap?
Our sustainability journey begins with gradually reducing company-related CO2 emissions at this level as well, and we rely on renewable energies at our production site. We have built a solar power plant in an area covering 2500 m². This is a ground mounted system with a capacity of 300KW.
The plant will support in the factories power consumption by generating energy upto 50% of our current power consumption per day. It will generate around 1100 units/per day. Whenever we purchase machines, we make sure our machines are energy efficient which reduces power consumption. We have an Energy Management System to check our power consumption and track it.
This aligns with our innovation roadmap to transition the importance of harnessing clean and sustainable energy sources to ensure a more resilient and environmentally friendly future for us at Schmersal and for the society.
Q. Could you share some recent projects where Schmersal India’s safety solutions have significantly improved productivity and safety standards? Any success stories you’re particularly proud of?
We have a lot of success stories to share on how our safety products have improved productivity and safety standards. In the month of June, we gave a PULL-WIRE EMERGENCY STOP SWITCH ZQ901 at belt conveyor in the packaging area in a fertilizer plant. The customer was facing pull chord switch failure due to corrosive environment, and they found that it was unsafe for operators passing by. Due to corrosive environment, the switch was getting damaged during replacement or maintenance.
The customer wanted cost-effective SS 316 PCS and SS accessories with safety standard compliance. Since ZQ901 is made of SS 316 material, the durability of PCS is highly improved. With SS accessories for proper mounting, bypassing of PCS and wire rope breakage was avoided. Even after 6 months of installation the thermoplastic material used in the switch remains well-maintained, showing no signs of brittleness even after exposure to corrosive conditions; the switch is operating excellently with no activation issues encountered and the durability of our proposed stainless-steel ACC in corrosive environments has significantly improved compared to the previously used ACC. This product has hygiene grade stainless steel housing with IP69K protection. It’s completely “Made in India”.
Q. What role does R&D play in Schmersal India’s product development, and how does the Team work with global Schmersal units to stay ahead of market needs?
Our R&D department plays a crucial role in ensuring that our products comply with global standards and obtain the necessary approvals from the respective notified bodies. When developing new products, R&D informs us about the specific requirements for each target market, such as UL certification. While this presents a challenge, the advantage of our global presence is that it allows us to gather valuable insights from different regions and offer our clients the opportunity to assemble machines tailored to their needs. Since our machines are not limited to a single location, but rather exported to various countries like UAE, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Europe, and the US, it is essential for us to be well-versed with the regulations. Our clients often seek our assistance in ensuring the safety of the machines they intend to export.
Q. Looking forward, what are Schmersal India’s strategic goals for growth in the coming years, and how do you envision your role in fostering a safer industrial landscape in India?
India has shown impressive progress over the past decade. When we established our facility in 2013, the Indian GDP was $1.8 trillion, but today it has grown up to $3.7 trillion. Exports have also grown tremendously from $200 billion to over $750 billion today. We are looking to double our production by 2025 in India with 100 per cent localization by 2026. We aim to target renewable energy usage by 50 per cent of the total by 2026. We are also planning to start an electronic product assembly at our plant in India. Indian government has formed a committee (BIS) to enhance the Indian Safety standard to the level of ISO. As a member, we participate in the deliberations and make our suggestions. This will also help to get a sustainable growth in machine safety. We also aim for in-house accredited QC labs by 2026.
We at Schmersal are sensing tremendous opportunity in the automation segment and are committed to addressing the man and machine safety aspect.
Q. As the new Managing Director, you’ve spoken about Schmersal India’s role as a hub for innovation within the Schmersal Group.Could you share your vision for how Schmersal India will continue to drive innovation, particularly in IIoT-enabled safety solutions and digital tools?
To cater to Schmersal India’s role as a hub for innovation within the group, we have opened a new entity in year 2022, called as Schmersal Global Competence Center (SGCC) in Pune for supporting the Schmersal Group for advanced & digitalized safety and software solutions including IIoT enabled safety solutions. Our vision is to establish ourselves as a market leader for end-to-end machine safety solutions & services. We are aiming to provide 4S solutions i.e., safety, services, smart & secure.
Q. In the light of your extensive experience and the competitive landscape you mentioned, what are your immediate priorities for Schmersal India? How do you plan to position the company to meet the evolving safety and automation needs of Indian industries?
Maintaining leadership positions with substantial market share and serving as machine safety partners for the entire industry is my top priority. Also we are working towards improving the awareness to increase the number of safety-certified consultants in the market. Moreover, we are looking to offer digitalized safety solutions and software. We aim to ensure a 100% safe workplace in the industry.
