Pilz GmbH to open centres across the country

PUNE: Pilz GmbH, a Euro 168 million provider of safety systems and services for industrial automation, will open technical and sales centres across the country targeting mainly the automotive and wind energy sectors, its president and CEO, Renate Pilz, said. "Pilz India is our 26th subsidiary and as a first step, we have set up a sales office here, in Pune. By next year, we will open technical and sales centres in Chennai and Delhi since both cities are automotive hubs. We will not be manufacturing now since our focus first is sales and education," Mrs Pilz said. Sanjay Kulkarni, managing director, Pilz India, added that the important markets for them are automotive, wind energy, oil and gas and industrial. While railways are an important sector, particularly from the point of safety, entry into that business will take time, Klaus Stark, general manager, international operations, Pilz GmbH, said. Kulkarni said they have begun discussions with engineering colleges in Pune, introducing safety technology in the curriculum but due to industry demand, they will first train employees in customer companies. Stark said they are the only manufacturer with a full service offering although others are catching up fast. The competition is led mainly by European companies, followed by the Japanese and US based companies. Services constitute approximately a third of the company's revenues but this is growing and is hampered by lack of trained manpower, Stark added. "There is also a significant opportunity in retrofitting," Stark noted, pointing to the need for the Indian Railways which has a large number of unmanned crossings.