Indian laser welding sector has formed an association, Laser Industries Association of India (LIAI) with seven founding members and now has 30 members. In a year, at least 100 members will form part of the association. The aim is to take India to the top five in the world in the laser welding sector and compete strongly in the world market
Navi Mumbai-based Laser Technologies Managing Director Rakesh Agarwal said the company has a 22 percent market share of China-based HSG Laser’s 74 percent market share in the world.
Mr Agrawal said In 2014 Laser Technologies had a JV with HSG Laser representing them in India. “In seven years, we have sold more than 500 fibre laser cutting machines and we were the first ones to cross 100 machines target within 15 months and every alternate day we are selling one machine”.
At Laser Technologies, we are making laser marker machines, laser welding machines, and known metal machines which are small and medium scale, we are also making automation.
HSG Laser has a large manufacturing plant in China making high-end products, and in India, under the LTPL (Laser Technologies Pvt Ltd) umbrella, we are selling complete products, because it is a one-roof product.
HSG Laser manufactures 500 machines a month which eventually becomes more than 5,000 machines a year, thus sales-wise they are number one.
Out of HSG Laser’s offerings, Laser Technologies are selling 120 to 150 machines in India every year. “That is the kind of market share. In this segment, 26 percent of market share is being enjoyed by Japanese and European companies and 74 percent of market share is being enjoyed by Chinese companies. Out of that 74, we are enjoying 22 percent market share”.
Quite a few Indian companies are manufacturing laser cutting machines – three to four, but core components like cutting head, controller, laser source, motion systems all are being bought from China, manufactured in China assembled in India.
Now with the help of the Laser Industries Association of India (LIAI), people are coming to make these components also in India like gallows scanner, controller, or cutting head, but it will take time.
Laser Technologies started in June 2011, offering innovative solutions to the Indian industry. The idea of setting up a new company was to help MSMEs, make in India, affordable and cost-effective machines so that they can make end user products with those machines.
The company produces made-in-India marking machines and held laser welding machines among other things.
Mr Agarwal said, “initial days were tough, we started with European brands, German-based company Stiefelmayer, Alpha Laser for welding, Italian company SCI Laser for leather paper, textile industry”.
Mr Agarwal said Laser Technologies’ welding machines have been appreciated by big clients like Forks (Grand Forks Welding and Machine), Marcel (Marcel Welding Works), Matheson, L&T, Siemens.
He said, “we are also working with many institutes like IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi, IISc Bengaluru, BITS Pilani. We are providing solutions to institutes as well”.
Also, we wanted to bring the laser industry on a common platform. For that, we have founded an association – Laser Industries Association of India, having 30 plus members, this year we will have 100 plus members. With that, we will bring innovative technology to India.
This will help to grow this industry, bring harmony and make it visible in the market, and approach the government to take up issues.
The association was founded in October 2019, there were seven founder members. “Our aim is to make it to the top five in the laser segment in the global hub. Right now, the US, Europe, and China are the majors.
Mr Agarwal said, “We are a technical company, with 18 years experience, I have done masters in laser technology, we understand laser technology. We want to bring cost-effective machines for the MSME sector”.
