- Ashim Behera is the COO and the Executive Board Member at Daifuku, Inc., India, a global leader in factory automation and logistics solutions
- Right from Daifuku’s entry to becoming a market leader in India, Ashim has been instrumental in Daifuku’s steady growth in India
- An exponent of automation, Ashim envisions an industry well equipped with the power of automation
Daifuku, the global leader in factory automation and logistics solutions, set its footstep in the Indian market around 2013 and within just seven years has become a market leader. While Daifuku’s excellent ASRS solutions have contributed to the market leadership, the company’s incredible success in India can be credited to one extraordinary leader Daifuku. India has got – Mr. Ashim Behera. Right from masterminding Daifuku’s entry into the Indian market to its becoming the leader, his role has been the cornerstone.
Recently, Machine Maker spoke to Ashim to know and during the interview what spanned out was a tale of an incredible journey.
Insightful Formative Years of Ashim
With his father employed in the Short Service Commission as an Army Doctor, Asim practically grew up among the Army. Much like the fate of many army kids, his family had to move quite often, all over India, for 10 years of his father’s employment. “That kind of helped me become quite a nomad,” says Behera, chuckling. Recalling those days, Behera remembers how this process made him learn to let go of things.
The first step towards big thinking
After a brief stay in the Middle-East due to his father’s deployment there, the family came back to India in the early 90s. The idea of studying abroad had already been formed in the mind of this curious young boy so after he was done with school, Behera went to the Oklahoma State University in the US for the undergraduate course in Electrical and Computer Engineering with a focus on robotics. “It’s probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” says Behera. Even though it wasn’t common for a person of Behera’s background to study in an American university, things worked out. Fortunately, there were people that he could count on in his time of need and with their help, he was able to survive college.
A chance meeting with Automation
In 2005, Behera was a jobless PIO (Person of Indian Origin) with a huge student loan. In the same year, the American economy was hit by an unprecedented recession. Not just the US, the global economy had been hit due to the large deficit of the United States and the growing surpluses in the Asian, European and oil-exporting economies. Exacerbated by rising oil prices, natural disasters and geopolitical instability, the global economic environment was threatening to hinder the immediate longer-term growth of developing economies much like India. Safe to say, the job prospects for a foreign student were dire at best.
The thing about fate is, it hits you when you’re least expecting it. Undecided on any course of action, Behera had taken up his uncle’s suggestion to stay with him till he finds a job. His roommate at the time, a Dubai resident with proficiency in Civil Management Technology (Indian equivalent of Civil engineering), had taken up the responsibility to distribute Behera’s resumé to a few people he knew before returning home. One day, in Oklahoma, on a train to New Jersey, a phone call for an interview changed his life for the better. “I don’t know what you’re looking for, but I have your resumé. Are you still looking for a job?” he was informed and, suddenly, he had a purpose.
Adorned in a suit with his resumé and portfolio in hand, in a sea of hard-hat donned, jeans-clad workers, Behera was out of his depth. But as he was taken around to take a look at the construction site, the sight of robotics and all the modern machinery moving in tandem with a mere touch of a button. “I don’t know where I’m headed but I will do anything you give me,” said an amazed Behera, already moving one step forward towards a future in Intralogistics and Automation. He joined as an intern and later became a full-time employee. “And the rest is history,” says Behera, with the air of somebody who understands how far he has come, with the memory of his journey refreshed in his mind’s eye. Gradually, Behera worked with big organizations such as DC Waters, USA and Swisslog India.
Torchbearer of Daifuku’s success in India
In 2011, Behera moved back to India. New to the atmosphere of the society and the businesses, he devoted a fair amount of time in learning ‘what not to do’. In 2013, he joined Daifuku as a contractor and by 2014, he was an employee. He was instrumental behind devising the master plan for Daifuku’s major entry into India. Since then, he has been very active in the growing Material Handling & Robotics market in India. Behera, having experienced a technologically enhanced environment in the US, brought with himself the knowledge of what the industry had the capacity to look like. Even so, upon telling people about automation, he realised how ill-informed and disbelieving Indians were when it came to foreign tech. Through videos and power-point presentations, Behera was able to convince people to invest in automation. However, he persisted to make people accept the benefit of automation and also establish Daifuku in the Indian market.
Today’s Ashim’s leadership is certainly one factor that has made Daifuku a globally trusted material handling partner. It is under his leadership that Daifuku is now the only company in India to have secured multiple ASRS order in a very short time. He has designed, implemented and automated numerous multi-million dollar Distribution Centers in the USA for companies including mega-retailers Wal-Mart and Target to name a few.
Eminent speaker
Bringing his years of domain expertise and experience, Ashim also speaks at various industry platforms such as CII, ASSOCHAM, CEMAT, IWS and Symbiosis University. His articles and interviews are regularly published in magazines such as MACHINE MAKER, Cargo Connect, Cargo Talk, Industrial Mart, OEM, Log India, Indian Logistics Industry, Textile Magazine, Equipment India and many more.
Inspiring figure
Responsible for the tremendous success of Daifuku in India and the advancement of automation as well as the ASRS (Automated Storage and Retrieval System), Asim is the epitome of hard work and the passion to achieve great things. Being one of us and rising well above his status to chase his passion and willingness to work with whatever life throws at him, Behera is an inspiration for the youth of India today. His hope for the industry today is to not ponder over the pros and cons of automation and, instead, to just jump into it, try it and see the result for themselves.
For more details, visit www.daifuku.com
