Invest In The Netherlands: NFIA

The Netherlands Foreign Investment Agency (NFIA), in association with Amsterdam Metropolitan Area and NASSCOM, is planning to increase its interaction with India's leading corporates in Bengaluru. NFIA will reach out to leading corporates in the Information Technology sector through a focused executive briefing, titled 'Amsterdam – IT Hub for Europe' on 14th October 2008, at the Grand Ashok Hotel, Bengaluru. The briefing in Bangalore is the first in a series of two events.

The executive briefing will showcase the strengths and advantages that the Netherlands offers as a strategic business destination for corporates who want to establish or expand their operations in Europe. Many leading Indian corporations such as TCS, Tata Steel, Wipro, Suzlon Energy, Genpact, Moser Baer, Infosys, Aurobindo Pharma, and Polaris Software, have already taken advantage of the benefits the Netherlands offers in this respect.The executive briefing will commence with a keynote address by NASSCOM and a presentation by Lodewijk Asscher, vice mayor, City of Amsterdam on 'Think IT, Think Amsterdam'. The strengths of the Netherlands as a bridge-head to Europe will be exemplified through first hand experiences of Indian and global multinationals -- TCS, Satyam, Wipro and Cisco Systems. A panel discussion will highlight how Indian companies can set up IT business operations in the Netherlands and where they can get assistance and advice on such important issues as registration of a branch or subsidiary, taxation, visa and immigration.The executive briefing session coincides with the visit of an official and economic delegation from The Netherlands headed by Lodewijk Asscher. The delegation will be interacting with Indian companies to promote the Netherlands as an investment destination.Robert V. Schipper, executive director, NFIA India, said, "We have more than 5000 foreign companies having operations in the Netherlands. At the moment around 50 of these companies are headquartered in India and their number is rapidly increasing. In 2007 alone, more than 10 Indian companies have set up or acquired new operations in the Netherlands, which emphasises the fact that the Netherlands offers great advantages to the new age businesses and it has emerged as the preferred choice amongst Indian companies as a strategic investment destination."

"NFIA recognises the investment potential that India has on offer and has ambitious plans for attracting investments from major Indian businesses looking to expand their operations in Europe. The seminars will enable us to showcase to our target audience the advantages of having a business set up in the Netherlands," added Schipper.

Courtesy: EFY Times

Tetra Pak plans Rs 500-cr plant in India

Swiss processing and packaging major Tetra Pak International SA will invest Rs 500 crore in its Indian operations to set up its second plant in the country, in Maharashtra. Tetra Pak India’s biggest clients include Parle, Amul, Dabur, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. The E8.6 billion firm is targeting flagging off operations at its second India plant in about two years’ time. The company, meanwhile, is in discussions with Reliance Retail to partner its private dairy venture, in addition to various other potential partners.

Indian Auto parts makers see sharp drop in orders from US, Europe

The economic slowdown there is compelling vehicle manufacturers to cut production and cut back on parts sourced from India. The Indian suppliers are experiencing a 20-30 per cent drop in orders. “We have been experiencing the slowdown at our plants in Germany since August,” said a top official from Sona Okegawa, part of the Sona Group. The company acquired German conglomerate Thyssenkrupp’s business unit in January this year to become the world’s largest precision forgings supplier. The Rs 1,100-crore Wheels India, which supplies to companies such as Volvo, Komatsu and Caterpillar, reckons that declining truck sales have lowered its overseas schedules by 20-30 per cent. “Truck sales are declining in Europe and this has resulted in a 20 per cent drop in our order books compared to what our customers had indicated,” said Mr Srivats Ram, Managing Director, Wheels India and Chairman of Auto Component Manufacturers’ Association for Southern region. Although automobile companies have cut down on orders for Indian auto parts, there could be some respite in the case of new global contracts, said Mr Sudhir Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Avtek, the component arm of Hindustan Motors.

Lean & Six Sigma Excellence Awards’08 (India)

The 2 day "Lean & Six Sigma Excellence Awards’08" was held on 10th & 11th October 2008.This was organized by Symbiosis Centre for Management & Human Resource Development (SCMHRD) in association with Sakaal Media Group & Minitab. Eleven eminent persons from field of Six Sigma, Quality & Statistics were in the panel of Juries. This National level event is considered as one of the prestigious competition in the field of Six Sigma.
More than 100 projects from 75 companies, participated under 3 categories of Six Sigma (DMAIC, DFSS & LEAN). SKF forwarded 2 projects to the competition.
We feel glad to share that both the projects got short listed in the final round of competition.
Project 1: Reduction of Shop Supplies consumption of all TRB Channels from 8 % of Delivery value to 6.4 % of Delivery value & HBU Channel from 15 % of Delivery value to 8 % of Delivery value - presented by Black Belt - Manjunath K N (ABU Dept), Sponsor - Shrikant Savangikar (Factory Manager-ABU), & Master Black Belt Nitin Ghatpande.
Project 2: Net Output Improvement from 23.27 k/day bearings to 30 k/day bearings in 6205 type and 19.5 k/day to 30 k /day in 6004 type in CH-6 – presented by Black Belt Sudhir Chougule (ETW – DGBB B), Process Owner - Jnanesh N (DGBB-B Ch 6), & Master Black Belt Nitin Ghatpande.
In extremely tough competition our ABU Team bagged "Lean & Six Sigma Excellence Award" under DMAIC Support category.
We congratulate Manjunath, Shrikant & Nitin for their achievement.
We also will like to appreciate entire project team for their involvement and support during the project. The team includes - K S Kulkarni,Prashant Hande,Jayawant Mate,Pradeep,Chandrashekar, Kolurkar,Anil C Patki,Santosh,Yogesh P,Anjali Bhat & Kishor M.