The revival in Indian industry, particularly the engineering and capital goods sectors, is illustrated by one firm level example - the change taking place in Kennametal-Widia which is till now officially called Widia India.
The company has gone through two years of falling bottomline, ending 2002 in the red, losing Rs 55 crore.
There has been a turnaround with the first quarter (January-March) of the current year recording a nominal profit of Rs 42 lakh but that is not the reason for the cheerful faces.
The machine tools business of the company (2002 revenue Rs 195 crore) which accounts for around a fifth of the turnover is excited as their Ecogrind range of machines has secured the CE certification signifying that it has met European standards in operating safety and environment.
This paves the way for the export of the CNC tool and cutter grinder machines and raising exports, which now account for around a fifth of sales and is a key element in the turnaround strategy of newly appointed managing director Kumar Kanetkar.
He stepped in after the takeover of German parent Widia GmbH and Widia India by the American Kennametal Inc last year.
