El Grupo Schmersal inaugura una planta y presenta seis productos "Hechos en India".

SGCC amplía sus operaciones y lanza una cartera de productos innovadores.

Por Sheetal S. Patil

Schmersal Group recently expanded its operations with the inauguration of a new, state-of-the-art office facility spanning a 25,000-ft2 campus, along with the opening of a Product Experience Center (Marketing Gallery) in Wing A, Office No. 603, AP4 Tech Park, Sr. No. 1344, Wagholi, Besides Grant Road, Pune-Nagar Road, Pune, 412207, on July 1.

The company also launched six new "Make in India" products, further expanding its portfolio of machine safety systems and solutions. These new products strengthen Schmersal's offerings in safety, automation and industrial efficiency while meeting its customers' evolving requirements across a wide range of applications.

The occasion also marked another significant milestone: 13 years of Schmersal's manufacturing operations in India, underscoring the company's longstanding commitment to the Indian market and its continued investment in local manufacturing and innovation.

This strategic expansion underscores Schmersal's ongoing commitment to innovation, engineering excellence and delivering cutting-edge safety software and solutions to global markets with digital solutions as an added value to customers. The new facility significantly enhances the company's operational capacity, enabling it to support growing customer demand and accelerate the development and deployment of next-generation technologies.

Strengthening Global Capabilities

The newly inaugurated office space has been designed to foster collaboration, innovation and agility. The expansion will further strengthen Schmersal Global Competence Center (SGCC)'s position as a high-impact hub for engineering, product development and digital transformation initiatives within the global Schmersal Group network. Ramji Singh, managing director (MD), Schmersal India, said:

"This expansion marks an important milestone in our journey. We have decided to relocate to our own bigger facility in Pune. It will explore strengthening its global engineering, digital solution, innovation and automation capabilities in our current man- and machine-safety solutions and service as an added value to align and upgrade to market and customer offerings."

"The new facility not only reflects our growth ambitions but also reinforces our commitment to delivering world-class safety solutions. It provides an environment where innovation thrives and talent can achieve its full potential. Along with our new office, we are inaugurating a product experience center, and we are also taking this opportunity to introduce six new products from our Indian manufacturing operations."

In parallel with the facility expansion, the Schmersal Group also unveiled a new range of innovative products designed to meet the evolving needs of various industries. These products, developed and manufactured in India, focus on enhancing industrial safety, improving process efficiency and enabling smarter automation across sectors including manufacturing, logistics, vertical transportation, automotive, warehousing and infrastructure.

The newly launched portfolio features:

• Safety Field Box Port Extender — Enhances system connectivity and scalability by enabling seamless integration of field components across complex industrial setups.
• Magnetic Switch — A cost-efficient, European standard-compliant solution offering reliable position monitoring with consistent performance and durability, especially suited for the elevator segment.
• Fork Sensor — Infrared-based sensing solution designed for precise object detection in high-speed, high-accuracy industrial applications.
• New Safety Limit Switch Series — Upgraded, robust and versatile switches engineered to meet stringent safety requirements across diverse operating conditions, tailored for the Indian market.
• Overspeed Governor Limit Switch — Designed to detect when systems such as elevators exceed safe operational speed, ensuring enhanced safety and immediate response.
• Multi-Level Parking Control System — Enables authorized users to control vehicle movement across levels using key-based operation, supporting efficient and secure multi-parking.

These solutions align with Schmersal's vision of turning workplaces into safer places.

The Product Experience Center showcases the Schmersal Group's comprehensive safety solutions and demonstrates machine safety compliance expertise provided by tec.nicum.

Rogerio Baldauf, MD, Schmersal Brazil Shares Insights
“Lift technology was one of the first markets entered by Schmersal, and we have a long tradition in this market. There is one company dedicated in Germany only for the lift market, and in all other subsidiaries, it has one division dedicated for this market, as well. India is the second-biggest market for elevators in the world; it has a huge potential. In India, Schmersal always works with the elevator industry and people responsible for working with this market. We are also planning new developments and new partnerships for the elevator market.
“Given the growing emphasis on high-rise buildings and infrastructure projects, I see the demand for and usage of elevators developing differently in different regions. For example, in Brazil, it’s been stable for many years; in China, it’s decreasing; and in India, it’s increasing. In Europe, it’s more or less stable, as well, and then there are different opportunities in different regions, but it’s still a big, big market and opportunity. We work with big companies, and we work with what we call the middle market and small companies, either for new elevators or for modernization and maintenance.
“The goal of this new SGCC is to provide support for new products for all the Schmersal companies in different areas. This includes embedded software for development of new products, support for our Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system and support in development of new software for sales. This will already present an edge to foster new business all around the world because we can count on capable people here to provide expert support.
“For example, I was just talking to the people here to start the development of a new product in Brazil with the support of the software people here in India, and I think this is already representing a very big input for the business, in general, around the world.
“We believe very much in the potential of the country and the capability of the people here to develop this market. I have talked to many people here — vendors and some distributors. I noticed very deep relationships and partnerships that have grown over many years. It is important to develop business in the country with good partners.”

Los visitantes pueden experimentar:

• Safety solutions for people and machines
• Machine guarding, interlocking and access control systems
• Comprehensive machine safety solutions based on six key pillars, complemented by software and engineering services
• The transformation of industrial machine applications into safer, smarter and more digital solutions through Software as a Service (SaaS), in collaboration with tec.nicum and the SGCC

Driving Innovation and Talent Growth

The expanded facility will also play a critical role in fostering talent development and supporting cross-functional collaboration. With enhanced infrastructure and increased capacity, the SGCC aims to attract top engineering and technology talent while strengthening partnerships with global stakeholders.

Uwe Seeger, director, Schmersal Asia & Middle East Provides Perspectives
“Schmersal India’s contribution to the Schmersal Group’s Asia operations is growing to be the most important contributor to the Asian elevator business. We have a highly competitive market in China, as well as in India. Our presence in India is very much settled. We have great customers. Since we continue to develop new products, we are making a good footprint in the elevator market.
“Schmersal Asia, within the Schmersal Group, is of growing importance, because where we are with the company in Asia — Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, India, the U.A.E, Saudi Arabia, and just recently, Egypt — these markets are all growing. And that’s the beauty. Whereas in Europe, it’s more of a stagnating market, and the Asian market’s importance is growing. That’s one of the reasons why there’s also the investment in India. Among the Asian markets, it is becoming our growth engine in order to, I believe, challenge the Chinese market and our business in China for the number one place. That’s a huge compliment.
“When we start by looking at the Asian operation, our new location here where we have a state-of-the-art office, as well as test facilities, we can further hire talent from India to support our Asian operation in terms of R&D activities and IT support.
“More important are our tec.nicum services, because this is how we support the Asian market out of India. From the tec.nicum side, our people are supporting and even deployed from India to other countries. Within the group, the investment in this state-of-the-art office is a further commitment to India first, of course, but also to the Asian market, as well from the German ownership.
“The further growth potential of Schmersal India within the Asia region is, at the moment, one of the highest we have. India is growing now in the higher two-digit numbers, which we have on a smaller scale in other countries, as well. But the sheer number in India is surprisingly high. Therefore, our forecast, our vision, is that India is the current and also the future growth driver for the Asian market.”

The occasion also marked another significant milestone: 13 years of Schmersal’s manufacturing operations in India, underscoring the company’s longstanding commitment to the Indian market and its continued investment in local manufacturing and innovation.

About the Schmersal Group
The Schmersal Group was founded in 1945 in Wuppertal, Germany, and is represented by eight manufacturing sites on four continents with its own companies and sales partners in more than 60 nations. The Schmersal Group employs approximately 2,000 people worldwide.
Schmersal India started its operation as a 100% subsidiary of Schmersal Group in 2007 and set up a manufacturing plant in 2013 at MIDC Ranjangaon, as well as a 100% export unit to manufacture certain products for the global market. The company has approximately 200 employees and more than 30 channel partners across India.
The SGCC is a 100% subsidiary of Schmersal Group. The process of setting it up as a legal entity was initiated in February 2021, and it became operational on January, 1, 2022, at Pune, Maharashtra, with nearly 60 employees. It is a specialized engineering and IT hub for the Schmersal Group globally. It serves as a global resource pool for custom application development, Microsoft technologies, SAP, IT infrastructure, embedded development and Internet of Things, distinct from Schmersal’s manufacturing.
The new SGCC will play a key role in contributing to Schmersal’s long-term strategy, planning and growth with additional skills, resources and infrastructure, and it will leverage India’s strong talent ecosystem to support global operations.