Machine Tool Influencers 2026: Sunil Raibagi on Smart Automation
Sunil Raibagi, Managing Director Asia, Zimmer Group, on application-driven automation, lifecycle-cost-effective manufacturing and designing practical solutions for India and the world
- India aspires to become a global manufacturing hub. What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for the Indian machine tool industry in achieving global competitiveness, and what changes are still required?
India should not simply copy expensive machines developed for other markets. We must build application-driven, appropriately engineered machines that provide the required performance, reliability and automation at a competitive lifecycle cost. The objective is not the cheapest machine, but the lowest sustainable cost per component.
The most important trend will be application-driven, lifecycle-cost-effective manufacturing. Customers do not always need highly sophisticated, overengineered machines. They need the right machine for the required accuracy, output and service life.
India should develop modular, reliable and affordable machines using local components, standardised function packages, scalable automation and easy maintenance. The focus should shift from the lowest machine price to the lowest sustainable cost per produced component over the complete lifecycle.
AI, digital twins, predictive maintenance, connected manufacturing, robotics and precision engineering will support this goal by improving productivity, quality, flexibility and machine availability.
- Innovation today extends beyond products. How is your organisation driving innovation across manufacturing processes, customer experience, sustainability, workforce development or digital transformation?
At Zimmer Group, innovation extend beyond individual products to the customer’s complete automation lifecycle. As a leading automation company, our focus is on delivering application-driven, modular and lifecycle-cost-effective solutions.
Our strategy innovation in five areas:
Manufacturing: Standardise modular function packages, use flexible automation and localise production close to customers to improve cost, quality and delivery time.
Customer experience: Engage early in the customer’s application, provide simulation and rapid concept validation, and offer one partner for engineering, components, integration and lifecycle support.
Digital transformation: Use digital twins, virtual commissioning, connected products and predictive maintenance to reduce commissioning time and improve equipment availability.
Sustainability: Design energy-efficient, repairable and upgradeable solutions, with greater use of local sourcing and lifecycle-cost evaluation.
Workforce development: Develop employees from product specialists into application and solution experts through continuous technical training and international knowledge sharing.
Our objective should not be to sell the most sophisticated product, but to provide the right level of technology at the lowest sustainable lifecycle cost, while continuously improving customer productivity, flexibility and reliability.
- Manufacturing success increasingly depends on collaboration across OEMs, suppliers, technology providers, academia and startups. How do you see partnerships shaping the future of manufacturing, and what role does your organisation play in this ecosystem?
No single company can master every technology required in modern manufacturing. Future success will depend on strong collaboration between OEMs, machine builders, automation suppliers, technology companies, academia and startups.
At Zimmer Group, we see ourselves as an automation technology and solution partner within this ecosystem. We combine our expertise in handling, robotics, damping, clamping and machine-tool technologies with the capabilities of robot manufacturers, system integrators and machine builders.
Our role is to jointly develop application-driven, modular and lifecycle-cost-effective solutions. We support partners with standardised function packages, engineering expertise, simulation, local manufacturing and lifecycle service. This helps them reduce development time, technical risk and total cost.
We also work with customers, universities and startups to explore AI, digital twins, smart sensing, predictive maintenance and sustainable automation. At the same time, partnerships help develop skilled engineers through training and knowledge exchange.
The future will not be about one company supplying everything. It will be about creating an ecosystem in which each partner contributes its strongest capability. Zimmer Group’s ambition is to serve as a reliable bridge between innovative technologies and practical industrial applications.
- Looking ahead to 2030, what will define a successful machine tool company? Which capabilities, technologies or leadership qualities will differentiate the industry’s future leaders?
By 2030, successful machine-tool companies will not simply sell machines; they will deliver application-driven, digitally connected and lifecycle-cost-effective manufacturing solutions.
Future leaders will differentiate themselves through:
- Modular, scalable machines without unnecessary overengineering
- AI, automation, digital twins and predictive maintenance
- Precision, reliability and consistent global quality
- Lowest sustainable cost per produced component
- Fast engineering, local manufacturing and dependable lifecycle service
- Strong partnerships across OEMs, automation providers, academia and startups
- Continuous development of application-oriented talent
Leadership will require customer understanding, technological openness, speed of decision-making and the courage to simplify. Companies must balance global technology with local cost competitiveness and execution.
Ultimately, success will be defined by the ability to provide the right technology, for the right application, at the right lifecycle cost—while improving customer productivity, flexibility and sustainability.
- As one of the Machine Tool Influencers 2026, what message would you like to share with the next generation of manufacturing professionals and entrepreneurs who will shape India’s industrial future?
My message to the next generation is : begin with the problem, not the product.
Do not only “Make in India”—Design, develop and give innovate manufacturing solutions to the world.
Understand the customer’s real needs by observing the shop floor, listening to operators and questioning existing processes. Apply design thinking—empathise, define, ideate, prototype, test and continuously improve—to create practical, application-driven solutions.
Do not overengineer. Combine automation, AI, digital manufacturing and precision engineering only where they create measurable value. Aim for the right technology at the right lifecycle cost.
Collaborate with customers, suppliers, academia and startups, and treat every failure as an opportunity to learn. India’s industrial future will be shaped by professionals and entrepreneurs who combine customer empathy, creative thinking and disciplined execution to design in India for the world.
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