The 47-year-old Industrial Products Finder (IPF), published by ASAPP Info Global Group, presented its third IPF Industrial Excellence Awards on December 13, 2018, at NSE, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Mumbai. The event was held in the presence of Chief Guest Ajit B Chavan, Secretary, Textile Committee, Ministry of Textiles; Harshbeena Zaveri, Vice-Chairperson & Managing Director, NRB Bearing; Bhavesh Thakkar, Associate Partner - Tax & Regulatory, Ernst & Young India; and Rachana Bhusari, Vice-President - SME, National Stock Exchange (NSE).

In the presence of over 200 industry movers and shakers, 15 SMEs from across India were awarded for bring among the fastest growing manufacturing companies in the SME sector and products that meet the standards of 'Product Excellence'. The winners were selected by a jury panel comprising eminent personalities from the industry and engineering institutes.

A white paper titled 'How MSMEs Can Enhance Their Credit Worthiness' and the All India Textile Directory (AITD) were also unveiled during the function. While ECGC (formerly known as the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India) was the Gold Partner for the event, Bohmen Industries was the Silver Partner. The Plastics Machinery Manufacturers Association of India (PMMAI) and Indian Textile Accessories & Machinery Manufacturers Association (ITAMMA) were supporting partners.

A CEO Roundtable, titled 'Winning Strategies for SMEs', was also held during the event, which discussed challenges before the SME sector and strategies needed to be adopted by SMEs to become competitive and emerge winners. The panel included Prof Ashok Pundir, Professor of Industrial Engineering & Manufacturing Systems at NITIE (National Institute of Industrial Engineering); Sivaram PV, Chairman - Non Executive, B&R Industrial Automation Pvt Ltd, and President, Automation Industry Association (AIA); Subba Bangera, Director of PMMAI (Plastics Machinery Manufacturers Association of India), and Chairman, Active Biz Solutions; Shivaji Narvekar, General Manager, ECGC; Abhishek Bohra, Partner, Bohmen Industries; Sunil Kumar, Director for Adhesive Industrial Business, Henkel India; and Saikat Roy, Head - SME, CARE Ratings. The detailed discussion concluded on the note that SMEs possess intrinsic advantages owing to their scale but need to find a balance between 'investing' for building forward-looking capabilities and 'managing' day-to-day operations.ö

Going forward, Industrial Products Finder (IPF), through IPF Industrial Excellence Awards and other initiatives, will continue to lend its support to SMEs in their efforts to achieve excellence and become competitive, not just in India but globally.