Fischer Group aims to triple its India business in the next 5-7 years

The Germany-based Fischer Group, which manufactures fixing systems for the construction sector and components for automobile companies, expects to triple the size of its India business to over Rs 600 crore in the next five to seven years.

In the last three years, its India business has exhibited a robust Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of approximately 41 per cent, nearly tripling its business size to over Rs 200 crore, Mayank Kalra, Managing Director of Fischer India, stated during a press briefing. “Now, we see a very strong growth of about 20 per cent year-on-year in the next five to seven years,” he added.

Fischer Group, with an annual turnover of 1.14 billion Euros in 2022, presently operates in 39 countries with 51 subsidiaries, including India. However, the company does not have any production facility in India.

Kalra clarified that the Group does not have any plans right now to open a production facility in India. The company is presently analyzing its global footprint and determining the best course of action for moving forward.

He mentioned that the company’s India business anticipates achieving an annual turnover of over Rs 600 crore within the next five to seven years. “The gut feeling is that we should at least be talking about tripling our business in five to seven years,” he mentioned.

Additionally, he stated that the current employee strength in India of 139 is projected to increase to more than 400 during the same time period.

The company is importing — mainly from its different plants in central Europe — more than 80 per cent of its products. “We are also sourcing locally about 5 to 7 per cent of our products. We have plans to take it to 20 per cent in five to seven years,” he noted. Fischer India is among the top 10 markets for Fischer Group. “We would like to be among the top six Fischer Group of companies,” he added.

Oliver Geibig, Managing Director of Business Units & Engineering at Fischer Group, stated that the company is in the process of establishing its IT hub in Bengaluru with an initial team of 10 employees. It anticipates significant growth for this IT hub in the future.

The company is also increasing its recruitment from Indian universities, given the abundance of high-quality post-graduates in the region. “We are hiring more and more people in India,” he noted.

He mentioned that the question is whether to relocate individuals from India to the headquarters in Germany or explore remote working options. Geibig expressed that it would be difficult to determine the exact number of Indians to be recruited for Fischer Group.

About 80 per cent of the company’s turnover comes from manufacturing fixing systems for the construction sector, while about 10 per cent of the revenues come from the auto sector. Geibig indicated the company’s focus in India will remain on the construction business.

“The automotive industry has been struggling a lot in the last few years. At the moment, what we see is that the construction industry still has a lot to invest. A lot of investment in infrastructure was delayed in the past. Housing is needed. The existing structures need to be renovated. We see much bigger potential there…I don’t want to exclude the automotive industry or consulting business (from bringing them to India). At the moment, we are strongly focused on the construction industry,” he added.