HMT Fast Farward
It was in the early post independence era that, HMT began in a small way to meet a big commitment;
‘To manufacture mother machines to build modern industrial India‘.
HMT was conceived by the Government of India in 1949, and was incorporated in 1953, with the objective of producing a limited range of machine tools, required for building an industrial edifice for the country.
THE 1960’s:
With the success achieved in the initial years in absorbing the technology and in attaining production competence far ahead of the original plans, the Company launched a bold plan of diversification and expansion which resulted in the duplication of the Bangalore Unit and the setting up of new units at Pinjore, Kalamassery and Hyderabad.
In 1967, recession struck the Indian Engineering Industry and the consumption of machine tools dipped drastically. The traumatic years of recession did indeed serve to bring to the fore two latent strengths of HMT, namely, the urge to survive and the confidence to innovate. With these strengths at full play, the Company emerged from the recession:
With the world’s widest range of machine tools and associated services under a single corporate entity.
With action plans firmly launched for diversification into Tractors, Presses and Press Brakes, Printing Machines, Die Casting and Plastic Injection Moulding Machines, Horological Machinery, etc., which were considered to have economic cycles that are different from those of machine tools.
With a Watch Factory already established in 1961-62, additional capacities for watch production were contemplated to provide a greater cushion against cyclical fluctuations in capital goods markets and also to meet the burgeoning demand for watches.
With export markets of enormous potential under active development.
THE 1970’s:
The 70s witnessed the fructification of all the diversification plans as envisaged. HMT setup
HMT International Limited as a subsidiary company to channel HMT’s products and technical services abroad.
Two more units for manufacture of Watches, one at Srinagar and one at Tumkur
HMT took over Machine Tool Corporation at Ajmer as its sixth machine tool unit.
THE 1980’s:
In the 80s, HMT as a part of vertical integration efforts, launched units to manufacture
Watches at Ranibagh
Watch Cases at Bangalore
Stepper Motors at Tumkur
CNC Systems at Bangalore
Ball screws for use on CNC machines at Bangalore etc.,.
Also
HMT took over Indo-Nippon Precision Bearings Ltd, a state owned unit as a subsidiary, which was renamed HMT-Bearings Ltd.
HMT took over Praga Tools Ltd as another subsidiary.
THE 1990’s:
The Company restructured itself into five Business Groups viz., Machine Tools, Watches, Tractors, Industrial Machinery and Engineering Components as part of Business Reorganisation.
The New Millennium
HMT is now restructured with addition of three more subsidiaries to those already existing. HMT now comprises of six subsidiaries under the ambit of the Holding Company which also manages the Tractors business directly.
HMT Machine Tools Limited, Bangalore
HMT Watches Limited, Bangalore
HMT Chinar Watches Limited, Jammu
HMT Bearings Limited, Hyderabad
Praga Tools Limited, Hyderabad
HMT (International) Limited, Bangalore
The strategic plans of the HMT group is coordinated by the holding company at Bangalore. To navigate through the challenges of the new millennium, HMT seeks strategic alliances from global leaders to synergies its own strengths with symbiotic inputs from the partners. For us, the whole world of opportunities is ahead to emerge as a global engineering conglomerate.
