The second Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering Conference and Expo 2016 (HTSE 2016) was held along with the concurrent event ‘Automotive Materials and Manufacturing’ at the Chennai Trade Centre during May 12-14. It was presided over by Mr. B.K. Venkatesh, Managing Director, Techmat Enterprises (India) Pvt. Ltd.
Inaugurating the conference, Mr. R. Sivanesan, Senior Vice President, Quality – Sourcing and Supply Chain, Ashok Leyland, spoke on the global economic trends and its impact on material resources.
He pointed out that while the automobile industry consumes a lot of natural resources like iron, steel and fuel, there is an urgent need for the industry to focus on three key areas of enhancing the fuel economy, reducing weight and improving reliability and durability to improve overall efficiencies. Ashok Leyland, on its part, has taken a number initiatives, backed with a massive research work, in order to attain the desired objectives.
In his address, Dr. T.S. Sudarshan, Member of the Board of Trustees, ASM International USA, said: “India has a large young engineer base, and it should be encouraged to think of futuristic ways of how surface engineering can be successfully applied in different areas. Surface engineers have lots of tools to improve the living standards of society and waste little material, conserving resources and keeping costs down in the process.”
With participation from both Indian and overseas experts, the three-day conference witnessed presentation of 50 keynote and plenary lectures. The conference emphasis was on Heat Treatment, Surface Engineering and Automotive Materials and Manufacturing. The recent advancement in heat treatment process and equipment, surface engineering methods and applications, and newer automotive materials and manufacturing opportunities were the key content of the presentations and discussions by experts from the respective areas.
The conference, attended by over 1,000 delegates and business visitors from India and abroad specializing in Heat Treatment and Surface Engineering, had overwhelming response from both the industry and academia.
The programme concluded with the valedictory address by Mr. P.S. Rajamani, Whole-Time Director, Simpsons & Co. Ltd., who stressed the importance of heat treatment and surface engineering techniques in maximizing the performance of engine parts and reducing their weight and control on emissions.
In his special address, Dr. P. Sivakumar, Director – CVRDE, Avadi, called for focused attention on encouraging young professionals into such activities to promote intellectual networking and sustaining the activities.
On the occasion, those professionals who showed up their innovations were presented Awards, while the best literature, stall and poster presented were duly rewarded by the ASM International Chennai Chapter.
The two-day conference success was mainly attributed to the services rendered by Dr. T. Sundararajan, Head – R&D, Wheels India Ltd., who was the convenor to the conference along with Mr. V.P. Parthasarathy, General Manager – Engineering and R&D, Brakes India Ltd.