Case study: National Physical Laboratory
The objective…
The National Physical Laboratory (NPL) is the UK’s National Metrology Institute (NMI) and its objective in India was to understand the measurement challenges faced by the advanced engineering and manufacturing sector and assess if there is a market for NPL’s products and services.
The challenge…
NPL UK had limited knowledge about the Indian market and the measuring practices employed, especially in the precision engineering sectors like the automotive, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing, among others. NPL wanted to support the Indian industry through products and services that address the challenges they face in precise metrology from manufacturing products to original design specification, improving quality control to engaging employees and instilling a decision-making, questioning, and planning culture in measurement.
The solution…
UKIBC helped NPL with consultancy and stakeholder engagement by providing market overview of the Indian advanced engineering and manufacturing sector from the perspective of metrology-related challenges and warmed-up meetings with relevant companies within the aerospace/space, automotive, construction equipment and other precision engineering sectors, by organising interactive sessions in two cities across India.
The result…
NPL UK was able to make an informed decision to ‘hold’ their India plans with the help of an insights gained from UKIBC market intelligence analysis and discussions with Indian stakeholders. Our research indicated that the India market could meet its own requirements for measurement training, and NPL will not be able to gain acceptance given the industry’s price sensitive nature.
