NEW DELHI, November 7:Indian small and medium enterprises and their British counterparts are out to make the most of the recent British re-discovery trip of its former jewel in the crown.

Upbeat on the market potential that India holds for them, British businessmen are confident that the future of Indo-British business tie-up is extremely bright, and the coming years will result in increased volume of business. While the way to go for most is the collaboration or joint-venture route, quite a few are willing to do it alone.

Says Peter Ackroyd, director, British Wool Textile Export Corporation: "The Indian market for woollen textile is big and has the potential for growing further." Ackroyd, who has been dealing with India since 1995, feels that the duty rates in the country are very high.

"Our price increases by 85 per cent because of the FOB charges." Then, how can they afford to do business in India? "It is because of the superior quality of our wool," answers Ackroyd. "There are many buyers who are interested in buying our product at a higher price because they value premium quality product."

Quite a few collaborations between Indian and British woollen textile manufacturing companies already exist and many are in the pipeline. "Among the important collaborations is the one between Reid and Taylor and S Kumar," says Ackroyd.

Derek Stewart of WEHR, which manufactures equipment for power projects and has had business links with India since the past 20 years, views India as a market with a huge potential. "I expect quite a few power projects to be finalised in the near future. This will increase the volume of our business."For the first 12 years in India, WEHR was in collaboration with Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited. "It came to an end because BHEL no longer needed the equipment supplied by us. We too did not face any problem and managed well on our own."

Stewart says that his unit was facing some stiff competition from companies like ABB and GE but because of the reliable quality of WEHR's products, the company was managing quite well.

Jaswant Prasad, sales executive in Hansraj Nayyar Medical India which has collaborated with Smith Industries, UK, says that the partnership has been progressing very smoothly. "We are basically into the production of surgical disposable items and supply our products to both the government and the private medical houses." The items are imported from the UK and Hansraj Nayyar looks after the distribution. "Things are going so well that last year we did a business of Rs 50 crore."

Prasad says that stiff competition does exist from other companies in the field but it was not harming their business. "Our products are of good quality and recently we have also cut prices of some of our items. This is enough to keep our customers happy."

Business is not a one-way street. The British government too is interested in inviting the Indian companies to open their units in their land. The partially government-funded organisation, Invest in Britain Bureau (IBB), is trying to attract Indian entrepreneurs to their country.

Janet Usher, project manager, Asia Pacific Section says, "There are around 50 Indian companies in Britain today. We want more to come." Usher says that traditionally the Indian companies in Britain were more into trading but now there has been a gradual shift towards the manufacturing area. "There are 23 Indian companies in Britain who are into manufacturing."

Usher says that IBB wants to encourage Indian manufacturers because it feels that India has a lot to offer in this field. "Indians have made their presence felt in sectors like light engineering, chemicals, auto components and pharmaceuticals."

With growing environmental awareness in India, Britain has started viewing it as a vast market for green technology. Janet Jennings, deputy director of Joint Environmental Markets Unit, Departments of Trade and Industry and Environment, feels that in the coming years India can provide green business running into billions of dollars. "Indians are showing tremendous interest in these equipment."

Jennings feels that Indians, at present, do not possess the latest technology in this line. But, she adds, "Indians are eager to learn. With this kind of spirit, I am sure we will be able to work out mutually beneficial deals."

K V Automation Systems, a leading British manufacturer of pneumatic components and control systems, is banking on quality to beat domestic competition in the estimated Rs 90-crore pneumatic market. According to Derryl Dias, technical manager, "Indian companies are increasingly demanding quality products and that is where we will cash in."

The company is now looking for distributors in major Indian cities. As a catch, a training package has been thrown in for better handling of the products.

For Mysore Kirloskar, which imports CNC lathe machines from Britain and also manufactures export-oriented components and instruments, quality is the buzz word. "Apart from better performance, discerning customers are looking for aesthetics," says K Mitra, area sales manager.

British publishers are also an upbeat lot. Spurred by Arundhati Roy's maiden feat, most of them are getting ready to make the most of the boom in Indian writing in English. With many of them having well established business interests in India and offices in several Indian cities, the volume of publishing trade between the two countries is on the rise. Says Brian Mendonca of Cambridge University Press, "Our re-prints and low-cost editions are a big hit with the Indian buyers."

As small and medium entrepreneurs on either side are gearing up to make the most from the buoyant times, their efforts could be worth it.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.