The Bengal Chamber in association with Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited, International Combustion (India) Limited, Vesuvius India Limited, Linde India Limited and Haldia Petrochemicals Limited organized the second edition of the "Manufacturing & MSME Connect" program on 7th October, 2021. This program was organized at The Bengal Chamber premises. About 130 MSMEs attending the program physically and several others joined digitally.

The aim of the program was to connect MSMEs with large industries and facilitate Business to Business (B2B) dialogues. The initiative helped the MSMEs understand the requirements of the large industries, identify possible opportunities and also share the challenges faced by them where the large industries can handhold and guide them.

The context of this initiative of the Bengal Chamber dates back to the time when the pandemic COVID−19 started causing massive challenges for the MSMEs, including production disruption, supply chain interruption, labor issues, credit challenges, shrinkage of market and many others. A this juncture, the BCC&I had undertaken a Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat (SWOT) analysis amongst 150 MSMEs of West Bengal. Most of the MSMEs mentioned that they were looking forward to initiatives that would help them:

1. Connect with large industries
2. Access affordable finances

In this context, the BCC&I initiated a series of programs, titled, “Manufacturing & MSME Connect” which provides a platform where MSMEs can connect with large industries, engage in B2B discussions with them, understand the requirements and prepare themselves accordingly.

The 2nd edition of this series of “Manufacturing & MSME Connect” program was graced by leaders from the manufacturing industries and premiere educational institutions. Some of the key dignitaries who attended the program include:

• Mr. Indrajit Sen, Past President, The BCC&I and Managing Director, International Combustion (India) Limited.
• Mr. Nitin Jain, Co−Chairperson, Manufacturing & MSME Committee, The Bengal Chamber and Managing Director -India, Vice President − India & South East Asia, Vesuvius India Limited.
• Mr. Abhijit Banerjee, Managing Director, Linde India Limited.
• Mr. Sujoy Chakravorty, General Manager − Materials, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE)
• Mr. Chandan Sengupta, Senior Advisor − Marketing and Commodity Business, Haldia Petrochemicals  Limited. 

Welcome address at the Leadership Panel was delivered by Mr. Pritish K Sen, the then Chairperson, Manufacturing & MSME Committee, The BCC&I and Director General, INSDAG. The Concluding remark was delivered by Mr. Indranil Dutta, Co−Chairperson, Manufacturing and MSME Committee, The Bengal Chamber and Chief Executive Officer, Datre Corporation Limited. In the B2B sessions, Linde India Limited, Vesusvius India Limited, Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE), and Haldia Petrochemicals Limited participated and deliberated on the opportunities for the MSMEs to register themselves as vendors and supply to these organizations.

A few key excerpts from the B2B sessions are as follows: 

• Excerpts from the B2B session with Linde India Limited: 
  • Linde has a wide array of requirements; from LED lights to bio−toilets to fabrication items, their list of requirements is huge.
  • MSMEs may digitalize their processes and follow the quality standards, to increase their market reach.
  • MSMEs need to focus on proper documentation, safety standards and maintain good quality.
  • Linde India Limited also shared an application format for prospective vendors, which MSMEs need to adhere to if they wish to become a vendor of Linde. 

• Excerpts from the B2B session with Vesuvius India Limited:
  • Current requirements of Vesuvius India Limited include packaging items, engineering products, machine items and a few other services.
  • Vesuvius is interested to procure from MSMEs.
  • The Vesuvius team also mentioned that the organization puts major emphasis on safety and quality standards while procuring from vendors.
  • Vesuvius also puts major emphasis on R&R process and testing methods for procurement. 

• Excerpts from the B2B session with Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE):
  • GRSE follows vocal for local policy and hence there is huge opportunities for MSMEs as vendors and suppliers.
  • GRSE has around 2150 vendors. Out of these, 823 are MSME vendors.
  • Requirements of defence sector and that of GRSE can be viewed from the SRIJAN defence portal.
  • MSMEs can submit their proposals (online & offline).
  • GRSE has in−house online vendor monitoring mechanism and grievance redressal mechanism.
  • GRSE encourages digitization and promotes indigenous technologies. 

• Excerpts from the B2B session with Haldia Petrochemicals Limited:
  • Haldia Petrochemicals is the first integrated petrochemicals complex in eastern India with naphtha cracker and downstream plants. HPL is known for world class polymers and chemicals.
  • Haldia Petrochemicals envisages opportunities in the waste − recycling business in eastern India and motivated MSMEs to think accordingly.
  • The team also mentioned that MSMEs need to focus on ventures related to plastic waste management.
  • Haldia Petrochemicals is interested to provide mentorship support to the interested MSMEs to commence new ventures which are similar to HPL’s line of business.
  • Marketable usages of polymers include face masks, various types of furniture, automobile components, household goods and many more.
  • In the last ten years, HPL has directly and indirectly developed 5,000 down−stream units.
  • Minimum time taken for establishing down−stream unit ranges between six to seven months. 

Dr. Siddhartha Das, Managing Director, Science and Technology Entrepreneurs’ Park (STEP), IIT Kharagpur; Professor, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, IIT Kharagpur; and Prof−in−Charge, Incubation & Entrepreneurship, Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC), IIT Kharagpur (KGP) deliberated on industry−academia partnership and shared various schemes of the IIT Kharagpur. He mentioned about IIT KGP’s incubation process for MSMEs along with the criteria to register and the benefits.

The "Manufacturing & MSME Connect" program will be organized once in every two months connecting large industries, overseas corporate houses, government agencies, banks and other financial institutions with MSMEs.

Our event sponsors include: 

• Gold Sponsor: 
  • Linde India Limited
  • Vesuvius India Limited
  • International Combustion (India) Limited
  • Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Limited (GRSE): 
• Silver Sponsor: 
  • Haldia Petrochemicals Limited

Apart from our Sponsors, we also had Bongs Prayukti lnternational as our Sustainability Partner, who provided knowledge inputs to the program.