Last year, DAKO-CZ, a manufacturer of braking systems and components for rolling stock, established two joint ventures with leading domestic manufacturers in India. The company from Třemošnice, East Bohemia, has been very active on the local market for the last few years and wants to take full advantage of its potential. That is also why the DAKO-CZ sales manager went on a business mission organized by the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, which accompanied the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Lipavský on his recent trip to India. The aim of the trip was to present the company and establish new contacts.
DAKO-CZ started operating on the Indian market in 2006, gradually developed its business activities on the local market and has been actively supplying since 2015. The percentage of sales generated by the company in India has gradually increased. Following the growing demand, DAKO-CZ Machinery was established in Ostrava to focus on serial production for India, and finally, two joint ventures with Indian manufacturers were established last year: MEDHA DAKO-CZ Pvt. Ltd. and JWL DAKO-CZ India Ltd.
„We feel there are many other potential opportunities in the Indian market, which is why we will soon establish another subsidiary there. Of course, we have built up good relationships in India over the years that we have been supplying our products there. Nevertheless, when the opportunity arose to send our man on a business mission, we did not hesitate. I believe that our business manager Monika Jirušková has established new contacts that can help us to further business opportunities,” says Lukáš Andrýsek, Chairman of the Board of DAKO-CZ.
Czech economic diplomacy is currently focusing on the dynamically developing market in India and the opportunities there. There are also significant opportunities in the local railway. The country has the fourth largest railway network after the USA, Russia and China. Indian Railways is the largest employer in India and the eighth largest in the world, employing approximately 1.3 million people. Moreover, India has been investing massively in its railways and their modernisation for several years.
“The aim of the mission, in which I participated, was to introduce to other potential customers the DAKO-CZ brand as a manufacturer of brake systems and components for rolling stock with its own development and testing laboratory, for which the aspect of railway safety is very important. Thanks to the fact that the mission was under the umbrella of Minister Jan Lipavsky, we had the opportunity to meet with ministers, honorary consuls and other important representatives of the Republic of India, including representatives of local companies,” says Monika Jirušková, business manager and participant of the mission in India.
During her three-day visit to India, she visited Delhi and Mumbai. In addition to official meetings and lectures, the DAKO-CZ representative attended a number of personal meetings, for example with honorary consuls of the Czech Republic from several regions. Monika Jirušková highlighted in particular the meetings and the relationship with the Honorary Consul of the Chennai region, where the ICF car manufacturer is based. She had the opportunity to have a short conversation about DAKO-CZ activities in India directly with the Minister of Industry and Commerce Piyush Goyal.
In addition to a number of official meetings and participation in the conference, where, in addition to the Czech Foreign Minister, his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and also, for example, the Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen spoke, the contacts gained through networking were also very valuable. In Delhi and later in Mumbai, Monika Jirušková held talks with, for example, Indian representatives of the Czech Trade Agency, the local Chamber of Commerce and representatives of companies offering support in managing the administration necessary to enter the Indian market.
“The whole three days in India were very intense. In addition to meetings with Indian partners, we had the opportunity to spend time with other Czech participants in the mission, representatives of the Confederation of Industry and Transport of the Czech Republic and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I believe that we will be able to gradually transform the newly acquired contacts into further opportunities, in any case the fact that our company DAKO-CZ was actively represented at such an important event is very valuable,” adds Monika Jirušková.
In addition to participating in the business mission, DAKO-CZ representatives also attended meetings at the Ministry of Railways of India (Railway Board) and also directly at the RDSO (Research Designs and Standards Organization) in the North Indian city of Lucknow. The RDSO is an organisation under the Ministry of Railways that certifies all products destined for the Indian Railways.