Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008
  
 

 

Dun & Bradstreet India (D&B India), continuing its commitment towards supporting the development of small and medium enterprises, has launched the inaugural edition of Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008. The publication is the third in the cluster series dedicated exclusively to the SMEs across the country. The publication seeks to profile the emerging SMEs in the Chennai cluster and attempts to provide a platform for the profiled SMEs to showcase their achievements.

Over the last few decades, Chennai has proved to be an attractive destination for setting up SMEs. Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008 focuses on SMEs whose manufacturing units are situated in Chennai and nearby areas. The publication covers four prominent sectors in terms of number of units and employment – Auto Components, Engineering, IT & ITeS-BPO and Leather products.

For the purpose of inclusion in the publication, over 4,000 companies were contacted and screened on the basis of turnover, investment and employee size. The end result is a repository of authenticated information on SMEs. A total of 300 companies have been covered and profiled in the publication. The publication also includes the cluster insights that have been gleaned from the direct responses of the SMEs pertaining to their structure, activities and the cluster related benefits and hindrances.

Private limited companies formed the dominant category in all the four sectors accounting for 51% for the auto components sector; 59% of the engineering sector; 74% from the IT & ITeS-BPO sector and 39% from the leather sector. In case of the auto components sector, 26% of the profiled SMEs were involved in manufacturing of engine parts. Light engineering segment was the most popular product category in the engineering industry with around 69% of the SMEs involved in manufacturing of light engineering products. In the case of the IT & ITeS-BPO sector, 36% of the profiled SMEs were engaged in IT services segment. In the leather products sector, 31% of the profiled SMEs were engaged in finished leather.

A majority of the companies profiled were pursuing or interested in deploying various growth strategies in the near future. Likewise, with respect to future growth plans, 45% of the SMEs in the auto components sector plan to expand their existing capacity while 34% of the engineering SMEs, 48% of IT & ITeS-BPO SMEs and 38% of leather SMEs are willing to enter into new markets. In terms of the benefits derived from being part of a cluster, leather products and engineering sectors benefited from quality upgradation initiatives. Availability of adequate raw materials proved beneficial for auto component industry.

With the SME segment poised to play an important role in the growing economy, D&B India is confident that Emerging SMEs: Chennai 2008 will provide the right platform for SMEs to tap global opportunities and tackle emerging business challenges.

Kaushal Sampat
Chief Operating Officer
Dun & Bradstreet India