DN Solutions bets on ‘hyper growth’ in India, aims to become No. 1 machine tool maker by 2035

Korean machine tool manufacturer DN Solutions is aiming to become the largest player in India by 2035, betting that the country’s manufacturing push and growing demand for high-end machinery will drive what CEO Wonjong Kim described as “hyper growth”.

The company inaugurated its first manufacturing facility in India on Wednesday (August 26), investing ₹600 crore in a 25-acre plant in Bengaluru’s ITIR Industrial Area.

The facility is DN Solutions’ first overseas manufacturing investment since it set up a plant in Yantai, China, in 2003.

“We have a strong confidence that we can make such a big growth to be number one in the Indian market by 2035, not 2030,” Kim told CNBC-TV18 in an interview.

Kim clarified that DN Solutions has pushed back its earlier target of becoming India’s largest machine tool manufacturer by 2030 to 2035. The company currently ranks second in India’s imported machine tool market, he said.

Another India plant could follow

The ₹600 crore Bengaluru investment may only be the beginning of DN Solutions’ manufacturing expansion in India.

Kim said the company is considering further investments of a similar scale in subsequent phases, depending on demand and the growth of its Indian business. A second manufacturing facility could also eventually be considered.

“For the time being, our number one priority is to build up this facility first,” Kim said.

The Bengaluru plant is currently using about half of the available space, leaving room to expand production at the existing site before another factory becomes necessary.

If the company eventually needs another facility, Karnataka would be among the first locations it considers, Kim said, citing the state’s established supplier ecosystem and availability of engineering talent.

“Karnataka has a quite strong supply chain already built in. Also, a lot of talented young engineers are available,” he said.

Bengaluru plant can make several thousand machines a year

The new facility will have the capacity to manufacture several thousand machine tools annually, Kim said. DN Solutions’ overall global production capacity currently stands at around 17,000-18,000 units a year.

The Bengaluru plant will initially manufacture SVM vertical machining centres and LYNX and LEO horizontal turning centres. The company plans to add five-axis machines in later phases.

Rather than operating simply as an assembly plant, the facility will house manufacturing, research and development, training and services.

Kim said the company has not carved out separate portions of the ₹600 crore investment for each of these functions, instead taking a “holistic” approach to building its India operations.

Indian engineers are also expected to contribute to DN Solutions’ global product development, particularly in areas such as artificial intelligence, software and digital technologies.

The Bengaluru R&D centre will work with the company’s existing research facilities in Korea, Germany and China and its technical centres in other markets.

Localisation already at 80%

DN Solutions has already localised about 80% of the components used in India by parts count and plans to source most components domestically over the next five years, with spindle assemblies remaining an exception.

The company plans to launch a formal supplier-development programme in 2027, aimed at building up Indian suppliers and MSMEs rather than shifting its existing supplier base from Korea or China.

DN Solutions currently employs about 240 people directly in India and plans to increase that number to 500. The company estimates that jobs generated indirectly through suppliers, logistics and services could be at least twice its current direct workforce.

India could eventually become an export base

For now, the Bengaluru factory will primarily serve India’s domestic market. But Kim said the country could eventually become an export base for DN Solutions.

The “first priority” is to grow the Indian business, he said. After that, the company could consider exporting India-made machines to other markets.

Kim stressed that the expansion is not part of an effort to shift production out of China.

“We have no plan to move anything from China to here,” he said, adding that DN Solutions continues to view China as an attractive market. Its Chinese manufacturing facility largely serves customers within China.

Why DN Solutions is betting on India

DN Solutions has been present in India for more than three decades, starting operations in 1992 and installing its first machine in the country in 1994.

Kim said that experience has helped the company understand the technical and commercial requirements of Indian manufacturers. He also sees those requirements changing as Indian companies increasingly look beyond the domestic market.

As manufacturers develop global ambitions, Kim expects demand to shift towards higher-performance machinery, software and automation rather than being driven primarily by price.

The government’s Make in India push is another factor behind DN Solutions’ investment, he said.

“We have confidence that this is the right timing to bring our top-tier technology-based machine tools, even software, AI, such an integrated solution to this Indian market,” Kim said.