Hindustan Machine Tools was incorporated in 1953 by the
Government of India as a machine tool manufacturing company. Over the years, HMT diversified into
watches,
tractors,
printing machinery,
metal forming presses,
die casting and plastic processing machinery, and CNC systems and bearings. HMT is headquartered in
Bengaluru (Bangalore). Technology was absorbed in all product groups through collaborations with world-renowned manufacturers and further strengthened by continuous in-house
R&D. Today, HMT consists of six
subsidiaries under the ambit of a holding company, which also manages the tractor business directly. HMT Limited took over
Praga Tools Limited as one of its subsidiaries 1988. Praga Tools Limited was established in May 1943 as Praga Tools Corporation Limited to manufacture machine tools with its headquarters at
Secunderabad. It was renamed as Praga Tools Limited in 1963. It is mainly involved in the manufacturing of machine tools, including CNC machines.
Watch division HMT set up a watch manufacturing factory in Bangalore in collaboration with
Citizen Watch, a Japanese company, in 1961. The first batch of mechanical (hand wound) wrist watches manufactured here was released by the then
Prime Minister of India,
Jawaharlal Nehru. The most popular mechanical watch was HMT Janata. Other mechanical watch styles included HMT Pilot, HMT Jhalak (Semi Skeletal), HMT Sona, HMT Braille, HMT Sujata, HMT Rajat. In 1972, HMT expanded its watch manufacturing capacity with a set up alongside the Bangalore Factory to manufacture additional watches. In 1975, the watch factory at Bangalore was further expanded to manufacture main spring, hair spring and shock absorber components. HMT set up additional manufacturing facilities to produce watch components sets at Tumkur in 1978 and at Ranibagh in 1985. The factory at Tumkur was partially converted to manufacture quartz analog watches in collaboration with Citizen. To cater to the niche market, a specialised watch case manufacturing facility was set up at Bangalore in 1983.
Closure of HMT Watches Division In September 2016, the Government of India closed some divisions of HMT: HMT Watches Ltd, HMT Bearings, HMT Tractors, and HMT Chinar Watches Ltd. The main reasons were that the company was making losses for more than a decade. During 2012–13, the company had losses of ₹242
crore on revenues of only ₹11 crore. In contrast, competitor
Titan's watch business reported sales of ₹1,675 crore during the same year. The government also tried restructuring it in 1999 to improve its finances but the company continued to make losses. While in the 1980s several new companies entered the market with newer designs and more modern production techniques, HMT is said to have been hobbled by slow decision making and was unable to compete. Machine tools divisions of HMT in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi (Kalamassery) are still operational and catering industrial and defence sectors of India and abroad. The Government of India is mulling takeover of HMT by
Ordnance Factory Board. == Operating units ==