We have a good range of products that are energy efficient as well as Industry 4.0 compatible

– DHANRAJ KALBHOR

Managing Director – NORD Drivesystems (India)

What is your focus at bauma this year?

bauma has been really great for us. We had participated earlier as well and it was a good experience on business front. Also last year, we did good business in infrastructure and construction sector, so this was the right time to opt for the participation. To comment on our focus for this year – shortly a week later, we are launching new Industrial Gearboxes (IGU) production from Pune under make in India initiative. Earlier we are getting it from our German headquarters hence was with long delivery lead times. But now with increased response from Indian customers, NORD Management decided to include IGU production into NORD India product portfolio just next to Germany, USA & China. Local production of IGU will help us to improve on delivery lead times as well as grant flexibility to accommodate local customer special requirements. Naturally this year we are showcasing IGU gearboxes at bauma and looking forward to actually launch it from Pune in presence of some key customers witnessing the actual production. The machinery has already arrived, manpower has been recruited and in two weeks’ time, we are launching this product. Another area of focus is Energy efficient drives, compatible with industry 4.0; Duo drives has being showcased in the exhibition under this category.

What are the technological differences and advantages in this product?

NORD products are more energy efficient as well as user friendly; something like plug & start. In general world is evolving… earlier it was IE1 motors which were used by default which now minimum is IE2 in India but globally many countries has moved on to IE3. In line, NORD has variety of products ranging from IE2 to IE5. So, our focus is more on promoting energy efficient drives. Speaking about IGU, it is more for bigger application such as many construction industries, pharmaceutical or even material handling industry wherein torque or power requirements are on higher side. In IGU, we even have XD variants with longer centre distance specially designed for Crane industry. Also, it’s available with better thermal capabilities under XT design as well. Earlier we were more into geared motor & allied products but now with launch of IGU we even offer solution for high torque requirements as well. As construction industry is natural partner of bauma, for us it was great to showcase these products in the exhibition. And what a great timing – exhibition is happening when we are planning to launch IGU production from Pune in just two weeks time from now. We all are excited & looking forward to meet many customers followed by fruitful business interactions.

India is a price centric market. So how do you maintain that equilibrium between price and the quality?

It’s surely a challenge but we have to balance it. Surely, we may not be the cheapest product in the market but technologically, sustainability & on energy efficient side, we have a good edge over the competition. In general we have seen the customer is getting more knowledgeable & is ready to pay partially for a technology product but it has to be within a certain range. Our attempt is to position this product in such a way that it makes sense for the customer to shift from existing product brand to our product. It is more about energy efficiency, long term sustainability and there is now a good amount of awareness within end users. These days people would like to explore possibilities of long term energy saving or payback on investments. For example, if we say hypothetically gear box life is 7-10 years down the line; you always need a better reliable & energy efficient product because every year we have a recurring power as well as maintenance cost coming from it. If precisely calculated, we may come across payback on investments in 3 to 4 years (off course, depending on exact application T&C) from these better technology products. So, it makes sense to invest in better products if you are expecting a longer equipment life span. In we consider these parameters then we would surely fall be in competitive product range. Accordingly, we are attempting to pitch our products in between and would be well within the customer expectations.

Are there any challenges that you face in the industry?

Price will always be a challenge, it’s a quite sensitive market. In addition, as we are a MNC company with operations spread across globe, supply chain Management & swift logistics support continues to pose some challenges. We still continue to get majority of our components from different NORD subsidiaries spread across hence even currency fluctuation poses some challenges. But for us as business in India is consistently growing in terms of volumes, there is a good understanding within the group Management to support local team on these challenges. Inline, with good initiatives from the Govt. under make in India & to balance above risk to some extent, we have initiated localization some of our components wherever possible. Local content in our product is increasing. Also we are looking forward for some exports from Indian subsidiary back to German headquarters though initially it’s with low profile. It is still a long way to go but it is continuously increasing. In addition we shortly establishing a Engineering Solution centre at Pune which will support Indian customers for their end application as well as NORD Global requirements.

What is your market share in India?

If we roughly estimate, our business share in India would be something between 13 to 15 percent for the geared motor range of products. Also to be specific, there is No ranking system as such but again to roughly estimate, we may be positioned somewhere at third position limiting to our range of products. Last year was good & we had a surpassed Sales turnover of Rs. 255 crores INR and this year we are looking forward to cross Rs. 300 crores INR. For this year, India is being looked upon as one of the fast growing economy & we all have high expectations from the market and look forward to support this growth story.

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