On the sidelines of the silver jubilee celebrations of Danfoss in India, what are your plans for the coming year?
We are a family-owned company which has completed 90 years of operations globally and 25 years in India. So, we are not just looking at one-year phenomena. Right now, we are planning three things in India. Firstly, we are looking to make our digital distribution models available to almost 80 cities in India. Currently, we are present in around 47 cities and we plan to increase the physical presence of our network across the length and breadth of India through channel partners. Enhanced distribution networks and digital customer management are important focuses for now.

Secondly, we are focusing on building India-centric products. For example, Turbocor is the world’s first oil-free magnetic bearing compressor which can be recycled at the end of the life cycle. Data centres generally use water cool solutions, Turbocor is designed to provide air cool solutions, keeping the water scarcity issue in India under consideration. Such products are also in demand in other countries like the US, especially where they are looking for water efficiency. India-centric product is the second focus for us and with a strong R&D in India, we are making it possible.

Lastly, we are focusing on building a strong India-centric value chain. Currently, our sales in India are 60 per cent localised. We are looking to take it to 90 per cent. So, accelerating localisation is the next biggest focus for us in India. I think these three formulas can really propel growth for us. In the last three years, we have doubled our growth and we believe we can double every three-year.

How important is India for Danfoss’ global business?
About 70 per cent of our production in India is exported. I would like to add that we have more than a thousand engineers in R&D at our facilities in Chennai and Pune. Half of the world’s R&D for some products is based out of India. We spend 5 per cent of our annual turnover that is Euro 10 billion on R&D. If compared, India overall spends only 0.7 per cent of its GDP on R&D. So, 5 per cent amounts to a very big figure and India plays a very strategic role for us globally.

Can you tell us about your sustainability centre in Chennai?
We make products that help customers to decarbonise their businesses and Chennai is a place where we walk our talk. In our 50-acre campus, we have built an experience centre for decarbonisation for commercial buildings including hotels, airports, hospitals, data centres or metro projects.

What would you like to add to the acquisition of German compressor manufacturer BOCK?
BOCK is very important portfolio for us as India is seeing a big rise in mobile applications. BOCK has one of the world's largest portfolios of compressors for natural refrigerants such as CO2 (R744), hydrocarbons and other low-GWP refrigerants. With the growing transport air conditioning and other such applications in India, BOCK will play an important role as it has solutions for various applications like in buses, trains etc. In India, BOCK is based out at Bommasandra (Bangalore) and 40 per cent of its production is localised. This is a very big advantage for us.