The Shavo Group has a diversified portfolio with a presence in various sectors. From being India's largest producer of compressed air processing equipment to being pioneers in the field of aerosol lubrication and bringing to India some of the most globally recognised products and solutions in energy absorption, gas management, static elimination, valves and fittings and air moving products, the company has indeed come a long way. Further, since its inception almost 54 years ago, the Shavo Group has always been associated with some of the choicest engineering manufacturers in the world. In this exclusive interview, the company's managing director, Rushil Shah, elaborates about the company's product portfolio and plans for the future.

What led to the setting up of the Shavo Group?

Our germination dates back to 1960 when our founder and current chairman, Mr H K Shah, decided to depart from the family textile trading business of three generations. As India started to industrialise, he identified a growing need for fluid power solutions covering pneumatics and hydraulics. In 1960, he signed a marketing and manufacturing joint venture with Norgren of USA for the manufacture of air filters, regulators and lubricators. Shavo Norgren, which subsequently started its manufacturing facility in Mumbai in 1968, went on to become India's largest producer of pneumatic FRLs.

Which are the different products that the company manufactures?

Our early years were dedicated to manufacturing compressed air filters, regulators and lubricators but the past 20 years have seen us focus heavily on high-technology products in the areas of industrial lubrication and spraying, fluid control technology, energy absorption and static neutralisation.

Which are the industrial sectors that these products find an application?

Interestingly, our product and solution portfolio is diversified, leading us into a wide variety of industrial sectors such as steel, defence, aerospace, automotive, plastics, laboratories, R&D, infrastructure and many more. Our engineering equipment group deals with the more mechanical-based sectors and our fluid control group is focused on the process markets. While a diverse portfolio brings its own challenges as against complementing products, we believe this has served our group well over the years.

The company also represents foreign manufacturers. How does this add to the image and value of Shavo Group?

Post 1996 our primary focus has been to represent foreign manufacturers, especially in high-technology niche products, cementing our position as a solution provider with deep technical know-how and a world-leading product portfolio. While we work in niche markets we have established ourselves as offering a very high level of technical support warranted from the products we offer, combined with our decades of application knowledge, thereby offering our customers excellent value.

Could you elaborate about some of these associations?

One of such association is with Tescom, now an Emerson-owned company and a recognised leader in the manufacture of high-pressure regulators from vacuum to 30,000 psig. Tescom products are designed to work with all types of fluid media, both corrosive and non-corrosive. It manufactures over 70 standard models with several thousand modifications to meet almost any application. Then there is Meech, which has specialised in industrial electrostatics for over 40 years, developing a wide range of products such as ionising bars, web cleaners, hand-held measuring instruments, etc., for effective static neutralisation and dust removal.

Further, Ham-Let specialises in the design, development, production and marketing of high-quality instrumentation valves and fittings in a wide variety of materials for high pressure, temperature and vacuum applications. Ham-Let products are employed around the world in a wide range of industries, including petrochemical, semi-conductor, energy, food, biotechnology, pharmaceutical, defense, pulp and paper, and mining. Then there are other companies like Enidine, which is widely recognised as a world leader in energy absorption and vibration isolation products, providing solutions to a wide range of industrial markets; HoribaStec, which offers a full line-up of gas, liquid and vapour delivery products; Applied Energy System Inc., USA, which is a leader in the field of ultra high-purity gas delivery systems; Classic, which specialises in gas and liquid filter systems; and GAST, which is world leader in the field of small pumps and compressors for the medical, analytical and environment markets, along with being a global leader in industrial air motors for pumps drives and mixing applications.

What about Centraline Lubro-Tech Engineers?

Four decades of pioneering work using aerosol lubrication technology in India led to expansion of this business line and a separate entity, Centraline Lubro-Tech Engineers (P) Ltd, was formed in 1984 to focus and specialise in the filed of industrial lubrication. Progressively, further arrangements were made to obtain advanced lubrication equipment and application know-how from Lubriquip Inc., USA now a GRACO company, who are a world leader in the field of industrial lubrication for more than 100 years, with brands like TRABON and MANZEL. Centraline designs, supplies and installs complete lubrication systems. It specialises in the supply of conveyor lubrication systems, rolling mill lubrication systems, sugar machinery lubrication and machine tools-related lubrication systems to suit the needs of various clients. Our clients include premier Indian companies and MNCs such as Tata Motors, TISCO, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Lever, Ashok Leyland, etc. Export orders have been executed to China, Dubai, Bangladesh and Uganda, among other countries.

What has been the growth percentage of the group over the past decade?

Post liberalisation we have seen steady growth as imports opened up and duties reduced. In the past decade our annual growth has consistently exceeded 15 per cent annually.

How has the changing industrial scenario of the country helped the company?

With the growth of foreign direct investment many international technology solutions and practices penetrated India, moving many sectors from lower technology to higher technology solutions. This change is something we had anticipated early on and built our capabilities around, thus allowing us to provide these solutions to a variety of customers, be it specialised aerosol lubrication, gas delivery systems for toxic gases, static neutralisation and generation, etc. Also, the industry's move to automation with a focus on quality and safety in general has been a driving factor.

What are the company's expansion plans, both geographically and in terms of capacity addition?

We are already a pan-India operation with a head office in Pune and a factory site in Bangalore and additionally we have a regional presence in all major metros. From an expansion standpoint we have strategically added fluid control solutions to cater to the high-purity nanotechnology and semi-conductor business, which is on the anvil of robust growth. We have also expanded our lubrication offering to cater to the naval and defense requirements such as radar systems, wind turbine areas and considerably expanded our system capabilities for testing along with customised systems like oxygen dosing. This has enabled us to add value to our principal products by offering complete solutions. Another area of keen interest is the development of our technologies in vibration isolation which we have now successfully deployed both for seismic and electronic applications.

Is there a plan to represent more companies in India?

Our philosophy has never been to have an extended product line card for the sake of it. In terms of companies we represent, we have instead chosen to have very long and deep relationships, to move beyond just traditional distribution, and have our partners consider us as their Indian arms. Most of the companies we work with have been with us for decades, allowing us to exvploit their complete breadth of solutions. Thus, along with a variety of sales accolades, we have often been nominated as the most technically comprehensive partner globally.

What about exports?

With respect to exports we plan to tap opportunities in the growing markets of both Bangladesh and Sri Lanka over the next financial year, first with our lubrication solutions aimed at the steel sector and then other sectors, followed by some of our other products. 

Are there any new or emerging sectors that the company is planning to tap into? 

We are excited about some recent developments indicating that India will finally get a couple of semi-conductor FABs. This level of FDI will be unprecedented and require a complete eco-system to support it, much like the automotive sector. Needless to say, semiconductor FABs will open up a number of fluid control opportunities across this sector. Further, the defence sector also offers many new opportunities with both ongoing upgradation in the Navy and Air Force and many other programs, which require our vibration and fluid control technologies. Recent developments in the plastic sector related to in-mould labelling also offer new opportunities to apply static generation equipment as against the traditional conduction foam technologies.

What kind of R&D does the company engage in?

Since our portfolio has the world's leading companies we have constant access to leading edge technology in almost all our areas of activity. The Shavo Group in itself contributes with its in-depth skills and experience and constant updating in terms of application knowledge. We have found use of our principals' products in many application sectors as a first, which have then been repeated globally. We contribute regularly on committees with our principles in development of new products in light of our years of experience, especially as companies develop products which are India-centric. As for example, with our locally manufactured lubrication solutions we were the first to introduce aerosol lubrication to India and we continue to develop new systems as machinery speed and technology change.

(Shavo Group, Shavo House, S No. 21A/10B, Plot 394, South Main Road, Koregaon Park, Pune 411 001. Tel.: 020-26059641. Email: rushil@shavogroup.com)