During Intec 2017, PS Ganesan, General Manager, Kabelschlepp India Pvt Ltd, speaks on the history of company, and the various products offered by them.

Let us know more about Kabelschlepp.

The word ‘Kabelschlepp’ means cable systems. Kabelschlepp is a Germany-based company. I started working with them in 2009, and the company has been doing business in India since 2006.

What about the manpower at Kabelschlepp in India?

We are close to 60 now in India out of which 8 to 10 members operate in sales, eight people outside and two people inside. The other 50 are in manufacturing, administration and coordination work.

What are your major products and its applications?

We have two individual divisions in Bengaluru. One unit is mainly for mission tools, wherein we manufacture accessories, and another vertical focuses on metal handling. In each division, we have a division dedicated for mission protection systems and cable management.

What are the various methods of promotion in India?

Most of our customers we know are from our operations over the last 10 years. We have had a sudden market penetration and we follow them. It is more of a relationship building; we do not go aggressively into marketing. It happens over a period in time, we build relations, understand the customer’s problems and then provide solutions.

How do you manage to overcome the competition?

In our terms of brand visibility and competition, we are a little blessed as we have an equal competitor from Germany. We do not compete with local products from China, Taiwan or low-cost countries, but compete with an equal German supplier. The competition is fair and we have our own market share which we operate. It is challenging but we have grown over the years and there are still a lot of things to be done.

Is the government doing enough for the industry you are in?

The last three years have been good for the industry. Things are going in the right direction. Decision taking ability has improved as compared to the previous government. They are proactively helping the industries itself especially with campaigns like Make in India, Skill India, Stand Up India and others.

How do you develop your products?

We do not have any R&D in India, we contribute to design and then it goes to the other plant. When we talk about machine protection system of the tool groups, one is cable management and protection which we operate in. We corelate and co-develop with teams in Germany and Czechoslovakia. We formulate designs and send it for their approval. If anything has to be launched, it has to done from Germany and then maybe one or two years later it will be launched in India. We spend very less on R&D in India but our global R&D is working heavily in Japan and Germany.

What are the products on display at Intec 2017?

The major product is cable carrier system and a telescopic one, which is a machine protective system. The USP is that these are traditional OID systems, which encounter a lot of problems, issues and breakages. This product is an easy solution, you fill the cables and forget about it. Once the cable are filled inside then this product runs. We want to educate people on how to use it.

What about the company’s performance in terms of sales? How much do you expect going forward?

The last couple of years have not shown a substantial growth, however we have grown approximately 10-12 per cent on an average every year. We majorly operate in various segments including coal, metal handlings, robotics and automation. We foresee a similar 10 per cent growth for the next year. We are budgeting and planning to achieve at least 20 per cent but because of demonetisation and GST coming up, I think the capital equipment segment might go down a little. People are waiting and postponing their purchases. I think it will take sometime for it to pick up speed until things get clear. People still do not know the procedure, so I think this year will be a flat year for us.

Inputs by SRIPATHY B