R&M India is a known name when it comes to cabling solutions for communication networks. In this interview, Gaurav Ahluwalia, the company's managing director, elaborates about the parent company's interesting evolution and India operations.

With its copper and fibre optic systems, R&M has contributed significantly towards ensuring operational reliability in voice, data and image transmission - worldwide. As a systems' provider R&M has set itself the target of developing optimum functionality and, above all, satisfying the highest quality criteria. It also provides maximum installation and maintenance convenience. R&M solutions stand out by virtue of their maximum availability combined with cost-effective network operation. Its high level of product quality and forward-looking system design ensure that the networks are sustainable and the investments safeguarded. These cabling solutions are used in office buildings and homes by network operators and in industry. Excerpts from the interview...

Could you provide a background about the company?

R&M was founded by Hans Reichle and Renato De-Massari in 1964, as a two-man business. The two employees of Switzerland's telecommunications company came up with the idea of a new, easier-to-install telephone outlet, which to this day is known as Reichle-Connector in Switzerland. The garages and homes of the Reichle family in Wetzikon and of the De-Massari family in Pfaffhausen served as offices, workshops and warehouses. The wives worked actively alongside their husbands. There was soon a dual cause for celebration: Swiss PTT, the national postal, telephone and telegraph authority, issued a license to R&M and the first order arrived. In 1968, the registered office of the business was moved to Uster. The attic was renovated and offices were set up in it.

The first two employees joined the original duo of founders to form a quartet. A year-end surprise occurred when the Directorate General of PTT sent an invitation to participate in a project competition for developing connector boxes with 40-pin connectors. The first T+T outlets were soon delivered. Originally R&M was set up to develop a telephone outlet and market it throughout Switzerland. The company then broadened its range of products and services to cabling technology for data and voice networks as a whole, based on copper and optical fibre cabling. R&M then started expanding geographically across continents.

When did the company expand into the international markets?

In 1993, R& took its first steps into the Eastern Europe market with the founding of Reichle & De-Massari Polska Sp.z.o.o., in Warsaw. RJ45 became increasingly well-established as a new connector standard for generic cabling systems. R&M developed its first connection and distribution modules in keeping with this trend. Easy Lock, a tool-free connection technique, gained international attention as a result. A strain relief sleeve and the coding system known as Data Safe Lock ensured increased security and reliability. The development of a main distributor frame for optical fibres set new standards in terms of compactness and handling. The newly developed VS Standard distribution system supplemented the range with an export-oriented product. Five years later, expansion abroad proceeded at a rapid pace. Further subsidiaries were established in Dubai, Austria and Hungary. The number of employees worldwide hit 438, with 333 of them working in Switzerland.

What about India?

In 2006 the export markets developed quite positively. By this year, R&M was making 75 per cent of its sales abroad. The market organisation in India thus got off to a lightning-fast start. With offices in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai, R&M now began serving the booming IT market in India. It put a flexible wiring duct, DRM45, Plug&Lock, SLIM and HTU (home termination unit) on the market.

And Asia?

The Asia hub in Singapore was opened in 2008 as a pilot project. Work also began on the roll-out of a new forward-looking ERP system intended for use worldwide. Several new products were unveiled once again such as the VDSL splitter, RMS45, and Global 2U patch panel. A year later, R&M opened up its second regional supply chain hub. This hub enables the company to serve the important future markets in the Middle East more intensively. R&M set new standards for offices and data centres with its newly developed Cat. 6A module. The angled panel, a solution for data centres, improved the handling on the rack while the new LC Duplex generation was the first to contain laser protection and a lock for locking up the connector. With these safety features, LC was now able to be used more easily in office buildings, residential buildings and highly compact computing centres. An outlet for Fiber.to the Home (FTTH) was also launched.

What does the company's product portfolio consist of?

One of R&M's core products is its Cat.6 module for Ethernet networks, which is widely used in networks all over the world. R&M designs solutions for private networks, data centres and public network carriers. Private networks are used by companies of all sizes and include everything from office cabling to industrial networks. Due to the difficult conditions in which industrial cabling often operates, the components employed need to meet the highest standards of reliability and stability. The company offers its customers the installation of complete solutions through certified partners.

What are the infrastructure facilities and technology used in production?

The manufacturing of R&M's products uses the latest technology. Majority of our plants are almost completely automated and we are very unique in the sense that we individually test all our products to make sure that they are up to the quality mark. Innovation is the core of the R&M business; almost 10 per cent of our employee base is into R&D. We look to constantly keep innovating to make sure that our customers have the best possible future-proof network available.

What is your market reach in India?

The market in India is extremely diverse and hence gives us a huge amount of opportunity to grow. We have been able to grow in India rapidly over the years, and continue to do so. We have large shares over various verticals but the core can be said to be IT/ITES, manufacturing and automotive.

Can you provide an example of how the company's cabling solution helps communication networks?

We have large amount of examples of case studies in which we have been able help customers in regards to their communication networks. We have helped implement solutions for airports, hotels, schools, factories, and manufacturing plants all across the country. One of such case studies is that of a structured connection for a new city in Abu Dhabi. It is called the Al Wahda City 1, a purpose-built, multi-use residential and business development facility, owned by the Al Wahda Sports Club. Its main contractor, CIVILCO, gave the MEP contract to Thermo LLC and it comprised three tower blocks with common basement levels. The multi-use property contains a double hotel block, a 31-floor residential tower and a 32-floor office tower.

We were brought into the picture to set up a network that had to support the data centre and security systems as well as business systems such as Internet access and multimedia. The backbone consisted of Cisco core layer and multilayer switches, with fibre connectivity. R&M delivered multi-service accessibility based on this backbone to 7,782 network access points throughout the various towers. The network roll-out began in November 2008 and lasted 14 months with no implementation problems. It then moved into the support phase. A 20-year warranty has been offered for all R&M products installed.

What about your expansion plans?

We were able to ambitiously expand in 2014 with the acquisition of the business activities and operating assets of AFS in India. AFS has been an R&M-certified assembly partner for the E-2000TM connector for several years. This will not only increase our employee base but also strengthen our position in the market and also allows us to become even more competitive in the Indian market. Thus, 2015 will be a big year for us.

What's your expectation from the new government?

Everyone is being cautious about this and mostly with regards to how investments will be taken forward by organisations. But we feel positive about it and think that the industry will grow and so will we in India.

Contact Details: R&M India P Ltd, 90/4, JP Royale, 3rd Floor, Outer Ring Road, Marathahalli, Bangalore 560 037. Tel: 080-40792603. E-mail: ind@rdm.com. Website: www.rdm.com