Riello PCI India Pvt Ltd is a leader in Business-Critical-Continuity with complete range of UPS systems ranging from 1 kVA to 6400 kVA. Since its inception, Riello PCI, a joint venture between PCI, the leader in India and in the Indian sub-continent and an international frontrunner in the field of technology based solutions in the field of Power and Energy, and Europe based Riello UPS, the fourth largest UPS manufacturer in the world, has been governed by its core values. The objective of Riello PCI India is to supply global solutions that guarantee power quality; through R&D investments and the manufacture of resilient and efficient products. Through continuous investment in R&D, the company delivers leading-edge power solutions. Mr Anil Munjal, Director & CEO - Riello PCI India Pvt Ltd, in conversation with Industrial Products Finder.

What is your view on the Indian power backup/continuity market in terms of its size, and growth rate?

The Indian UPS market is poised to reach US$ 828.2 million by 2017-18 (as per Frost & Sullivan report), which means that there is a huge potential waiting to be tapped. Also, the market is a growing and competitive one where both multinational and Indian suppliers are jostling for space.

What would be the key demand drivers for the power backup equipment industry?

The biggest driver is increasing sensitivity towards productivity. Its fallout is being sensed directly in higher industry benchmarks in terms of uptime and IT deployment. Sizeable demand from IT/ITES, telecom, manufacturing and government led computerisation initiative are driving the power back up market. Data center is another major driver of this market. The penetration of IT/ITES sector in tier 2 and tier 3 cities is also pushing the demand drive of UPS systems.

How has your collaboration with Riello helped in bringing world-class technology to the Indian market?

Riello is one of the largest manufacturers of UPS systems globally and has been adjudged as UPS Company of the Year at the recent Frost & Sullivan Best Practice Award 2012. This award is presented to a company that has excelled in growth strategy and implementation in achieving a high degree of innovation with product and technologies. The innovative line-up of Riello Aros energy efficient products are leaders in their respective industry segments. These products not only ensure clean and efficient power, but also allow for optimisation of power management and thus are environment friendly. We got into this collaboration in order to bring these highly energy efficient and top-of-the-class technology UPS systems in India. Today, the market is demanding higher efficiency, low power wastage, great reliability and user-friendly features; Riello Aros UPS systems not only match these standards but also over exceed these parameters resulting in utmost customer satisfaction. This collaboration has enabled us to help our customers in lowering their energy cost and total cost of ownership.We understand that Riello PCI is conscious of making eco-friendly and eco-sustainable products. Tell us more on this philosophy.

Riello PCI has a country-wide initiative to become the most environment friendly power protection company. Riello is a major contributor to the European Commission - Code of Conduct on Energy Efficiency and Quality of Uninterruptible Power Supplies and the first European manufacturer to rate its product for Eco Energy Level efficiency. Also in order to demonstrate our commitment to environment and promote a clear method for users to identify potential cost-savings from reduced carbon footprint, we have developed a unique Eco Energy levels rating system. There are six levels, with levels with level 6 being the highest that can be achieved by a UPS in full online mode as defined by VFI-SS-111. 'Smart Mode' is an intelligent economy mode at which even higher levels of efficiency can be achieved.

How has been the market response to Riello-PCI products?

Market response has been excellent to most of our UPS systems.

Riello Aros Multisentry Series: is the best solution for those looking for Eco sustainable options as it allows for a saving of more than 50% of the energy dissipated in a year, compared to similar product in the market. Thanks to its state-of-the-art technology, three levels NPC inverters have been designed which ensures a high output of 96.5%. The exceptional performance makes it possible to recover the initial investment cost in less than three years of operation.

Riello Aros Master HP Series: is in heavy demand from our clients. Master HP series is available in range of 100 kVA 600 kVA. It's available with features like double conversion on-line technology achieved with IGBT and DSP (Digital Signal Processor) control range ideal for the power protection of corporate wide, large network and industrial applications. The Master HP range is one of the most efficient, flexible and reliable UPS systems available today. The 'Smart Active' function allows the unit to monitor the condition of the mains power, and then selects the best operating mode to maintain resilience whilst increasing operational efficiency to 99%.

The reliability, availability, efficiency, advanced battery management technology and smaller carbon footprint are some of the features, which make Riello Aros UPS systems the best choice for the users.

What is your view on competition from Chinese players in the Indian UPS market?

Competition within the market has been increasing due to the low level of entry barriers for new participants, especially in the low-end power range (up to 120 kVA). These low levels of entry barriers have enabled a lot of Chinese and Taiwanese players to enter the market who are offering cheap UPS systems, which do not focus on reduction of energy consumption. Some of the major local manufacturers are now labeling these Chinese imports as their own brands and selling the same in the market resulting in further worsening of the market. But companies like us never compromise on the quality of the product quality. We are in fact focusing more on our R&D efforts to make our UPS systems eco sustainable. With such high standards of products and services companies like us have realized that there is no point doing business by comprising on quality and sustainability of UPS systems. Today, maximum clients demand superior quality and services so we definitely outperform the Chinese and Taiwanese brands.

What are the major investments (revenue/manpower/R&D) you have made and is there any strategic acquisition you have made in the last fiscal? What were your main business deals?

At Riello PCI, we focus on developing new technology solutions and leveraging expertise across our company to meet our customers' needs. Continuous innovation is the key word for us and we invest heavily in our Research & Development. As a leader in enabling business-critical-continuity, we recognize that the key to customer satisfaction is to anticipate customer needs and develop new technologies and innovative solutions that provide the customers with distinct competitive advantage. In our two major production sites in Legnago (Verona) and Cormano (Milan) with the best of the technologies currently available, there are two research & development centers that deal with UPS systems. Here most advanced technologies are used to design UPS systems. These UPS systems offer higher performance and efficiency with low running cost and increasingly functional design.

What are the key factors that you would like to attribute to your performance?

Riello PCI India has pioneered the development eco sustainable power management systems. We have helped our clients rationalise their power expenditure. Our power management solutions offer; lowest total cost of ownership, scalable power management and flexibility.

Please tell us about your plans to expand the geographical presence of Riello-PCI. When are your products likely to have a pan-India reach?

We already have strong presence with offices and service facilities Pan India and plan to add 5 to 6 more branches this financial year. We have office in 32 locations covering all major cities. Now we plan to expand our channel business for single phase UPS systems at a Pan India level. We will be coming up more number of channel partners in different parts of the country, which will enable us to strengthen the presence of our brand further.

What are the corporate goals that you would like Riello PCI India to attain in the next, say, five years?

Some of the corporate goals are:
To increase our market share
To manufacture some of our product lines in India
To continue our endeavor of creating more environment friendly UPS systems.