Racold Thermo Limited, the Indian arm of Italy's Ariston Group, the world's largest company in water heating products and solutions, has India's largest and fully integrated water heater manufacturing plant at Chakan near Pune. The company has a pan-India presence with over 10,000 retail outlets and 175 service centers. It has redefined industry standards and set new benchmarks in water heating by enhancing the aesthetics, quality, durability, safety and performance of the product. The continuous focus on innovation and R&D has resulted in many a 'first' for Racold. Excerpts from an interview with Mathew Job, the company's managing director in India...

What is the size of the electrical water heater market in India and how strong is your presence?

The electrical water heater market in India is around Rs 850 crore. Most retail sales happen through electrical stores, hardware stores, appliance stores, sanitary stores and white goods' outlets. Racold is a market leader in electrical water heaters in India with a strong share across these channels. We are now strengthening our presence with new products that will be available at more than 1,000 premium sanitary outlets across the country.

What are these new products?

We have now launched Velis, the slimmest storage electrical water heater. With only 27 cm depth, Velis is not only the slimmest but also boasts of extremely beautiful metallised exteriors, never seen before in the industry. Along with that we have launched Eterno Swift and Altro2 Plus range, which are specifically customised for the sanitary channel. Velis has a dual tank and dual heating elements that help make the product suitable to different types of bathing requirements. It has many cutting-edge technology features like the smart 'Eco' feature that helps in heating water optimally with minimum use of energy. Eterno Swift has a premium design with metallic finish and heats the water 33 per cent faster than the conventional water heaters available in the market. Altro 2 Plus comes with a regulator, which can help the user to regulate the water temperature as per requirement.

Do you think there is an emerging market for high-end water heaters?

Bathrooms have undergone a remarkable change in the last few years. With changing lifestyle preferences, consumers want the water heater too to match the smart look of their bathrooms. Today, the bathroom space is considered not just a necessity but also a luxury. You will be surprised to know that some people spend between Rs 50 lakhs to Rs 3 crore on doing up their bathrooms. Therefore, we felt the need to upgrade our products to match this changing trend of preferences. Today, a bathroom need not just be a functional thing. It can have jet sprays, jacuzzi, fancy bathtubs, and so on. And when it comes to water heaters, buyers look at not just how fast the water will get heated but also the aesthetics of the product and whether it saves energy.

What kind of technologies has Racold been working on over the years to improve water heaters?

Ever since our inception, we have been a technology leader, setting standards for the water heating industry. We many innovations to our credit including a rust-proof polypropylene body, PUF installation for better energy efficiency, product with high pressure rating suitable for high-rise buildings and pressure pump applications, initiation of energy labeling, best corrosion resistance against hard water, intelligent timer and anti-bacteria functions.

How have you widened your market reach?

We have tapped every market source available and moved ahead with the times. For example, our current market portfolio includes the Internet, chain stores, builders' segment, large appliances stories, sanitary retailers and electrical goods' stores. That way we have covered every channel to sell our products.

What about your solar water heaters?

We of course continue to have a strong presence in our solar water heater segment and in fact 30 per cent of our revenue comes in from there. We have a 20 per cent market share in solar water heaters and 25 per cent in electrical water heaters. The latest update on solar water heaters is that the government has put on hold the subsidy. However, this will not impact the growing demand for solar water heaters because the payback time after installation is quite quick.

What is your production capacity and is there a plan to increase it?

We can make up to 5,00,000 water heaters per annum at our plant in Chakan and this may be tweaked to cater to any rise in demand due to the introduction of our new products.

Are your water heaters totally indigenised?

We have achieved indigenisation up to 80 per cent and only certain components that are not available or cannot be made in India are imported from our group factories or global suppliers.

Are there any typical factors that Indian water heaters have to take into consideration?

Yes, there are certain challenges that are peculiar only to India and they are all related to the quality of water that is supplied to our homes. In some places, apart from the regular supply provided by the municipal corporation, users have to depend on water drawn from bore wells or supplied by tankers. The quality of such water can lead to quick corrosion of the water heaters and therefore we at Racold use technologies that will prevent this from happening.