On the occasion of Messung System's 15 years of fruitful partnership with Mitsubishi Electric for distribution of the latter's automation products in India, Huned Contractor spoke to the company's CEO Farook Merchant about new products, future plans, and the growing market.

Based at Bhosari MIDC in Pune, Messung is the precursor of indigenous PLC technology in the automation industry in India and a distributor for Mitsubishi Electric's range of world-class factory automation (FA) products. Messung has been instrumental in providing a blend of both, factory automation products such as PLCs, VFDs, HMIs, and servos from Mitsubishi Electric and international standard PLCs manufactured by them for their customers. A brainchild of Farook Merchant, the company was set up in 1981 and has steadily grown over the years to establish a presence in diverse industry verticals such as automotive, pharmaceuticals, textiles, plastic, and printing and packaging with plans to enter other verticals in the near future. Excerpts from an interview with Mr Merchant after a plant visit:

How has been the journey of Messung over the past three decades?

The automation industry in India saw a revolution in the year 1981 when I gave it the first indigenous PLC (programme logic controller). This was after I set up Messung with an investment of a mere Rs 1,000. This pioneering effort apart, there were innumerable challenges along the way but what kept me going was my belief that automation was poised to make a big entry into India. This persistence bore fruit when the relay contactor logic was replaced by my PLC called Meprolog-H in 1984. This was our first milestone. From a garage we moved to a leased shed in the Parvati Industrial Estate before finally shifting the company's base to Bhosari in 1988.

Later, our XMP8 - a new range of products focused at the small and medium sector - launched in 1992 was very well-received by our customers. In 1995, we crossed another milestone when we were appointed distributor for Mitsubishi Electric, Japan for their factory automation (FA) products in India. Ever since then, the partnership has built up a strong and reliable presence. This further led to setting up an authorised CNC sales and service centre for Mitsubishi Electric in 1998. We now have a count of 400 employees and are ready to expand our R&D activities to introduce new products in hitherto untapped verticals.

Which are the products manufactured by you?

We have an advanced indigenous range of PLCs that has been developed to perform in the toughest industrial environments. These are equipped with Windows-based global standard IEC 61131-3 compatible programming software called CoDeSys and are available in three variants, viz., Brick PLC, Micro Modular PLC, and Modular PLC. Then, we have the HMIs (Human Machine Interface) series in which the Smart Touch brand offers interfaces in five different sizes from 3 to 10.4 inches with three levels of functionality and animated graphics. The Smart Line series text HMIs have user configurable keys and LEDs.

Our RiX series remote I/O units are based on highly reliable CANopen/DeviceNet Fieldbus technology. The series also offers an option of popular Modbus remote I/O platform. RiX remote I/O units are designed for mounting near field elements (for example in junction boxes and push button panels) for individual I/O connection. We have also set new trends in push button stations with compact and sleek designs. Our NexGen 5000 PLC is a truly modular PLC with up to 2,048 I/O points (local and remote) while the NexGen 2000 is suitable from 14 to 256 I/O points.

And what are the products distributed by you for Mitsubishi Electric?

This comprehensive range includes modular and brick type programmable logic controllers, variable frequency drives, servo, and motion control products, a wide variety of human machine interfaces, as well as enterprise-wide integrated systems and architecture.

How did the Mitsubishi alliance come about?

This strategic alliance began in 1995 with a focus to tap the maximum market share in the automation industry, starting with the automotive sector. Since then Messung and Mitsubishi Electric have worked together to strategise in order to address the Indian automation industry by offering the best techno-commercial solutions via products, skills, and proficiency. Further, the relationship offers world-class technology products and services in terms of specifications and reliability. You could say that we are the 'feet' of Mitsubishi in India because we know the market very well and understand the requirements of the customers.

How important is support and service in this sector?

We have deployed experts in providing unique and customised solutions to large, medium and small industries across a range of applications. In fact, Messung specialises in offering their customers a critical advantage over productivity and profitability. In order to enhance it, we have established a pan-India support and service network that guarantees 24x7 hour support to its customers. This is done through strategically located 11 sales offices, four service centres, and more than 40 system houses. It's an acknowledged fact in the industry that no one can offer the kind of after-sales support and service that we do.

Can you elaborate about your production processes?

We use on our shop floor state-of-the-art devices like field programmable gate arrays (FPGA) and erasable programmable logic devices (EPLD) to help achieve a high level of integration and performance. The concept of design review and EMC performance analysed using sophisticated software tools ensures reliability at every stage of development even before the first prototype. We carry out the testing of our products as per the international standard IEC 1000-4-4 for electromagnetic compatibility using fast transient noise simulator to ensure reliable operation of products. The anti-static manufacturing set-up is fully air-conditioned and dust-free to maintain high quality productivity. The automatic pick and place machine as well as infrared reflow oven and wave soldering machine assemble and solder components consistently with high reliability. We also have advanced test jigs to carry out exhaustive functional testing of modules.

What are the current global trends in automation?

The world is now moving towards developing energy efficient 'green' automation products and there is an increasing emphasis on safety systems and wireless connectivity. There is a lot of focus on improving data connectivity via Ethernet from top floor to shop floor so as to make the monitoring process easier.

What has been the development of the India market, and how has this impacted your operations?

India is moving towards automation in all the sectors at a very brisk rate. To give you an example, even our water supply systems controlled by municipal corporations are now increasingly depending on automation for the flow and filtration of water and in the not too distant future may even link the supply to the billing system so as to make it absolutely automated. In fact, such has been the impressive growth of India in this field that Mitsubishi Electric is now developing special products and technology especially for the India market and is ready to make huge investments to introduce their complete range of products in our country. While we started off as only distributors for their products, we are now considered a strategic contributor to their future plans.

What is Mitsubishi's current market share in automation products?

They command a huge share of the pie to the tune of 8 per cent in automation products and the CAGR is at a healthy 15-18 per cent.

What are your growth plans for the coming year?

We are setting up a new unit to take care of systems and solutions for process requirements. This is a vertical that we have not yet explored and our main focus would be on water supply, sugar processing, and so on. Our turnover for 2010 was Rs 123 crore, out of which the contribution of Mitsubishi's products was Rs 92 crore. Our turnover target for 2011 is Rs 170 crore and we want to become a Rs 300 crore group by 2012, out of which Rs 50 crore will be through the sale of our own products. We have now acquired new land to build a factory over 1,800 sq.m with an investment of Rs 7 crore. This will be equipped with the latest quality control equipment.

What about exports?

Till now we had not paid much attention to exports but are now looking at selling our products in other countries. We have already established a presence in Bangladesh through Mitsubishi's drives.

Isn't there ever a clash between your own products and those of Mitsubishi?

There could be an overlapping of application areas but our products use a totally different technology as compared to those of Mitsubishi.

In terms of cost, our products are favoured by entry-level OEMs while those in the higher bracket of operations depend on Mitsubishi's products. But what we offer is customisation of our products. For instance, we have recently developed PLCs for specific use in a textile factory. This is our domain of expertise and we intend to capitalise on it in the coming years.