Bajaj Electricals Limited : The legendary growth
Mr. Lalit Mehta – Executive Director
(Luminaires & EPC Business),
Bajaj Electricals Limited
Q. Bajaj Electricals has gained credible market share in an electrical industry, brief us about overall outlook for Bajaj Group? (Domestic & global presence)
Bajaj Electricals has been growing steadily at over 25% y-o-y and has attained leadership position in the field of Highmasts, Illumination and Power Projects, Appliances and Fans. Bajaj Electricals achieved a sale of nearly Rs.3500 crores in the year 2012-13 and has plans to maintain a steady growth rate. The growth in 2012-13 was, however lower at 10%.
Q. Is the recession has created any impact on electrical industry domestically & globally?
Besides recession, the electrical industry has been impacted by slower rate of reforms and policy constraints, because of which many projects are kept on the slow burner.
Q. How do Bajaj Electricals equipped itself to counter the slack in the industry?
Bajaj Electricals has a good spread of products in the industrial & consumer facing businesses and with its sound management polices and tight control on quality, procurement, value engineering, etc., Bajaj Electricals has been able to grow steadily in an otherwise overall lack lustre environment. To give our exports a boost, we have formed a separate Exports Division to handle all Bajaj products and services,
Q. How about Bajaj Electrical’s initiatives in electrical space? Which are your focus areas?
Bajaj Electricals is in its own small way present in the entire value chain of power generation, transmission, distribution, industrial arena and domestic household with a range of products and services like windmills, power plant illumination, transmission lines, sub-stations, APDRP projects, rural electrification, Highmast, area lighting, highway & street Lighting, sports lighting, airport lighting and we touch the lives of the consumers in everyday life through our wide range of luminaries, lighting, fans and domestic appliances.
Q. How do you encounter the needs of electrical products in domestic and industrial market?
We have split our businesses into 2 verticals namely B2B and B2C. The industrial products are handled by B2B vertical with our wide range of industrial luminaries and EPC activities for the entire chain of power generation, transmission and distribution, while B2C vertical handles the consumer facing businesses with leadership position in small appliances ,fans and domestic lighting products.
Q. What are the market opportunities for Bajaj Electricals in India? How do you plan to position these products?
Bajaj Electricals Limited has a vast distribution network across the country through our dealers & distributors and our products are available in every nook-and-corner of the country and now with the focus on rural penetration, we service the growing rural market also. We have high end products as well as value for money products to cater to all strata of society.
Q. Which are the some of your pioneering products you introduced in the market to face the competition? Are there any plans to launch new products?
Bajaj Electricals Limited has been a pioneer in introducing and expanding the market for Highmast and galvanized poles in the country. We put up a world class Highmast manufacturing plant at Ranjangaon which was a major import substitute initiative and this changed the face and style of outdoor lighting in India. There is a constant endeavor by all Business Units to keep launching new products as per the market demands and consumer needs.
Bajaj Electricals Limited –
Sion Office Overview
Q. What are the factors that have enabled you to consistently satisfy your entire supply chain?
We have a dedicated group of vendors to cater exclusively to our requirement and this policy helps us to maintain the quality standards and our R&D centre is focused on continuously upgrading our products.
Q. As a manufacturing company, how do you rate India vis-à-vis competition from low cost manufacturers like China and other countries, especially for the electrical products? How do you balance cost competitiveness and quality?
We have our own quality control systems and our imports from China are also guided by high quality standards and continuous quality checks and review mechanism being the leaders in most of the products that we market and with the Bajaj Mantra of “Value for Money”, we are able to deliver high quality at competitive prices.
Q. According to you what are the measures taken by Indian manufacturers in order to compete with global players?
Indian manufacturers have a backing of top class Technocrats / Managers with a strong business acumen. With the opening up of economy, the need to compete with world class quality players has guided the Indian manufacturers to bring out world class products and Indian products are already being accepted overseas for their quality and value for money.
Q. How do you compare the Indian electrical and the electronics industry against the global industry?
Lot of investments are being done overseas for R&D, which is not so in India and therefore the global players are much ahead when it comes to new technologies like LED, solar power or latest gadgets like laptop, I Pad and mobile phones. It will take some time for the Indian manufacturers to catch up with the world class innovation, but India will catch up sooner than later.
Q. Please elucidate the export performance of Indian electrical products? What is the demand scenario of Indian products in global market?
The export of electrical products is growing steadily as the testimony to India’s reliable quality and competitive pricing. The export scenario is steadily improving and I am sure the Indian electrical products will occupy its rightful place in the world market.
Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving electrical and the industry?
The investment, latest machineries, superior technical manpower and lower manufacturing cost are some of the drivers of the Electrical Industry.
Q. According you what are the factors affecting to electrical and the electronics business?
The large unorganized sector is enjoying a substantial market share in the Electrical and Electronic Industry who are not quality conscious, and it does effect the sentiments of the end user when attractive prices over -shadow genuine products & quality.
Q. How do your foresee the future of the Indian electrical industry?
With the huge infrastructure development and investment in the country and the huge gap between supply & demand in power, transport, road and rail, infrastructure is driving the domestic demand and with exports also picking up, there is no dirth of demand for good quality product within the country and overseas.
Q. What is your vision for your company?
We will continue our steady growth, expand and diversify and be an industry leader in the business that we are in and continue to serve the industry and consumer needs. We are strongly focused on “Save the environment” issues by supporting “Paryavaran Mitra” activities through our products and involvement of all our employees and associates.
