We ensure low ownership cost to our customer : Mangesh Joshi
Kirloskar Pneumatic Co. Ltd, (KPCL) established in 1958, is a flagship company of the Kirloskar Group that pioneered compressed Air and Gas solutions. An IMS certified company, KPCL has grown over the decades by foreseeing the market needs and developing futuristic products to meet tomorrow’s needs. The company has presence in 40 countries across the globe. Mr. P.K. Balasubbramaniian speaks to Mr. Mangesh Joshi, General Manager, ACD and International Marketing Division to discover the dynamics of the industry which is demanding and KPCL’s initiatives to remain proactive and technology driven. Excerpts:
“We provide end-to-end customized solutions to meet the needs of customers in both air as well as gas compression.”
Q. Kirloskar Pneumatic is a well-known name in Compressor industry. What precisely is your niche?
We are known for providing end–to-end customized solutions to meet the special needs of customers in both Air as well as Gas compression. We address requirements by offering most suitable compression technologies like Reciprocating or Rotary. Our end-users appreciate the Low Lifecycle Costs (LCC) entailed by our machines. It means the lowest cost of ownership. Also being one of the oldest compressor manufacturers, we enjoy healthy relations with most of the corporate houses, OEMs and consultants.
Q. What’s the average life span of a Compressor?
Kirloskar compressors are known for durability and the service life can be considered as 15-20 years. Many of our supplied machines are successfully operating for more than 30 years. The key to success is timely maintenance with genuine Kirloskar spare parts and recommended consumables like ‘K’ smart oil.
Q. What are the end-to-end solutions you offer?
Customer is interested in uninterrupted supply of compressed air, at a lowest possible cost. We put in efforts to understand the customer needs and provide them most suited compression solutions. Depending on the type of air or gas, we select the right compression technology – Reciprocating, Centrifugal or Screw type. We also study area classification – Safe or Hazardous and provide suitable accessories / controls. Further we manufacture, integrate and commission the complete system and make it operational. We also offer post-sales value-added services like AMC (Annual Maintenance Contract), Air audits, compressor health check-up, etc. to our clients. We have a wide network of 100+ dealers spread across the length and breadth of the country to serve our customers.
Q. How do you ensure contamination-free air delivery?
Usually sensitive industries like Pharmaceutical, Food processing, PET bottling etc need contamination-free air. KPCL recommends using oil-free air compression technology with special dryer and filtration so that contamination-free air is delivered. Facility is provided to get the Air samples certified by reputed world class inspection agencies to ensure desired air quality. This makes KPCL a preferred supplier to many organizations dealing with critical applications.
Q. How do you make your compressors energy efficient?
We are committed to deliver energy efficient products and it is part of our Mission Statement. Energy efficiency is the fundamental criteria of our product design. We ensure Product efficiency as well as operational efficiency.
We study application, air requirement and the usage pattern to recommend the right technology, most suited compressor sizing, controls and accessories. Use of Variable Frequency Drives, Capacity controls, help in synchronizing and optimizing the use of compressors, yet achieving uninterrupted compressed air supply. This slashes the operational costs, brings in flexibility and also helps in managing maintenance cycle without affecting the production.
Q. What’s your brand promise and how do you live up to it?
“Have no tension. Leave it to us. And thereby ‘Enriching Lives’.”
Q. What should be the population of KPCL compressors today?
Some 10,000+ KPCL compressors are operating across the globe – Reciprocating and Rotary compressors put together. Every year a substantial quantity is supplied in the market. KPCL is committed to support all compressors in the field.
Q. What are your growth plans?
Our Division (Air Compressor Division) has been growing at the rate of 25% annually. We hope to achieve a growth of 250% by 2020. The growth will be majority led by rotary technology as market demand will rise in India as well as overseas. KPCL is committed to ‘Make in India’ and will invest further to fuel the ambitious growth plans.
Q. How do you ensure customer delight?
We are proactive in understanding customer needs as well as providing cost-effective solutions. Our customers are happy as they get uninterrupted compressed air at lowest possible cost. However, to be on continuous growth path, we wish to do something beyond this to gain customer delight. It has a lot to do with use of technology and reducing the cost of ownership to the customer. All our new products / services aim at giving our customers a TECHNOLOGICAL EDGE over others (e.g. Remote monitoring, Proactive maintenance, Power saving retrofits, etc.).
Q. What are the dynamics of the industry and how do you propose to make your foot-print?
One positive development is the willingness of public sector companies to go in for modernization. The companies want rugged, proven and environmentally friendly technology. A recent instance is Mazagaon Dock going in for three rotary compressors as a part of their modernization. They wanted substantial energy saving and continuous uptime. Similarly RCF/BARC opted for Reciprocating Compressors for special applications. Nuclear Power Corporation also availed of our customized solutions for Nuclear Power Plan facility and has patronized KPCL for such a critical application. IOCL LPG filling plants are equipped with KPCL Air & Gas compressors. ONGC puts more faith on KPCL compressors for critical High pressure applications. We also provided compressors to BEML for their vehicles handling nitrogen at 400 bar. Apart from the above critical applications, KPCL is a leading name for standard compressor applications in common industries like Air separation / Ash handling / Tyre / Cement/Auto / Steel / Sugar / Textile / Paper / Pharma / PET / Oil&Gas / Fertilizer / Chemical / Food processing etc. Soon we shall be launching our new range of Rotary products and up-graded reciprocating machines in the market and it will have definite advantages over competition.
Q. What is your R & D doing at the moment?
Our R & D is currently working on all three technologies to come up with energy efficient designs, new production processes and energy efficient system solutions. Also as a regular practice, we put in a lot of resources in terms of time and energy in decoding and analyzing the field feedback to enrich our product. We are sure that it will take us to our “Target 2020”.
