FLIR Systems: Coherent eminence in THERMAL IMAGING arena

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Q. FLIR India has gained credible name in thermography industry, how did FLIR India managed this significant growth?

Thanks for this compliment. It has been an interesting journey for FLIR India and its very satisfactory to see the market maturing towards right direction and good to note that media is recognizing FLIR presence. There have been many factors behind this gain, main ones which immediately comes to my mind are customer satisfaction, creating awareness for predictive maintenance and focus. This technology has huge benefits- there is still a long way to go in terms of market reach and awareness.

Q. Can you brief us about FLIR’s global business update & recent recognitions?

Regarding business update, Globally, 2016 has been a very good year for FLIR. For the full year, revenue was USD 1.66 Billion up 7% compared to USD 1.55 Billion for the year ended December 31, 2015.

First quarter 2017 also went well. Our revenue was USD 406.8 million, up 7% over first quarter 2016 revenue of USD 379.5 million Based on financial results for the first quarter and the outlook for the remainder of the year, FLIR continues to expect revenue in 2017 to be in the range of USD 1.7 billion to USD 1.8 billion.

Recognition has been part of FLIR since beginning. Recently, FLIR was named “ Enterprise Technology Company of the Year for 2017’ during Oregon Tech Awards held on May 11, 2017. The Oregon technology awards were held for 33rd time and these awards hold a legacy of celebrating excellence and achievement within Oregon’s technology industry by honoring outstanding individuals as well as seven companies in Oregon and SW Washington, USA, annually.

Q. How about FLIR India’s initiatives in thermography space? Any new products ?

FLIR has always been on the forefront in terms of Innovations. We spend substantial amount of money on R&D every year. Result of the same have been many new products including new ones with IGM ( Infrared Guided Measurement) which makes technology affordable and enables even front end maintenance staff to use amazing Thermal Imagining technology. IGM uses the power of a FLIR Lepton® thermal imaging sensor to guide you to the precise spot that may require further testing and investigation. Using our innovative mind skill, We launched world’s first pocket sized Thermal Camera, Clamp meter , Multimeter and Moisture meter –all with IGM.

This month, we also launched five product series. New C3 – Pocket sized Thermal camera which is an upgrade of old model C2 which met huge success, C3 comes with wifi connectivity with smart devices. New Ex range also has wifi connectivity. Our New Exx series (E75, E85,E95) comes with state of the art features like laser assisted auto focus,160 Deg display Viewing angle , wide measurement ranges from -20 Deg C to 1500 Deg C, Intuitive interface and navigation capacitive touch screen.

We also launched all new T 5xx series which has features like 180 Deg Rotating optical block so that the operator doesn’t get any strain on the neck while using the camera in tough field environments alongwith all the features of new Exx series. All these newly launched units come with 10 years detector warranty once the unit is registered on FLIR website within 60 days of purchase. These new features make these units very useful in the field and truly affordable once you try to calculate total cost of ownership for a period of 10 years.

For unique application of fixed type PCB inspection, along with four above series, we also launched a product named ETS 320. This very affordable unit will help all the PCB manufacturers under MAKE IN INDIA campaign to give highest quality world demands. This unit is so affordable that the same can easily be used at all PCB production lines. Pictures of all these products shall be provided to you after this interview.

Q. You explained this earlier but for new readers, will you kindly explain the basic principal behind this very interesting thermal Imaging technology ?

Sure, This is an interesting technology. I can talk on this subject for days together.

As a theory, almost all objects around us emit infrared(IR) radiations which our eyes cannot see.

See image below – Infrared energy

Thermal Imaging technology - Infrared energy

(A) coming from an object is focused by the optics

(B) onto an infrared detector

(C). The detector sends the information to sensor electronics

(D) for image processing. The electronics translate the data coming from the detector into an image

(E) that can be viewed in the viewfinder or on a standard video monitor or LCD screen.

Infrared thermography is the art of transforming an infrared image into a radiometric one; every pixel in a radiometric image is actually a temperature measurement, so temperature values to be read from the image. This makes the thermal imaging camera a perfect tool for Predictive maintenance applications.

Since IR radiations are everywhere, these cameras have application almost at all the places.

Q. If I look at website of FLIR Instruments, there are many products, Other than regular hot spot detection. What are other key products you market in India ? Please provide basic application details too.

That’s correct- FLIR has many more products. To name few, we have Optical Gas Imaging Cameras, Extech range of products, FLIR Test & Measurement range, Fire fighting cameras and Products for R&D applications.

Optical Gas Imaging cameras help to visualize leakage of gases. These gases include VOC , SF6, CO, CO2, Refrigerant gases. Few of these gases are very harmful for environment ,like SF6, CO and VOC. Just to give an example, one litre of SF6 leakage is equivalent to 23,900 litres of Carbon Dioxide ( CO2). SF6 gas is very useful for electrical installation but extremely harmful for environment and hence its very important to keep a check on leak. FLIR GF 306 solves this problem . From a safe distance, without taking any shutdown, one can ‘ Visualise’ leakage of these gases. Since all gases mentioned above gets absorbed in atmosphere at different wavelengths, there are separate cameras for these gases. Many companies are getting benefitted by using these FLIR OGI cameras in India and abroad.

Under Extech and FLIR T&M range, we have almost 400 plus different products. Whether its Electrical applications, Plant maintenance, HVAC, Health & safety or Lab & water quality- Under this range, FLIR has a solution for such applications. From temperature data loggers to sound lever meter to vibration analysis to ph level measurement to boroscopes- this is a very vast range of products. All these products are available in India.

Under fire fighting range, we have brought revolutionary product at INR 1.15 L plus tax. This can help to save lives of many- victims and firemen.

Q. Brief us about the quality policy of your products?

This is one of the main aspect of any business. FLIR uncooled handheld products come with 10 years detector warranty . This become active once registration is done on FLIR website, within 60 days of purchase This confirms the quality standard we maintain and confidence we have on our products as detector is the main component in any thermal imaging camera.

FLIR Thermal imaging products

Q. Whats your wish list for business in India ?

I would like to see India grow as major manufacturing hub so that industries and our GDP grow exponentially. With the present Government this looks like a realistic dream but we need to make this a reality by constantly putting efforts. Business for many companies will automatically grow after this.

Q. Thanks for your input. One last question- please tell us about your background.

I have done my graduation- Bachelor’s degree in Electronics and telecommunication and then management course from IIM, Calcutta. I also completed diploma in Digital marketing from DMI, Ireland. I have a total of around 24 years of work experience.

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