Rishabh : Pursuance of “Make in India” as innate factor

Q. Rishabh Instruments has gain credible market share in measurement technology industry, how did company manage this significant growth?

Over the last three decades since inception, Rishabh has built its reputation and more importantly credibility across the entire spectrum of Analog and Digital metering and instrumentation product range based ’best in class’ engineering practices and end to end in-house capability from design to production to service. Its ability to service a wide set of applications for its customers with its comprehensive product basket starting with meters which meet simple requirement with regards to measurement of basic electrical parameters up to high end power analytics and control devices which include storage and communication, provides unique competitive advantage. Rishabh product portfolio encompasses hand held instruments as well as complete panel mounted models. The philosophy adapted by Rishabh from the outset, has been that there is one Rishabh standard for both domestic as well as international markets. Its products are made for the world and these have been well received for over years by its customers across the globe who also appreciate Rishabh’s core business principles and values.

Q. Can you brief us about Rishabh’s global network & activities?

Rishabh has now presence in almost all major markets around the globe with an array of international customers who have continued their trust on Rishabh products for decades. As we aggressively and continuously grow our global footprint with more innovative and world class products, we also maintain a prominent presence in various global events and exhibitions. We have been showcasing our manufacturing and design prowess in Hannover Messe for years now and last year this positioning was further enhanced since this event ensured we were a part of the “Make in India” initiative led by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, himself.

About four years back, Rishabh acquired a Polish company called Lumel. Part of Lumel’s portfolio is similar to Rishabh Instruments i.e. electrical metering devices including wide range of controllers and recorders, while the balance portfolio comprises aluminum die casting, wherein the firm manufactures high-end aluminum components for various automotive and industrial product companies. We are beginning to see the fruits of synergy from partnership with Lumel with respect to sales/marketing as also design and development among other areas. In the future, we look forward to this engagement resulting in further substantial value add for both companies. In addition, Rishabh has acquired majority stake in a UK based instrumentation company about three years back and further established a fully owned subsidiary in the USA a couple of years ago. These international entities complemented by Rishabh’s channel network across Asia, Middle East and Africa completes its global reach.

Q. How about Rishabh Instrument’s initiatives in testing & measurement technology space? Which are your focus areas?

India is coming into the limelight as manufacturing hot spot for engineered products. The “MAKE IN INDIA” campaign launched in 2015, reinforces Rishabh’s core conviction and business philosophy which it has pursued from inception. At Rishabh, business principle followed is “Concept to Bulk” which entails an in-house “Think Tank” in the organization which evaluates various product/technology concepts consistently and then ideas which pass the ‘go’ gate are further worked on, to bring into reality, new products. These developments after relevant testing are seamlessly transferred for commercial production. Rishabh’s fully integrated manufacturing set up also provides the organization requisite agility and control to meet market expectations.

Since its inception, the core principle pursued at Rishabh has been that any product that carries the company’s brand is manufactured in-house. All plastic parts and housing elements that are required for most of the meters, devices and current transformers are manufactured in-house as also various metal components. In brief, for each product that we have in our portfolio, right from components to packaging and even stickers, labels and manuals – everything is done in-house. Thus Rishabh truly lives by the principle of ‘Make in India’ and the above facts reinforce the same emphatically.

Again considering the production capacity that we have across various product segments and accordingy to the current statistics, we are one of the largest manufacturers of analogue panel meters in the world, by volume. We make approximately 125,000 analogue products and about 30,000 digital products monthly. Added to that, we can also manufacture about 1,500 current transformers a day. While analogue meters were the prime building blocks at Rishabh for the first decade and half, of its existence, over the last 15 years, Rishabh has consistently added products not only in the digital portfolio, but also in the power electronics space. We also have cam switches, electromechanical devices and many others in our portfolio. Our continuous focus is to enhance the solutions basket we offer to our customers with added functionalities for existing products and extending our technology spectrum consistently.

Q. What are the market opportunities for Rishabh Instruments products in India? How do you plan to position these products?

The energy capacity addition envisaged in the coming years as India transcends from an energy deficient to a sufficient economy as also the growing awareness of energy conservation, will not only enhance electrical metering business volumes but also change the focus of the industry on enhanced Energy Measurement and Energy Efficiency products and solutions. Additionally, power quality measurement will gain focus will open doors to new opportunities for growth.

When you look at the Indian instrumentation and electrical metering market, Rishabh Instruments is today one of the most respected brands and also among the oldest players in the country with about three decades of experience. So to anyone who has ever bought an analogue meter or digital meter or multi meter, the ‘Rishabh Instruments’ name will instantly come to mind. The way Rishabh presents itself to its employees, stakeholders and customers alike, is that, it is a company that delivers products that are reliable, robust and high on technology and engineering. Through customer contacts and engagements which I have had, personally, it appears that Rishabh is also seen as a company that is constantly innovating and trying to make available solutions which meet customer expectations, time and again.
The evolving business canvass, as elaborated above, enables Rishabh to leverage its intrinsic strengths, to gain a larger share of various emerging opportunities.

Q. What is your marketing strategy for Indian market?

Rishabh’s state–of–the-art manufacturing facility is one of its key strengths in the context of ensuring cost efficiency in tandem with fastest ‘ time to market’. Engineered products with highest cost-value optimization for end user across the widest product basket from any one manufacturer, is the key platform, used for positioning of Rishabh products. Towards this objective, the design and engineering team, has created a process of proactively assimilating feedback from users and customers, as also tracking market trends thru its marketing function. This insight and analysis is used to optimize product design, component specs, material selection, manufacturing processes, testing and calibration techniques. Cost competitiveness begins with R&D process thru selection of the most efficient way of product designing. Advanced material science understanding is used appropriately as well, during development along with efficient adaption of newer technologies to deliver optimally engineered solutions. Apart from these, one of the most important dimensions is effective Quality Control which plays a vital role in lower Cost of Poor Quality (COPQ) in addition to lower defects and hence better customer satisfaction. Through adaptation of 5S principles and ‘Right First Time’ levers, we deliver most competitive products with unmatched quality. Our ongoing investments in effective marketing, branding and product management have helped us to gain a competitive advantage in the market. Added to this, at Rishabh, we have always had a customer focused approach in which we continuously improve our customer service and support provision.

Q. Can you please elucidate the contribution of R&D in the success of Rishabh Instruments products?

A pre-requisite for a successful product is, it being designed from concept or being re-engineered, efficiently so as to meet customer expectations and application requirements effectively. At Rishabh Instruments, we have invested in R&D infrastructure, human resources and capability building, consistently over the years. Our R&D facility is approved by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and the certification lab is accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL). It is evident that these facilities and resources provide Rishabh an unique advantage for developing and honing our offerings from time to time. We also leverage our European subsidiary Lumel to augment our own insights of solution requirements in the global arena and keep ourselves abreast of international trends in addition to using the facilities there to supplement our own design and testing efforts. The intensity of our product launches and calber of the offerings are a reiteration of our R&D prowess. In recent months, Rishabh has launched a new series of CAM switches with current rating upto 200A, which boasts of improved performance than the other industry front-runners in the same product category. Another innovative product successfully launched this year, is the 3 phase CT (Current Transformer) where instead of using 3 CT’s for 3 phases, only one SKU is required. Rishabh are the pioneers of this innovation in India.

Similarly, focused and continuous developments on transducers have enabled to expand its range which currently includes the dual output transducers with the recent launches of RishDucer CA/CV in the Rish Con Transducer series. In the Test and Measuring range, Rishabh has introduced the new Power Clamp with a rotating clamp jaw opening, for which it has a design patent and also added Insulation and Earth Tester in its portfolio. Another addition is a fully programmable Signal Isolator and a new series for Programmable Relay including the Earth Leakage Relay.

Our robust and structured development process with complete range of in-house infrastructure and capabilities has ensured all the aforesaid developments. This momentum at Rishabh is expected to further accelerate with even more exciting launches on the anvil which encompass upgraded Power Quality Analyzer, new Insulation Tester and Temp Controller as well as economical range of Power Supplies and improved high end digital Multimeter with advanced communication features. At Rishabh, it is believed that its product basket enables it to enhance its strong position not only in domestic, but also in international arena which constitutes a major portion of the company’s top-line.

Q. Brief us about the quality policy for the business?

At Rishabh, quality is not something which we strive but it is intrinsic to our ethos. Quality – it is Rishabh’s philosophy that rather than only operating quality programs and validating their efficacy, it has to become a ‘way of life’ encompassing each and every member of the team. In Rishabh’s case, quality covers all business aspects from design, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling to after sales services support – focused on ensuring value to customers consistently.
Apart from this, Rishabh is a certified ISO 9001:2008 organization and has invested in world-class facilities to inspect products as per various standards such as IEC, DIN, IS and ANSI. While focus is on in-process prevention of quality issues, each device manufactured in the company goes through stringent testing and quality checks for which its QA lab is fully equipped with highly accurate calibration and testing equipment etc. Rishabh also has in addition consistently focused on people and practices, over the decades, which enables it to create and sustain customer satisfaction.

Q. What do you think are the strengths of Indian measurement technology industry & how it is positioning itself against the global market?

Our Chairman was present in April 2015, at Hannover when the campaign was unveiled there by PM Narendra Modi. It was an inspiring moment for all of us since it reinforced the belief that companies like ours had while starting on their journeys, decades ago. Even back then, companies like ours believed that at some point of time, the world would embrace India’s engineering expertise and manufacturing capabilities. The launch of this campaign has simply brought this conviction into the limelight.

More than half of our revenues come from international markets. We at Rishabh, have been servicing the global market as an Indian entity, for a long time. The campaign has given companies like Rishabh, a new impetus to leverage it and grow their business footprint more aggressively. My only concern is that entities that join this bandwagon should not treat the campaign as a gimmick for a short term, but take ‘Make in India’ as a long term commitment so that the world can look forward to India becoming its manufacturing hub for engineering solutions. So the right amount of checks on quality standards, and the right kind of audits need to take place to ensure that we don’t have any fly by night operators with a near term goals joining the platform as that will be detrimental to the whole initiative. As far as helping the company is concerned, even though the campaign is not directly affecting Rishabh in any manner, there are indirect benefits which are accruing. With a lot of awareness about India being created all over the world, Indian brands have been getting recognition as well. As a result, Rishabh Instruments and similar companies should be able to leverage further to grow its global business footprint. This success would emerge not only from cost arbitrage advantage for production which Indian suppliers bring to the table but also the ability to deliver shorter design to market timelines and high engineering/design capability for developing innovative products.

Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving measurement technology industry?

We believe that energy management is a domain which will gain traction as focus on energy efficiency and quality increases. Rishabh has been investing substantial efforts in this domain, and it already has about 100 odd installations across India and certain international geographies. We are trying to make this platform more user-friendly and more comprehensive with wide array of applications and integration capability with various devices.

Q. According to you what is the forecast for the measurement technology industry?

The various programs initiated by Govt. of India such as Make in India Campaign, Digital India, Smart Cities including rejuvenated Solar Mission would boost energy generation, distribution and energy efficiency plus conservation opportunities in the country. At Rishabh it is believed that, one of the key areas, along with sufficient availability of power across all users countrywide, would be quality of power. Thus, in time to come, the attention of the entire power instruments users will be drawn to power quality and its analytics. Thus at Rishabh, while efforts are on going to service enhanced business volume from conventional electrical metering and allied instrumentation devices over the next few years, concurrently a clear road map is being created, to address the evolving industry needs, by developing high end devices like panel mounted Power Quality Analyzer, hand held (Portable) Power Quality Analyzer etc.

The only message Rishabh would like to give for all power instruments users is to remain aware, bring more focus on assured power quality as this will have a direct impact not only on the energy consuming device life and performance but also on their overall business economics.

Q. According you what are the factors affecting to your business?

When a company such as Rishabh is on the journey to become an enterprise, one of the most critical elements is quality of human capital as also process capability enhancement to match this enhanced operational scale.

Human resources are the key requirements for any sustainable growing company. An ideal mix of home grown managers as well as talent acquisition from outside is the most desired approach for any company wanting to build a healthy leadership pipeline which can take on the mantle of growth. Building robust and reliable process mechanism around such teams is the other essential building block which poses a challenge for organizations.

Finally, it is imperative that new talent being on-boarded integrates into the company while it is also being ensured that subtle but designed changes happen with the existing team in sync with company objectives – all this while operations continue seamlessly. A growing company present in a country which is seen as having a positive business outlook over the medium to long term, such as ours, there exist ample opportunities to source good talent and also to retain performing team members – we leverage this consistently.

Overall we are very excited about being the Energy & Power instrumentation space in which we are currently operating. India is an energy hungry economy which is today and also in the near future seen as the fastest growing nations globally. We firmly believe that this aspect supported by right governmental policies across various business spheres, would help Rishabh Instruments growth aspirations in the domestic market while our increased world-wide penetration would provide enough fuel for further business growth.