What kind of transformation has happened in the Indian Test & Measuring (T&M) instruments segment (say) since 1980?
Test & Measuring instruments, for nearly three quarters of the 20th century were mainly Analog Electrical Instruments. The instruments operated on the mechanical effects of electrical signals, which were indicated by the means of the displacement of a needle on a calibrated dial (scale). The analog mechanism involved many mechanical components and the instruments required more knowledge of mechanical engineering. The contribution of electrical engineering knowledge was comparatively less. Most of the instruments were made by hand, which increased the cost as labour cost increased. Moreover there was lot of dependence on the skill of the person making the instrument as well as the precision of the components.
As Electronic technology improved, leading to the invention of transistors & integrated circuits, from diodes & triodes more compact instruments with more function could be designed using those ICs.
Kusam-Meco introduced Hand Held Digital Multimeters & Clamp Meters way back in 1986 in India. Initially, we introduced 3 ½ digit Multimeters & 3 ½ digit Clamp Meters. It was a difficult job, but our perseverance paid off. Following the successful introduction of these products, many more Digital instruments were introduced by us. Today we have over200 instruments in our range – out of which almost 50 instruments have ‘UL’ certifications with highest safety levels.
How is the demand from the customers changing in this segment?
The demand for Test & Measuring Instruments by customers is changing from low cost instruments to high safety instruments. Hand Held Instruments are used by holding the device in the palm and taking the measurement of various electrical parameters such as Current, Voltage, Resistance.
Due to faults in the supply system or in the connection of the instruments, there is a possibility of the user suffering injuries. Hence, the demand from the customer is changing from cheap instruments to safer instruments. Also, due to new developments of electronics products like Computer, UPS etc., which generate lots of harmonics, the demand for the instruments is to include measurement of such parameters.
What kind of innovations have you done in your products as far as customers’ advantages are concerned?
As I said earlier, customers now look for higher safety protection level in Test & Measuring Instruments. Kusam-Meco has about 50 instruments, which conforms to CAT III 1000 volt & CAT IV 600 volt safety levels. These products have been widely accepted by the users.
In addition, we have also added many functions such as VFD AC Voltage & VFD-Hz, Insulation Resistance Test with PI & DAR function, loop current measurement, Auto check DC/AC Voltage, dB function, CREST capture, Current Clamp adaptors, Logic Level frequency etc., within the same instrument – thereby making it easy for the user to make many measurements in one instruments. In other instruments also, there are many unique features added. Our company was also the first to introduce 500,000 counts hand held Digital Multimeters.
What kind of attention do you pay to maintain quality standard and consistency of your products?
The instruments marketed by us are designed to meet CE, IEC & UL standards. Once the pilot production is ready the instruments undergo all the tests specified in the above standards at an independent laboratory – to prove the compliance of the various requirements of each of the standards.
Only after the instruments pass the tests, mass production is commenced, and released in the market. Periodically also, representative instruments undergo all the tests at independent laboratory for compliance. Thus, the customer is assured of the highest quality.
Who are your major customers in India as well as abroad?
Our customers include: GAIL, NALCO, DRDO, TATA, Mahindra, Bharat Petroleum, ONGC, KIOCL Limited, BSNL, Hindustan Aeronautics, Steel Authority of India Limited, Sterlite, WIPRO, Reliance Energy, Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Communications, TATA Steel, Indian Oil, CEL, Aditya Birla Group, NPCIL, APGENCO, AREVA, Jindal Power, Jubilant Life Sciences, ACC Limited, POWERGRID, AMBUJA CEMENT, National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd., Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Limited, ABB, Welspun, Lanco, ITI Limited, Aarti Industries, OCL India etc.
What kind of after-sales service do you offer to your customers?
Our company has ISO 9001: 2008 for providing ‘Marketing & After Sales Service’ for our products. We have trained our service engineers to calibrate equipments, to service, check and re-calibrate the instruments, which are received for servicing. The calibration validity of our standards are reaffirmed every year at NABL accredited Laboratories.
What are your new plans in 2016?
We will be displaying many new products at Elecrama. You will find in our stall: Gas Detectors, Multifuntion Power and Harmonics Analysers, Thermal Imaging Cameras, Process Calibrators, Insulation Multimeters, Infrared Thermometers, Digital Clampmetes, Digital Multimeters, Sound Level Meters, Digital Anemometers and Humidity and Temperature Meters.
What would you like to suggest to the T&M instrument buyers?
We would like to ask the Test & Measuring Instruments buyers not to be carried away by foreign names or cheap prices. They should check the quality and price of the products and the after sales-service provided by the company. Consumers should not go by special offers (low prices etc.) given by many companies to cover the poor quality or poor service of their products.
