Please describe in brief about yourself and association with Hitachi.
I have taken over the responsibility of Managing Director of Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics, India in April 2016. Having strong Power Electronics background (Ph.D. in Power Electronics), I have been associated with Hitachi Japan for more than 26 years and worked in different roles, be in Technology or Business.
I am happy to be at the helm of Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics (HHPE), which is now a 100% Hitachi Group Company and is recognised as a Pioneer in Power Electronics, and is on its way to the next level of success.
Please share how Hitachi made Hitachi Hi-Rel in India a Wholly-Owned Subsidiary of Hitachi.
The demand for power electronics products is expected to increase in keeping with the development of various industries in India and Southeast Asia as well as the recent rapid growth of renewable energy market worldwide.
In this market background, Hitachi has decided to take direct control of Hitachi Hi-Rel operations by acquiring 100% stake in Oct 2015, after having major stake in way back in 2011. This was done mainly to reinforce power electronics business through increasing product competitiveness and expanding application fields by enhancing Hitachi Hi-Rel’s R&D, design, and manufacturing structures with making full use of the Hitachi Group’s sales/service network.
By further expanding power electronics business, Hitachi will contribute to the development of industry in India and throughout the world.
Please describe in brief about your company, its vision and product range.
Having more than 3 decades of experience as Hi-Rel Electronics Pvt. Ltd, we have garnered a significant level of trust in our market segment and now with direct control of Hitachi management, we continue to offer world class power electronics products, value added services & customised solutions at Hitachi Quality.
Our vision is to be recognised as the most trusted power electronics company by supplying superior products and services.
We target to lead all our current market segment be it grid tied solar inverters, UPS for industrial (non-IT) and enterprise (IT & commercial) applications, medium & low voltage variable frequency drives and other product domain.
Please describe your Establishments in India.
I am particularly pleased with the fact that we are contributing to the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Govt. of India since 2011, much before its launch. I am proud to note that HHPE has been a strong contender in the market for the last 33 years with state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, both at Sanand & Gandhinagar, to manufacture power electronics products conforming to global standards to cater to the Indian and global market.
Our ultra-modern Sanand Manufacturing Works Spread over 26,000 sq mtr. is modelled on Hitachi’s Omika Works in Japan and is one of the most modern power electronics manufacturing facilities in India.
This Company is a key hub, for both ‘Manufacturing’ as well as ‘Research & Development’, within the Power Electronics division of Hitachi Group and we will leverage it to drive Innovation and Growth. This geographical advantage, value added solutions and technological leadership help us in serving the customers in India and across the globe – USA, Africa, Middle East, South East Asia and Australia.
For solar, presently, we are operating on our maximum manufacturing capacity (150 MW / month). We have expansion plan in place and our production capacity for both Centre Inverters and Variable Drives would be double in next year.
Kindly brief about your offerings in Solar Industry.
We are offering highly optimised energy solutions based on Hitachi technology. For solar, we offer grid tied solar inverters (HIVERTER NP 201i) which is available from 250 kW to 1.25 MW capacities. With 3 level IGBT technology and wider MPPT range, HHPE inverters are delivering considerably high reliability and maximum power generation.
Hitachi 1.25 MW Solar Inverter is among the most popular grid tied solar inverters currently in India for its various technical advantages and major saving in EBOP.
We offer highly reliable after sale support from dedicated & decentralised after-sales-service centres located at strategic locations across the country.
Kindly enlighten our readers on the performance of your Inverters in India in various geographic locations, customer feedback.
Performance of our Inverters is definitely good….giving excellent generation. We have installations base of more than a 1 GW in India and installed around 962 Inverters units at different sites (65 locations) at all terrains.
Yes, we did experience some challenges initially in terms of Inverters breakdown due to differences in Installation practice followed in India. We have overcome to this challenge and introduced some minor changes in new systems.
Present some noteworthy projects, case studies of solar plants built using your solar Inverters.
I am proud to inform you that we have been chosen as Inverter partner for world largest Solar power plant in India (648 MW) by leading business group and we have supplied 360 MW worth of Inverters in record time of three months.
In last financial year, we have worked on one more mile stone project in country and supplied Inverters for 150 MW NTPC Ananthpur project through EPCs & successfully commissioned within time frame. This was the first solar plant of NTPC under UMPP scheme.
What are your plans for India, your view on the Indian Government aggressive target of 1000 GW Solar Power by 2022?
Looking ahead, we are expecting a historically strong year in Indian solar market be a State Policies, UMPP or SECI projects. I am confident that, with our leading technology, strong brand name and superior products, we will further solidify our market leading position. HHPE experienced truly unique achievement – a much deserved entry into 1000 MW Club. We are poised to achieve even bigger targets (1.5 GW) leveraging the experience gained in past. We are confident to meet industry demands looking forward to consolidate and fortify our brand for promising future in coming years.
What is your vision and future plans for Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics?
As the Managing Director of Hitachi Hi-Rel Power Electronics, my vision is to take Hitachi Hi-Rel to a new height, to position our organisation as one of the most admired company in the world, number one power electronics company in India, and as one of the top performing of Hitachi group companies with power electronics business at the centre contributing significant growth in revenue and profit.
With expertise, experience and an efficient product line, we will always try to be a leader in power electronics sector. One of our values – Customer Delight, encourages us to realise our customer’s expectations and to serve them better – All Time, Every Time.
Any message to Indian Industry?
I firmly believe that our success lies in the success of our valued customers, strategic partners, business associates and employees.
This we can achieve by working together in a cohesive and vibrant environment. I have a vision to not only lead from the front, but also lead by setting examples – be it by offering state-of-the-art products, well-timed services and through happy and content employees
We appreciate the constant and valuable support extended by our business partners in the past and hope to receive the same in our future endeavours too.
I promise to deliver the best to Industry from Hitachi Hi-Rel. Wishing all readers a successful year 2017-18.
