“We are always committed to delivering quality products…”

Havells India Limited is a Fast Moving Electrical Goods (FMEG) company with an extremely strong global presence. The company started practising ‘Making in India and Powering the World’ long before it became India’s national slogan. In an exclusive interview with Electrical India, Senior Vice President of the company, A V Jagdish, is discussing their success strategy with P K Chatterjee.

As one of the leading FMEG manufacturer in India, what are your top priority areas at present?

Our main priority is to provide innovative, high quality and consumer friendly products and surpass our customer expectations.

What do you consider to be the fastest growing area in the FMEG field?

Our LED business is one of the high-growth areas, from which we expect to yield considerable revenues over the next few years. With the increased government focus and subsidies on LED, the next few years could mark a huge spurt in demand from this segment.

What kind of emphasis do you give on Research & Development (R&D) of new products?

Over the years, we have enhanced our technological strengths through extensive in-house R&D activities. In 2005, we established a corporate R&D centre to develop technological capabilities for value creation in diverse business areas and provide the next growth engines.

This R&D centre has pursued adaptation of the latest technologies for product development and overcoming manufacturing challenges in the business divisions.

We have dedicated R&D centers in all our plants and at head office. The centers closely co-operate and work with various departments to provide the best and the latest in the term of technology and design – and aim to develop new products, upgrade existing products and improve productivity.

What are the new products to be launched in 2016?

We have recently forayed into entry level modular switches with the launch of ‘Reo Bliss.’ Reo Bliss range of switches represent a unique symbiosis of advanced technology, maximum functionality and exquisite design to match the taste of today’s discerning customers – who want the best-in-class product at affordable prices. The product is available at an attractive price of Rs 19 onwards.

How do you manage to maintain the reasonable balance between safety, aesthetics and cost in your offerings?

Havells clearly understands the importance of its contribution in energy conservation and reducing environmental hazards. Wasting energy is like wasting the resource which can’t be recycled, and it will reflect on customer’s electricity consumption bill too. Hence, Havells is always keen to deliver products which meet the customer’s requirement as well as save on energy.

The dedicated R&D division at Havells is relentlessly engaged in finding ways to bring down energy consumption and ensure optimum utilization of the products. A combination of quality raw material, specially designed manufacturing unit, well trained technicians, scientific design and a strong ‘no’ to low quality imported parts has helped the company launch innovative products that are guaranteed to deliver high quality, low cost and environment friendly power solutions.

What is the idea behind having so many manufacturing locations? How does that help you in business?

As a manufacturing-oriented organisation that works on the principle of ‘Make in India,’ we do not focus on productivity alone. We work towards creating harmony between manufacturing output and efficiencies that deliver social, economic and environmental sustainability. We have adopted world-class technology and automation to ensure that we produce our goods efficiently with emphasis on conservation of energy and water in a sustainable manner.

How is your industrial segment growing?

Our industrial segment is growing at a sound pace given the govt’s focused plan to improve the infrastructure, nationwide modernisation, expansion of transmission and distribution network.

Tell me about your CSR activities in India.

Havells, as a responsible corporate citizen, always tries to contribute for social and environmental causes on a regular basis. For Instance, Havells is providing mid-day meal across 666 government schools in Alwar district, covering 50,000 students per day. Besides this, the company has acquired land for constructing a larger kitchen with all the modern facilities to serve freshly cooked food to 50,000 students in the area.

In FY 2014-15, Havells initiated a sanitation drive in government schools in Alwar district, wherein the company built eco-friendly and hygienic bio-toilets. These toilets have been designed to inculcate hygienic habits in children. The initiative was also taken to address the challenge especially faced by girl children, who would skip school because of the lack of proper toilets.

How Havells is forming its strategy to cope with the changing market scenario?

At Havells, we are always committed to delivering quality products to our discerning customers, and that eventually becomes the key differentiator in any market. Today, Havells products are known for their quality, premiumness and value for money. We continue to focus on research and development – so that we keep delivering superior products for our customers. Other than that, we keep launching a slew of innovative products for various segments.


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