Few would dispute that Microtek International Pvt Ltd is a leading peripheral manufacturer, boasting of being the “most preferred brand”. Managing that commanding position falls largely on its seasoned chairman, N K AggarwaL. In his years at the company, aggarwal has delivered steady growth while expanding Microtek’s reach worldwide. Speaking to Srabani Sen of Electronics Bazaar, aggarwal edifies on the present and future trends of the UPS and inverter segment, going by the needs of the enterprises.
Friday, March 20, 2009: Q How do enterprises perceive power find customised solutions. conditioning? How can your company help them in it?
Enterprises mainly look for UPS, inverters and online UPS for power conditioning. They are also looking for solar-based solutions for this sector. Our company’s blue print is to maintain our stronghold in the same area. Our strategy is to make available products as per the requirements of customers. Our R&D division is working on find customised solutions.
Q Do you see a shift in the market towards centralised UPS systems? What are its major benefits from the enterprise’s perspective?
Both centralised as well as decentralised UPS concepts are prevailing in the market. Centralised UPS system is catered by online UPS and the decentralised system is catered by line interactive UPS. Both segments are equally strong because there is a wide market of single PC users, which opts for decentralised systems. Centralised system is for the multi-PC users. Less space requirement and longer backups are the major benefits of these systems. It all depends on the application and needs of the customers.
Q What according to you, are the features of ideal UPS and inverters to address this sector?
Enterprises don’t want to compromise on the safety of their valuable data and appliances, which can be damaged by frequent or uneven power supply. Products must be user-friendly and supported by excellent service backup. Besides, these should fulfil the customers’ requirements.
Q In this era of tough competition, service is the key to survival. What is your approach to this critical area of the industry. How do you achieve this?
After sales, service is the most important part for survival in this competitive environment. The approach to this critical area should be clear. We have been maintaining and expanding our service network continuously, which has now burgeoned to 28 service centres and 255 service points across India. We have been upgrading and training our service engineers regularly.
Q What are the future trends visible in the UPS and inverter market?
Future trends are going to be energy efficient series of products, as well as, renewable energy-based applications like solar.
Q How is the demand for home UPS systems with in-built UPS to run home computers uninterrupted during power-cuts? Does it run home appliances as well?
There is a growing demand for home UPS systems with in-built UPS for computers during power cuts. These models are designed for both computers as well as other home appliances.
Q Do you think that customised solutions to critical applications are increasingly becoming more relevant? What are your views on this?
Yes, as technology is developing, so are the needs of critical applications. In some cases customised solutions become a must. Our company has an in-house R&D division run by a team of highly qualified professionals, which is always helpful for customised solutions.
Q How do you see the role of power electronics in electrical power conversion?
With the development of technologies over the next few years, the role of power electronics is going to increase. The new technologies will help power electronics to reduce energy losses and effectively use the available energy.
Q How do you envisage the possible competition from low-cost manufacturing countries (for your range of products), both in the Indian and global arena?
We are making our manufacturing setup competent enough without compromising on the quality front. We never face any problem from these low-cost manufacturing companies because the products produced by them are far inferior in comparison to the products manufactured by us.
Q How do you evaluate the quality of engineering manpower available in India, especially for high technology products?
India is a hub for quality, qualified and professional manpower, which is good enough for any technological products.
Secret of Success
The products of Microtek have received worldwide acceptance because of their quality and reliability and are exported to many countries. This is due to the clear focus of the company over all these years that has underlined its success and growth. According to its chairman N K Aggarwal, the company has been developing products that are user-friendly, giving maximum value for money.“We continuously amend technology and features with the changing needs of the users,” he says.
Microtek believes in using the latest technologies available around the world to keep ahead of others. This also helps it to take care of the ever increasing demand of the customers and also appease their hunger for new, advanced and sophisticated technology, which is also environment friendly and user-friendly. “Our products are sophisticated and easy to install. We have products for backup applications used in petrol pumps, hospitals, for LCD TVs and to run ACs, which are all sophisticated products.” Asked to clarify the USP of Microtek products, Aggarwal says, “A customer goes for our products because of brand credibility, which ensures high quality products at most reasonable prices, along with unmatched after-sales service.”
Currently, Microtek follows the strategy of fulfilling today’s requirements while keeping scope for incorporating future needs. “Our products are designed keeping in mind the user-friendly aspect and there is always scope for upgradation,” says Aggarwal. The company has been supplying its products as an OEM to leading corporate houses like HCL, Wipro, Usha, BHEL, BOI and many others.
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