Established in 1980, Southern Batteries Pvt Ltd manufactures lead acid tubular batteries, valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries, flat plate batteries, traction batteries and automotive batteries under the brand name Hi-Power. Keeping pace with the market requirements and potential, the company has set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Jigani, Bengaluru, and further expansion plans are in the offing. With a prominent share in the solar, railways, telecommunication, UPS and inverter, and other industrial sectors, the company has ventured into the retail market and has established a nationwide presence through a network of branch offices and channel partners. In an interview with Srabani Sen of Electronics Bazaar, Raghavan Sreenivasan, managing director, shares his views on the current scenario in the battery market in India.
EB: How is the battery market doing in India? And how has it fared in 2012, when compared to 2011?
The battery market is continuously growing in India, both in transportation and industrial applications. In fact, the tremendous growth in the home UPS market caused by heavy loadshedding and the ever increasing gap between the supply and demand of grid power, has boosted the battery market further. This is common across the country, but the growth has been more specific in the southern states.
EB: What can be done to make the market more organised?
More stringent regulations must be brought in to the industry, just like how China implemented the pollution control norms in its battery manufacturing industry. In terms of environment control measures, the law must be uniform for all manufacturers. The small time players ignore all the norms and best practices, which has a large scale adverse impact on the environment—with health and safety issues involved. They offer cheaper products in the market, violating all statutory compliance requirements, which definitely affects manufacturers from the organised sector. Only strict laws and stricter implementation can solve the problem.
EB: After the northern grid failure, how did the market get affected? Was there an impact in the southern regions also?
In the market, a mixed response was noticed. The grid failure and power starvation had both good and bad effects on the battery industry. On the one hand, we witnessed an increase in the demand for batteries, even in the southern states, while on the other hand, we also saw an increase in the failure of batteries that had to work for such long hours. Batteries run down on account of poor charge balance because a battery is only a storage device and cannot perpetually generate power.
EB: How did your company fare this year as compared to last year?
We had a very steady growth of 55 per cent over last year in terms of turnover, and a growth of 30 per cent over last year in terms of million Ah produced. The company has diversified into VRLA and transportation products as well.
EB: What are the current market trends?
The battery industry is consolidating. Over the years, the market has also learned to differentiate between quality products from reputed manufacturers and cheaper variants that come from China. Buyers are today demanding quality products from credible manufacturers. That’s a very positive sign, which will help to shrink the unorganised market, naturally.
EB: Which technology is dominating the market at present?
For the Indian environment and climatic conditions, the tubular flooded lead acid battery has proved itself superior over all other technologies in industrial applications. There were major problems with VRLA batteries in the telecom sector with regard to usage and application criteria. This was largely attributed to a lack of understanding about these products’ performance and capabilities in relation to Indian working conditions and the power situation. There has to be some course correction sooner or later before the entire telecom network collapses.
EB: Do the price trends in the organised and unorganised sectors differ?
Yes, the price trends in the organised and unorganised sectors differ drastically. The major reason is non-compliance with statutory requirements as well as the different tax policies in different parts of the country. Another major life threatening situation is the non-compliance to environment and pollution control requirements by the unorganised segment, combined with their unethical labour practices to gain cost advantage.
EB: Did you launch any new products this year? How are they more advanced as compared to your old products?
We have launched the complete range of small and medium VRLA monobloc batteries starting from 7 Ah to 200 Ah, along with VRLA monoblocs for the Indian Railways. By the fourth quarter of this financial year, we will launch the complete range of batteries for the transportation segment along with a range of products for electric two wheelers. All these products have been re-engineered to meet Indian working conditions.
EB: Are the battery makers under pressure from the Chinese players? What, according to you, can be some of the solutions to this challenge?
The Indian battery manufacturers are not really affected by the Chinese players because after having tasted the Chinese junk for nearly a decade, the market has learnt to differentiate good and bad quality. So there is no longer a threat from Chinese battery manufacturers.
EB: What would be your marketing strategies for 2013?
We are opening a few more branches and setting up a distribution network to cater to the demand across India. This will increase our reach and our products will be available across the country. We are also looking forward to exporting our products. Our strategy will be to increase our presence in all segments, which, in turn, will result in higher volumes and in brand building. With our commitment to quality, consistency, innovation and service, we are confident of achieving a steady growth in the competitive market.
