Indore Composite, a world leader in cable protection solutions, is a trusted supplier for over 20 years to the world’s top 10 cable manufacturing companies. They make products that provide protection and support to fiber optic and power cables in terms of load bearing capabilities, water ingress and insulation. Having total capacity of around 7 million FRP kms across the three manufacturing facilities in India and one in Morocco, along with localized warehouse operations in the USA and Brazil, Indore serves different geographies like Europe, America and Latin. With the vision to be the most reliable global supplier of innovative reinforcement and protective material for communication, energy and transport sector, they have a mission to double their revenue by 2024 with 40 percent from non-telecom cable sector. Recently, Indore has doubled its capacity in Morocco to cater to the rising demands in the telecom sector. In a recent interaction with Wire & Cable India, Mr. Mukesh Sanghvi, Managing Director, Indore Composite, spoke about the company’s journey, product portfolio, evolution of the cable industry. He also shared his insights about the current challenges in the cable and wire industry, recent developments and business roadmap for the coming years.
Wire & Cable India: Please give us a brief overview of your company, along with its history.
Mukesh Sanghvi: Indore Composite is a world leader in cable protection solutions for fibre optics and power cables. We have been a pioneer in fiber reinforced plastic rod using UV pultrusion technology and started its manufacturing in 1995, serving the fibre optic cable industry. The fiber optic cable industry in India was at a nascent stage then, with India consuming only 6000 kms of FRP rod which was 100 percent imported. Now, it has grown substantially with millions of kms being consumed annually. With the vision of being a reliable and innovative global supplier of reinforcement and water protection material, Indore has constantly invested into technologies and capabilities in this direction.
We started manufacturing water swellable glass yarn in 2005, set up water blocking gel plant in 2010, and water blocking tapes in 2013. With its endeavour to be closer to the customers, we set up a facility in Morocco in 2017. Recently, Indore doubled its capacity in Morocco to cater to the rising demands in the telecom sector. To foster growth and innovation, Indore set up a state of art research and development facility in 2013, focusing on developing new age products and technological adaption, addressing the market need. With the learnings in the pultrusion technology for telecom market, Indore has ventured into new age composite products for power and wind which has a direct impact on reducing carbon footprint. Our vast experience, our people, our manufacturing capability, our culture of innovation and service has earned us the most valuable and treasured asset “Customer’s Trust”. In many ways we play a silent role in keeping our world connected.
“Indore has introduced the composite core, energy core for HTLS conductor for future efficient energy transmission and distribution infrastructure. “We will be the first Indian company to develop this technology for the power sector”
WCI: Kindly elaborate on the cable product range emphasising their features, applications and advantages.
MS: Indore has a comprehensive product range which includes cable protection solutions for telecom as well as for other segments like power, renewable and automotive. For telecom cables, Indore has products for cable reinforcements- FRP rods with various types of coatings intended for different end use, aramid rod for higher strength and light weight, up jacketed FRP, coated glass fibre, nonconductive water blocking and semi conductive tapes for power application. To meet the current demand of less duct space and higher bend, Indore has speciality products which includes low bend and high modulus FRP for the FTTX applications. Energy core is an advanced composite carbon fibre core specifically designed for high temperature low sag (HTLS) conductor. With an intention of creating an impact, Indore is bringing this manufacturing technology locally available for the first time in India to enable substantial savings into the power cable segment. WinSpar is a structural component used in wind turbine blades to provide stiffness and strength. They are typically made of composite material, such as glass fibre or carbon fibre, and run along the length of the blade near its leading edge.
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WCI: Tell us about your reach in the domestic and international markets and your expansion plans.
MS: Indore Composite has the largest FRP rod capacity globally. This allows us to quickly respond to our customer’s ever-changing needs. We have three manufacturing facilities in India and one in Morocco. This strategic location allows us quick turnaround for different geographies like Europe, America and Latin. In addition, Indore has localized warehouse operations in the USA and Brazil. This has ensured reduction in various geographical risks and ensured reliability in the supply chain. Indore is currently serving the top 10 cable manufacturing companies in OFC and power cable segment and is a trusted supplier for over 20 years.
WCI: How do you see the cable industry evolving in the future? What is its current scenario and challenges?
MS: The fibre optic cable industry has witnessed remarkable growth in recent years, driven by technological advancements and the increasing demand for high-speed data transmission. One of the prominent trends in the fibre optic cable industry is the ever-increasing need for bandwidth. The growth of the industry can be attributed to key factors like the ongoing digital transformation in various industries which has significantly increased the reliability of data-intensive applications and services. This has led to a surge in the demand for fibre optic cable infrastructure to accommodate the vast amount of data traffic. Despite the numerous advantages of fibre optic technology, consumers face high initial costs in the fibre optic cable industry due to infrastructure investment, expensive fibre optic cables, high reliability, and ROI considerations. In this challenging landscape, companies can offer innovative and reliable solutions which increase efficiency and reduce total costs across the chain and will have an edge over the others.
“Today we are proud to say that we have set our path as an Indian multinational company with global leadership and are really committed to making a societal impact.”
WCI: Could you share any recent developments in terms of capacity expansion and product developments?
MS: Recently we have expanded our capacity in Morocco to prepare ourselves for the upcoming demand. With a total capacity of around 7 million FRP kms across all the three plants, Indore has the largest capacity in the world and is fully prepared to fulfil the needs of its customers. The demand for electricity is increasing and there is a need for advanced conductors to meet this additional requirement for power. The efficient and reliable transmission of electricity is crucial for the overall growth and development of the nation. Composite core HTLS conductors have emerged as a groundbreaking technology in the power sector, offering significant advantages over traditional conductors. These advanced conductors have a higher capacity to transmit power and can operate at elevated temperatures, thereby reducing sag and enhancing grid reliability. Indore has introduced the composite core, energy core for HTLS conductor for future efficient energy transmission and distribution infrastructure. “We will be the first Indian company to develop this technology for the power sector”. Energy core incorporates cutting-edge technology and meets all necessary standards (ASTM B987-20) and certifications, ensuring its suitability for the intended purpose of the application. For the energy segment, we have developed a product for windmill application called Winspar, it is a structural component used in wind turbine blades to provide stiffness and strength. We plan to expand our manufacturing facilities globally and introduce new composite-based products for telecom and upcoming sectors like wind energy, efficient power transmission, etc.
“For the energy segment, we have developed a product for windmill application called Winspar, it is a structural component used in wind turbine blades to provide stiffness and strength.”
WCI: What are the measures taken to maintain the quality of the products you offer?
MS: At Indore, quality is the common language spoken across all tiers of the management and by every person working on the production floor. It is this focused culture that has helped us achieve higher customer satisfaction year on year and is continuously improving. Every individual goes through rigorous training on these at induction and on the job. We follow total quality management (TQM) systems ardently and have a zero tolerance towards defects or any deviation from internal quality norms. All of Indore’s plants are ISO 9001 certified and our products are tested and approved by clients who set a very high benchmark for quality parameters.
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WCI: What is the business roadmap for the coming years?
MS: In the next five years, we are excited about the growth prospects in the broadband, 5G, and 6G industries, which will lead to more demand for cables, leading to more demand for our products. We plan to expand our manufacturing facilities globally and introduce new composite-based products for upcoming sectors like wind energy, efficient power transmission, etc. We are particularly enthusiastic about our foray into the power and renewable energy sectors and will continue to invest in these sectors. Quality and safety plays a very important role in our growth story. This has resulted in higher satisfaction not only with our customers but also with our employees. It’s our moral responsibility to work towards good environmental practice and are committed to reducing the carbon footprint. Today we are proud to say that we have set our path as an Indian multinational company with global leadership and are really committed to making a societal impact.
