The cable division of Nangalwala Industries Private Limited – Sun Cables – has recently launched a new product called CABEX their House wiring cables Brand and is well on its way to launching many more innovative products.
Established in 1973, the Nangalwala group got its start as a manufacturer of soap and trader for chemicals at Alwar, Rajasthan. In its early days, the group performed well with its limited resources and soon expanded the supplies all over Rajasthan. With its turnover expected to cross the Rs 160 crore mark this year, the group is marching forward to a dazzling future.
The Nangalwala group has 15 years of experience in the field of wiring harness and 25 years of experience in the field of auto cables.
Sun Cables’ product portfolio includes products such as Speciality Elastomer Cables, Power, Control & Instrumentation Cables, auto-electrical parts and accessories, automobile kits, wiring harness, wiring harness accessories, copper/aluminium wire, PVC sleeve and hose pipe, auto parts, compounds for extrusion and molding grade, plug wire sets, auto-electrical parts and accessories.
In the second week of January 2014, the Wire and Cable India team had a warm conversation with Dr. P. Krishan Kumar, Director and CEO, Nangalwala Industries Private Limited, at Bangalore’s Elecrama 2014. He was the President of IEEMA during 2004
Here are some excerpts from this inspiring interaction.
Company and New Product
Speaking about Nangalwala’s Sun Cables, Dr. Kumar said, “Sun Cables is our brand of cables. It was started ten years ago. Before this division was set up, the group focused mainly on chemicals and other products. Ten years ago, the group decided to diversify into technological manufacturing, and the first products it started manufacturing were specialty cables. These cables were supplied to the wind, energy and solar sectors. We also made power cables for the power industry. And, as you already know, on 8th January 2014 we launched a new product called CABEX for household wires… . We currently manufacture all types of rubber cables, but we excel in the area of special applications. Our products are supplied to the mining, wind energy, transportation, trailing, shipping and Solar sectors. We have been constantly focusing on these special application areas… . The company touched converting around100 tons of copper for cables every month. We have also started converting 50 tons of aluminium every month, and this segment is growing rapidly. I am pleased to tell you that we are all set to cross the Rs 100 crore mark this year. We are currently doing Rs 9-10crores every month. So, as you can see, we are looking forward to a very bright future.”
According to Dr. Kumar, regional sales managers at Sun Cables are responsible for pushing the new product – CABEX. “There are a lot of large buyers – direct buyers – who directly buy cables from us for building purposes. Certainly, many of them will buy our new product – CABEX – directly from us. We also have a clear-cut system for regions and regional sales managers. Our regional sales managers undertake activities related to sales promotion. So, they will draw up strategies to promote the new product. Gradually, the presence of this new product will be felt on the market. It’s a tough job, but we know that this product will be well-accepted. The market for wire and cable is a dicey one. You need a lot of courage to place a new product on it. So, we will first focus on educating buyers on the special features of this product… . Besides, the wire and cable market is expanding, so I don’t think we’ll face many difficulties in pushing our new product,” said Dr. Kumar.
Planning for More Product Launches
Commenting on product launch and product development at Sun Cables, Dr. Kumar said, “We have been very busy with arranging for our participation in Elecrama. As such, we have not been able to take the final decision on launching more new products or product innovation. Planning for it is still going on. After this event and by end of March 2014, we will figure out how much actual revenue allocation is left and can be utilized. Also, we will make product changes according to market requirements. To accomplish this task we may take some help from outside, but we will depend mainly on our own capabilities. You can regard it as some kind of outsourcing, but it will not be pure outsourcing. Incidentally, we have also worked as outsource suppliers to some European companies. Representatives from these companies visited our facility in India to audit our work, and a chain from the US has almost decided to take our products. Doesn’t that speak volumes of the level of quality we have achieved? To put it briefly, we have been able to meet Western quality standards.”
“We are spending a sizable pie on our developmental activities – almost 1.5 per cent of our turnover. And that’s mainly because we believe that we have not yet achieved the kind of development we wish to achieve. So, we have adopted an aggressive approach to our development; and when you are aggressive, you should be prepared to face “spents” more than normal. We know that develop-ment comes at a cost.”
Research and Development
Speaking about research and development at Sun Cables, Dr. Kumar said, “The kind of R&D we do in India can be regarded as re-engineering. Our company goes for product re-engineering totally based on the technical knowledge acquired/ gained by the experts behind the company, over the last three to four decades. We observe the application and give the most cost-effective solution. We do technology re-engineering on our products because we believe that product development can give us a competitive edge.”
Quality and Cost-Effectiveness
Dr. Kumar also underscored the importance of quality and cost-effectiveness. “We try to develop qualitative thinking in our team. We encourage our team members to have a ‘qualitative’ vision. And that’s because we believe that if each one of us in the company thinks creatively and gives importance to quality, we would be able to achieve all our corporate Goals,” said Dr. Kumar.
Future Plans
Unveiling his future plans, Dr. Kumar said, “We are planning to go ahead with all types of cables… . Before the next Elecrama, we will have different verticals in electrical products – switchgears, small switches and harnesses – for certain applications and Renewable Energy Areas. We are also trying to identify niche product and application areas, where we can satisfy our customers by giving them quality products. This will happen under the Nangalwala’s Sun brand.”
A Word of Advice
Giving a friendly word of advice to Indian wire and cable manufacturers and their workforce, Dr. Kumar said, “Like electricity, sale of electrical products has a sign-wave pattern. You have the highs and the lows. So, we should regularly study the market and make business adjustments accordingly. We should be willing to go for product development and to change our sales and marketing approach according to the market situation. It’s an ongoing process –something that we have been doing successfully.
“Our industry is a global industry, and our power engineers are known across the world for their knowledge and ability. India would take only six hours to overcome a power outage situation, whereas the US would take two days to do the same. That speaks volumes of our ability and competence. So, what is it that we lack? We have talent and a huge human potential, especially in the electrical sector. Probably, we do not fully recognise our own strengths, our own potential. I feel good when I see Indian products in Brazil competing with American and European products. There are many Indian manufacturers in different parts of the world who have done us proud, but we don’t seem to cherish this fact.”
