In our vision statement, we have put ourselves a target of becoming a USD 1 billion company by 2020, and we are well on right path towards that, says Mr. Manish Bhatt.
Shilpi Cable Technologies Limited, a separate wing of three decades old Shilpi Group, was founded in the year 2006. Starting with a project to manufacture RF cables, Shilpi Cables has become a specialist across the varieties of cables widely used in telecom, automotive and energy segment.
An ISO 9001:2000 certified company Shilpi Cable’s success in a very short span is a result of its desire to use best technology, become leader in execution excellence and partner its customer in meeting their evolving needs. Operating majorly in B2B, the company about two years ago entered into B2C segment, where also its presence is getting noticed.
Mr. Manish Bhatt, CEO, Shilpi Cable Technologies Limited talked with Wire & Cable India on the sidelines of Elecrama 2016 in Bengaluru to update on what’s new developments are taking place at the company level. Here is brief:
Wire & Cable India: Please brief us of the new developments at Shilpi.
Manish Bhatt: As you know that Shilpi was mainly operating in B2B mode supplying products to a variety of sectors such as telecom, automotive, white goods industry, power, etc. This has been 18 months since we entered into B2B segment with the launch of the brand ‘SAFE’. We are promoting SAFE as a retail brand. Under this brand we have already introduced wires, switches and MCBs.
The brand was launched in the background of multi-pronged government’s initiatives which envisages house for everyone by 2022, a revamp of city infrastructure through Smart City program, et al. The launch is to participate in these progressive programs of the governments by providing a complete range of products required. Now with this brand, we have a holistic product portfolio fit to cater to all house office and industrial needs.
In parallel, we have also gone for a comprehensive distribution network to penetrate into areas which have otherwise been untapped. Our network is now visible in 17 states across 60 towns with 5 lac plus population. In the next two quarters, we expect to cover 100 such cities with more than five lac population to reach to consumers even deeper.
WCI: Would you tell us what capacities you have for housing wire?
MB: We have around 11,00,000 square km per annum for house wires, and we extend it further as we have ample space available. We have already built the next shade and the expansion is on.
WCI: May I enquire about the kind of targets you have set for yourself, say by 2020?
MB: In our vision statement, we have put ourselves a target of becoming a USD 1 billion company by 2020, and we are well on right path towards that. We are trying to harness our maximum potential along all the verticals we operate in. For example, where we were only supplying the cables and accessories, we have now entered into antenna also, which is three times the market size of RF cables. We are already into lab trials and field testing, and the business is sure to take off.
Similarly, in automotive, we are trying to move beyond 2-wheelers and commercial vehicles to 4-wheeler segment where approvals are coming now. That market, which constitutes 45 percent of market size, will open up soon for us.
Again, for enamelled copper meant for motors and transformers, we are doubling the capacity as for us the capacity is only constraint; market is there for us. We have earlier entered into market with aluminium and have not only built an image for ourselves, but substituted a lot of imports which were happening there. Now, we are in the market with copper and see a huge market waiting for us.
However, besides all above-mentioned things which are happening, we expect the biggest growth coming from our B2B foray with our distribution network, quality and the kind of response we are getting.
WCI: How has the year 2015 been for Shilpi growth wise?
MB: I would say rather tough; however Shilpi continues to come out of situations like this by giving extremely good results on growth fronts. We have been growing at 40 percent year-on-year; and this year is no different for us.
WCI: What trends do you foresee for the wire and cable industry?
MB: We are very optimistic of good results of the government’s initiatives which will lead to plethora of opportunities for the wire and cable industry.
WCI: Would India industry alone be able to meet the demands generated by such government programs?
MB: I think we are all gearing up to meet the expectations from us. For example, we have already investing in expanding our capacities and making ourselves prepared for the opportunities ahead.
WCI: The idea behind you brand name SAFE?
MB: First, for all the power utilities, safety is topmost criteria, so the name. More-over, we found out that word itself was not branded; so picked it up and which also goes well with product category.
WCI: Would you like to add something before we conclude our chat?
MB: Shilpi does not have a big or long past as such. We are learning fast, picking up things and trying to bring a lot of innovation. We have also affected a kind of transformation by separating our promoters from operations. Now we have a strong team of professionals taking care of operations whereas our promoters have ample time at their disposal to contemplate on expansions. With this structure, we are sure to create more value for the company.
