A CCV line for 220 KV EHV cable operational since 2015, two other CCV lines for EHV lined up to be commissioned by August 2017, a cable facility worth Rs. 1000 Cr to be set up in Bangalore, and a world class cable testing facility have one thing in common, and that’s Havells – a company setting new standards wherever it forays.
As an electrical equipment company founded in 1958, Havells India Ltd would go without a prelude as it is now a household name for many electrical products used by a conspicuously large population in India. The presence of its brand in industrial and domestic switchgears, motors, fans, power capacitors, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), and many other appliances is well felt across the country, however Havells’ wire and cable division established later than its usual product segments is not as vocal about its presence as one may expect of Havells. Nonetheless, the wire and cable industry duly takes cognizance of swift growth Havells has been able to achieve in relatively short span of time since its modest beginning in 1996.
Not only has Havells product range become extensive in wire and cable segment over a period of time, but its visible commitment to establish a stringent quality regime has resulted in setting up of a cable and wire testing facility at Alwar plant. Wire & Cable India recently visited the Alwar plant and interacted with Anil Sharma, Plant Head (Cable & Wire Division), Havells India Ltd. to get informed on the new developments at the company related to wires and cables. Excerpts:
Wire & Cable India: When did Havells acquire the Alwar manufacturing facility for wires and cables? And, who did you acquire it from? Is it really the largest integrated single location cable plant in the country?
Anil Sharma: This unit was acquired from Surya Power Ltd on 26 Feb 1996; since then, Havells grew exponentially by way of acquiring adjacent Telemate Plant in 2004 and Rathi Steel in the year 2008 & 2009 in two phases. Today, Havells is the single largest integrated plant for manufacturing cable and wire in the country.
WCI: Tell us briefly an account of things at Alwar plant, which have happened after the acquisition with regards to capacity, machinery, and products.
Shielded PD Test Room at
Havells’ Alwar Plant
AS: Initially, we started this plant with capacity of 100 km (worth Rs. 100 lacs) per month of LT power cable and got ISO 9001 system certification in 1997. Subsequently, we added our own PVC compound manufacturing plant to have consistency in quality parameter and simultaneously started manufacturing house wires in 1998. Thereafter, as a big leap, the company entered into high voltage cable and obtained product license from BIS in 2003. The high voltage cable range was extended up to 66 KV in 2005 with a product license from BIS.
In 2008, we obtained Product and System Certificate form BASEC UK; we were the first cable manufacturing company in the world to obtain such prestigious license. For the solar cable, we got product certification from TUV in 2012.
Setting up the center for research and innovation was major milestone for which we obtained DSIR recognition for research and NABL accreditation for test laboratory, OHSAS 18001, ISO 14001 Environmental Quality Management Systemin 2013.
And, finally, we started EHV cable manufacturing of 220 KV grade in 2015.
WCI: You commenced from producing LT power cables and with time started producing a range of wires and cables for consumer and industrial segments. Share with us the brief portfolio in these two segments, including special developments, if any.
AS: We started LT power and control cable manufacturing in 1996 as an industrial product and later on added house wire as consumer product in 1997; HV/EHV cables and Specialty cable/solar cable/FS cable/subma-rine cable were added in the portfolio thereafter, step by step. We grew at a rate of 20 percent year-on-year and reached 2600 Cr in FY2015-16. Going forward, we are aiming 5000 Cr by 2019. Share of both these two segments in our portfolio is roughly 50-50.
WCI: What according to you are the latest developments happening on the technological side of wires and cables, and which as a company you are also a part of?
AS: Latest development in wire and cable industry is mainly in insulating material to achieve optimum safety under extreme fire and weathering conditions with minimum operating stress and power losses.We have set up a polymer manufacturing division with capacity to produce approx. 4000 tonne of insulating polymer every month.
Being a part of latest technology, Havells has come up with improved fire and heat performance insulation which ensured no risk of fire hazards. HR-FR insulation, anti-rodent/ anti- termite insulation, and ROHS compliance make Havells best-in-class today. Other than improvements in polymers, Havells is the first company to use nano dies in conductor making with 94 percent compaction with reduced electric losses.
We are also working on the development of such type of insulating materials which can save energy with operating economy. Havells’ solar cables with special polymer for solar applications have already been developed and certified with TUV standard. Such cables can reasonably demonstrate service life of 30 years minimum under extreme weathering and fire conditions.
WCI: Is it true that Havells India recently added a line for 220kv EHV cable at Alwar plant? Tell us more about this important development and Havells’ decision to enter into EHV segment.
AS: Yes, we have added state-of-the art CCV line from Troester for manufacturing 220 KV EHV cables. This is now fully operational since last 4 months. We are aiming to support ‘Make in India’ concept to cater to rising demands in the power sector in the wake of various ambitious initiatives to revamp the power infrastructure of the country.
WCI: Is it also true that you are planning another 220 KV line after proper start up of the first line? When is it expected to go on floors?
AS: Yes, we are planning to put another two CCV lines for EHV which will be operational by March 2017 and August 2017. Base construction for both the lines has already been completed.
WCI: Do you have any specific market in your mind for your EHV cables, whether domestic or export?
AS: The Indian Govt. has planned to cover up the electricity requirement of the nation by 2020 for which a huge and extensive network EHV transmission lines is required and therefore the demand of EHV cable is increasing. We have planned for the export of EHV cables, especially to African continent.
& Mr. Anil Sharma (R), Plant Head (Cable & Wire Division), Havells India Ltd.
WCI: Tell us in detail about the plant your are putting up in South India where cables would be a major product?
AS: We are putting another cable and wire plant in Bangalore where both industrial and domestic segments will be covered up in first phase with the investment of Rs. 1000 Cr, which would be extended to Rs. 2000 Cr in next phase.
WCI: Coming over to quality checks and testing, our magazine would like to know the Havells’ standard practices in the regard.
AS: Havells has all relevant national and international system of certifications and product licenses, namely BASEC certificate for quality management & product certification requirements, TUV certificate for solar cable, NABL accreditation to check the technical competency, etc.
Apart from applying the known or conventional methods, Havells has long been using all widely-acknowledged international practices like 7QC tools, APQP, FMEA, etc. effectively. Moreover, to control quality consistency, we are using Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition System (SCADA) for quality checks at all critical process machines. And, to demonstrate the best operational practices, we have started applying ZED practices.
WCI: Is it true that Havells India set up the first private cable and wire testing facility at Alwar plant in 2013? Share with us some of the activities you do there.
AS: Yes, as I already said, being a leading cable and wire manufacture, we have set up a world class laboratory for research and innovation certified by NABL (ISO 17025) and DSIR to demonstrate testing transparency and technical accuracy by using digitalization with minimum human involvement; all instrument are digitally pro-grammed and connected with SCADA.
Moreover, Havells Cable and Wire Test Laboratory at Alwar is the first-of-its-kind private research and test facility in India. The lab covers Indian standards, British standard, International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) standards, TUV-Germany standards, American Society for Testing and Material (ASTM) standards and institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standards along with eight type of different fire test to demonstrate fire-retardant behavior of cable.
Havells has taken one step ahead towards business excellence in the Industry by setting up Diagnostic and Field Study Centre at Alwar. We aim to provide technological support to the electrical industry in activities such as condition monitoring for aged cables; developing and establishing methodology for mapping test results for cable circuit failures; and developing and establishing the compatibility requirements of cable installation accessories with the cable to have reliable field performance.
Besides, a knowledge-based system shall be developed and shared for selecting cable by overcoming installation issues by analyzing the field studies.
WCI: Any JV that Havells might be undergoing in near future?
AS: Yes, we are in touch with few international players for having technical joint venture for EHV and typical specialty cables to have import substitution for the concerned technology.
