nkt cables is a global front-line supplier to the energy sector. It develops, manufactures and markets high-quality cables and solutions for electrical infrastructure, the construction field and the railway and automotive industries. It supplies creative, highly technological and sustainable products, services and solutions to its customers. The company’s manufacturing plants are among the most modern, flexible and cost-effective manufacturing plants in the world, and the company invests a lot in keep them at the highest technological level. The company tries hard to be at the forefront and to find innovative products and solutions while taking care of the environment.
nkt cables, which has around 3,560 employees, recorded a turnover of around €1.2 billion in 2013. The company is owned by NKT Holding A/S, which is listed on the Danish Stock Exchange. NKT Holding owns a group of companies that spans a number of industries and has production facilities on four continents. NKT Holding has approximately 8,900 employees. It made its appearance on the Indian market about a couple of years ago. To know more about the company’s marketing startegy and future plans, team WCI carried out an interview with Mr. Naveen K. Aggarwal, Country Sales Director-India, nkt cables GmbH.
Here are some excerpts from this lively interaction.
Wire & Cable India (WCI): Give us a brief historical overview of nkt cables.
Naveen Aggarwal (NA): NKT is originally a Danish company. Since 1898 it is registered at the Kopenhagen Stock Exchange Market. In 1991, NKT Holding was founded and nkt cables became an important company within the NKT Company Group. In 1999, nkt cables acquired Felten & Guillaume Kabelwerke GmbH (founded in 1874) in Cologne, Germany. With this move, production capacity was doubled and nkt cables gained access to additional markets, such as Czech, Austria and China. At the same time, it was decided to found the nkt cables group with headquarters in Cologne, Germany.
WCI: When did nkt cables become active in India?
NA: In 2012, we started our first activities for HV Projects and Products on the Indian market and we did really start from scratch. Then we initiated a lot of contacts with potential customers and opinion leaders. And we made the brand nkt cables visible on the market. Thanks to all these efforts, our situation today is much more comfortable than it was two years ago. Most of the big customers on today’s market are aware of nkt cables. And many customers contact us and ask for a quote in the context of a concrete project. This proves that there is solid awareness of nkt cables among the decision makers of our target group.
WCI: Has coming to India posed challenges for your company?
NA: The Indian market specifications for HV cables vary a lot. In general, customers want immediate response to their price requests; so we have to design products according to customers’ specifications and calculate our projects accordingly. That is a major challenge in India, as on many other markets cable products are highly standardised.
WCI: What business opportunities have you spotted in India?
NA: The overall HV cable market in India is rather price driven. Nevertheless, there are sufficient customers who want top quality at reasonable prices – and that is exactly our target group. We do not just deliver products to our customers; we consult them to deliver complete tailor-made turnkey solutions. We have also taken firm steps towards providing quality services for installation of our products with training and certification of local co-operation partners; we can now serve such requirements at a short notice as per the satisfaction of the customer.
WCI: Tell us about your manufacturing facilities?
NA: nkt cables’ manufacturing plants are among the most modern, flexible and cost-effective facilities worldwide. nkt cables invests heavily in ensuring that the company maintains leading-edge capability. nkt cables has now 15 production facilities located in Europe (12) and China (3).
WCI: You acquired the Ericsson power cable plant last year. What additions has this acquisition made to nkt cables’ operations?
NA: nkt cables acquired Ericsson’s power cable operations in Falun, Sweden, in July 2013, in order to strengthen its position in the Nordic region. This new member of the nkt cables family enabled us to offer a broader range of products, witness an expansion of the potential market, improve distribution and logistics and shortened delivery time.
WCI: What is your definition of creative and sustainable products, services and solutions?
NA: CO2 emissions have a high priority as to neutral production and waste prevention with our state-of-the-art factories in different locations. We manage energy, water and waste consumption in a very efficient way with the aim of reducing overheads as well as creating a safer working environment for our employees. Furthermore, we invest significant R&D resources in the development of sustainable cable products and installation methods. The main objective of these R&D efforts is to reduce energy losses, electromagnetic emissions and social impact during the installation period. Our main focus is on being at the forefront and developing innovative products, installations methods and solutions for our customers while taking care of the environment.
WCI: Are you planning to enter into a partnership with an Indian company in the near future?
NA: We already collaborate with installation companies as our partners. This is possible because we train and develop the relevant employees of these installation companies. Only then we are able to deliver the high performance level that we promise to our customers. Even though we do not plan any other strategic partnership today, it might become relevant in the long run.
WCI: What are nkt cables’ success factors?
NA: nkt cables’ key success factors in the field of high voltage are its complete product portfolio, which includes high voltage cables, high voltage accessories and our state-of-the art Monitoring System VALCAP. Our professional project management and our strong focus on customer relationship management are additional key success factors. Since 2012 – when we started to develop the Indian market – we have built up excellent connections as preferred suppliers to our customers, mainly utilities. On markets such as the Indian market, intense collaboration with local installers and training of people are crucial. So far, we have been very successful with this approach to the Indian market.
WCI: Where does your company’s core strength lie?
NA: Our company’s core strength lies in our ambition and our ability to develop existing and new markets, our long R&D experience in the field of cables and accessories and our technological and project management know-how. The combination of these strengths enables us to develop and implement solutions tailor-made to our customers’ requirements. So, we have not just succeeded in the development of new geographic markets. We have also been very successful in developing new business fields: in 2009, we offered our first offshore cables connecting an offshore windfarm with the onshore grid. Meanwhile, we became an established player for offshore cables on the European market and we are looking for further growth in the coming years as wind farm expansion in Europe makes rapid progress.
