Interview with Preman Ninan, Senior Manager of Sales, India, Molex Inc. on Molex participation at Automation India 2014
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Tell us about Molex participation at Automation Fair India 2014? How long are you connected with this show and what is your feedback about 2014?
Molex showcased its entire product range which supports connectivity requirements in Industrial Applications at Automation Fair India 2014. Last time we participated in this Fair was in 2008. Since then, there has been considerable improvement in the arrangements and in the quality of participants. The Fair has given us reasonable visibility within the Industry and helped to showcase Molex’s capability to support the Industry.
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What products you brought to showcase at the fair?
Products showcased included networking cordsets and connectors, power distribution cordsets and connectors, balancers, retractors, PLC networking cards, industrial communication solutions, safety I/O blocks, etc.
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Which markets you are targeting in India?
Our primary focus in India is plant automation applications. This includes automotive, as well as food and beverage segments. We are also targeting machine builders.
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How do you see Automation and Automotive sector for your products growth?
The Automotive Sector provides a great opportunity for our products. Molex has a complete product offering to support interconnectivity and communication solutions. We also have global expertise in these Sectors. Growth of these Sectors in India and our product range gives Molex great growth opportunities in India.
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Can you outlook the technology penetration in connector products? Which key drivers are influencing new innovations in connector technologies?
The use of Ethernet bus technology is continuing to grow in the Automation or Automotive Sectors. This contributes to a growing demand for higher speed performance in Ethernet media and connector systems, as well as for solutions that can support Ethernet communication and power in one package (PoE as well as power and Ethernet hybrid solutions). Additionally, connectors are being used more and more to supply single phase and three phase power to devices. The ongoing challenge and industry trend is to provide more power through smaller connectors.
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What would you suggest to tackle the counterfeit connectors issues?
We do not believe counterfeit connectors are much of a problem in the Automation or Automotive Sector, unlike what we face in the consumer or appliance industries. The quality of product used and the technology adopted are important for the Automation or Automotive Sectors; for example, the wrong selection can be expensive for these Sectors. Molex supports these Sectors either directly or through authorized distribution channels.
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Can you comment on Molex growth rate in India?
Molex has posted double digit growth in India over the past five years. We believe enough opportunities are available in the country to maintain and improve this growth rate. The “Made in India” initiative by the Prime Minister can help to see growth rate at 20% and above in coming years.
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How about the Molex competition with other leaders? Where you would like to place your strength?
Molex is one of the global leaders in the connector industry. We have most of our global competitors present in India. In many areas of product technology and quality, differentiation is very small between industry leaders. A key strength of Molex is in innovation and customer support. Our approach of “Think Global And Act Local” goes a long way in providing good local support to our customers.
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Tell us about your distribution strategies, customer service and support?
I would say that we have one of the best distribution strategies in India, and close to 40% of our business is serviced through distribution channels. We support customers through our global distributors, local distributors and catalog distribution. There is a separate distribution sales team to support this. Ratings from our customers have been very encouraging in the areas of customer service and support.
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Your comments about Made in India products? How do you look at this opportunity?
Molex is one the first multi-national companies to set-up manufacturing in India, back in 1988. Presently, we have three manufacturing plants in India supporting our customers. We have consistently increased our manufacturing footprint in India for products that have good requirements in India. As the “Make in India” strategy gains momentum, Molex is well-positioned to increase manufacturing capabilities in India to support our local customers.
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Do you have any future plans? What challenges you would like to tackle in India?
Molex is setting up a state-of-the-art Engineering Centre in India. This Centre will provide global support for product design and testing. For manufacturing, expansion plans are based on industry needs. We are responding to that from time-to-time, which, presently, has resulted in three manufacturing plants.
Streamlining of taxation structure and investment-friendly labour laws are very important to see India make progress in manufacturing.
