Interview with Vivek Venkatachalam, CEO, Raychem RPG Limited
What is your assessment of the current state of the transmission and distribution (T&D) equipment industry in the country?
The T&D segment will be the backbone of India’s growth as the country aspires to be a $3 trillion and eventually a $5 trillion economy. This growth will be fuelled by the increase in per capita consumption of energy. The per capita energy consumption is set to increase to nearly two times of what it is today, largely backed by the adoption of digital tools and digital devices.
There are three things that are going to happen in the T&D segment. Firstly, the T&D segment is very labour intensive and will ultimately get digitalised. Secondly, there is going to be a shift towards sustainable power sources such as hydro and solar, which will open up a lot of opportunities in the T&D segment. The third growth driver for the T&D segment will be the focus on efficiency improvement.
Please give us an overview of your products and offerings.
Raychem RPG Limited (RRL) has a strong distribution network with over 180 channel partners located in India and across the globe. The company offers a wide range of low and extra high voltage cable accessories, insulation and protection, covered conductors, connectors and fittings, cable management solutions, junction boxes, electrical safety products, distribution transformers, gas metering solutions, earthing and lightning protection systems and build-to-print solutions. The company has state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at four locations in India (Vasai, Naigaon, Halol and Chakan).
RRL’s range of products offer solutions to many sectors including utilities, industries, buildings, mega-retail, airports, data centres, hospitality, power generation, power transmission and distribution, mining, and transportation. The products are designed to perform efficiently, even in harsh conditions. Our products have features that ensure quality and reliability of power, shrink distribution and transmission losses, and ensure efficient management of energy.
What are your top priorities for Raychem RPG for the next one to two years?
Raychem RPG’s aim in the last 35 years has been ‘With India, For India’. We are not the kind of company that will import and sell products in the Indian market; we truly believe in manufacturing in India. We will focus on increasing our ability to manufacture all those components that are not manufactured in India today. We aim to increase our market presence and penetration in the high voltage and extra high voltage business segments. We also aim to expand into more geographies such as Bangladesh, the Middle East, and Europe.
We will continue to focus on digital products. There are a lot of opportunities in the area of digitalisation and we will continue to focus on it. We also aim to be more responsible as an organisation and focus on sustainability across the social, governance and environmental segments.
What are Raychem RPG’s new and upcoming products?
Raychem RPG has introduced a range of safety products that focus on providing a safe environment to those working in the energy sector. We aim to make the power sector safer and that has been our motivation to enter this product line. We have introduced safety gloves, mats and arch flash suits. It is a unique effort as all of this equipment is individually certified for all the requirements by the US, Europe, India and Asia Pacific. We are also focusing on the electric vehicles segment, which opens a huge market of opportunities for us. There’s a variety of products that are required within the electrical ecosystem and we have launched some of the key products for the segment. We are working with a few automotive companies in the market.
We want to be seen as digital solution providers. We will embrace digitalisation and make more products that are smart and designed to collect and mine data.
What is your outlook for the power equipment industry in India?
There is going to be a tremendous amount of investment in the T&D segment. We expect a lot of digitalisation, a lot of products are set to become smarter. The second thing that is expected is a shift towards sustainable power generation with the share of renewable energy growing. The renewable energy share is expected to be higher, which will bring its own complexities and its own challenges and create the need for new products. It is an opportune time to move from mere products to solution-based products to fulfil the bigger aspiration of India.
Raychem RPG Private Limited
A-1401, 14th Floor, Thane One, DIL Complex, Ghodbunder Road, Majiwada
Thane (West) 400 610, Mumbai