In this exclusive interaction, we have Saurabh Goel, President, Havells India Ltd, talking about the impact of COVID-19 on the company’s switchgear business and the subsequent recovery.
The launch of antimicrobial switchgear and the company’s move to improving the penetration of RCCBs in urban India are other important points that Goel touches upon in this interview.
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the economy and society. How have things been with Havells India, and with the switchgear business in particular?
The pandemic has disrupted demand for all the sectors. Adverse impact was experienced by housing, real estate and industries. The impact was therefore quite profound for companies that are essentially dependent on domestic consumption. Switchgear business saw a muted demand trajectory but revived soon after thanks to one of the largest network of highly engaged channel partners who generated the demand and for one of the largest switches and switchgear manufacturing facility at Baddi, HP that effectively catered to this demand. Now we are seeing buoyancy in the market demand and we feel that the void created by the pandemic would soon be a thing of the past.
How did your switchgear division maintain business continuity during the COVID-19 lockdown period?
Being a responsible corporate citizen, Havells and all its 14 production facilities across the country, fully adhered to both the Central as well as local governance codes during the lockdown.
Being in the electrical equipment sector which caters to many essential supplies industries, we took special permission to open up in a limited manner to fulfill the demand for both domestic essential sector as well as the exports sector, which was looking to catch momentum as other countries were already opening up post the pandemic.
“While undergoing such operations both at the plant and our offices we were one of the first in our sector to come out with detailed SOPs for working. All necessary precautions and health measures were taken.”
Immediate measures were taken by the senior management and HR personnel to assure the working populace on their emoluments and fear of job losses. It is testimony to our assurances and sincere efforts at the time of the lockdown that almost 90 per cent of our workers returned to work, as soon as unlock measures were announced.
The other challenge was to manage our supply chain both inwards (raw material) and outbound (finished goods). Again, thanks to our investments in the IT systems and processes, we were able to pinpoint the location of nearly Rs.600 crore worth of finished goods (that was in transit when the lockdown was announced) within just 72 hours and were able to take effective measures for its temporary storage. As for the operations, wherever permitted we extended our operation approvals to the suppliers which in turn enabled them to procure raw material to start operations in a limited manner.
As for the sales and marketing personnel, looking at the ever-standing need for technical trainings, we organised trainings and seminars for them to build up their technical skills, almost 10,000 man-hours of technical training sessions were conducted!
COVID-19 has exposed the strategic importance of reaching to the customers instead of waiting for the customer to come to us. Hence, we also infused digital mode for addressing customer demand, by launching unique online to offline model, where consumers could place order on Havells web portal which gets serviced by nearest dealer on a real time basis.
“COVID-19 has exposed the strategic importance of reaching to the customers instead of waiting for the customer to come to us.”
We understand that the COVID-19 pandemic has inspired Havells India to launch anti-microbial switches. Tell us more about the range.
Havells believes in innovation at the core and recently launched anti-microbial which covers both – antibacterial and antifungal switches, in our Crabtree range of premium switches.We are infact extending the anti-microbial feature in our entire Crabtree range as we feel it is atechnological step forward, the advantage of which should be available to all our discerning customers.
With the context of the pandemic, it has become imperative to ensure hygiene and infection control in all kinds of facilities such as hospitals, hotels, institutes, and homes, etc. more than ever before. The latest offering from the brand uses metal compounds that are more effective than metal oxides and other metal complexes and have higher efficacy as compared to silver ions to contain the growth of bacteria and fungi.
These new innovative switches available in the Athena, Signia and Veronarange of Crabtree switches, restrict the growth and spread of harmful microbes through human touch, with 99.99% efficacy. The switch range will act as a catalyst to lead a ‘Healthy life’ for customers by avoiding bacteria led diseases like food poisoning, pneumonia, conjunctivitis, etc.
“The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the significance of hygiene and infections control.”
Do you feel that anti-microbial surfaces for switches and other wiring accessories will become the new norm in the time to come?
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the fore the significance of hygiene and infections control. Increasingly, hygiene has become imperative to ensure infection control for everyone. The pandemic has revamped the consumer behaviour, which is a key catalyst in giving rise to the ‘new normal’ across product categories.
With customer centricity at the core, we at Havells have constantly been working towards building products for the most topical customer needs. Based on our brand philosophy of making a difference, this anti-bacterial range from Crabtree, will find an essential place with the discerning customer. The growth in hygiene focused products will stay for a longer time. Brands will have to cement their place in the new behavioural landscape amid the new normal.
Havells India, we recall, launched a range of “smart” switchgear in September last year. Tell us about the key smart features of this new range. How has been the market response so far?
Electricity is the very basis of the new technological revolution that we are experiencing in our daily lives. Every aspect of productivity and efficiency is powered by electrical gadget. The trends clearly point out to a need for electrical safety and preventive maintenance to lower the downtime. Power systems are technologically superior, smart, self-healing and conducive to IT enabled data sharing and building management.
Addressing the need, Havells being one of the pioneers in the switchgear segments introduced ST^Dx range of switchgear that is a communication ready range, providing a user-friendly one-touch interface to building’s myriad electrical load layout. Through its intricately designed interface users can easily monitor and control electrical circuits — right from MCCB to the distribution board level.
With multifunctional capabilities, the advanced version of Havells ST^DX offers real time monitoring status and facilitate pro-active maintenance of the device. The entire range will improve uptime making modern businesses more competitive and limiting intervention cost. With advanced programming of load cycle and efficient energy management, the range is aiming to minimize energy wastage and improve sustainability. Designed to meet the modern needs, the advanced range ensures safety with flag indication features along with providing ease of usage with its user-friendly features as well.
“With multifunctional capabilities, the advanced version of Havells ST^DX offers real time monitoring status and facilitate pro-active maintenance of the device.”
The response from consumers is indeed very positive. The application at various industrial plants, hospitals and commercial buildings has provided greater control over operation, maintenance and improved efficiency. These devices have addressed demand of large set of customers who wanted a reliable communication ready range with three critical features – control, monitoring and metering. IoT bases solutions in near future will enhance the overall customer experience of electricity consumption with greater control and reliability.
In a general sense, what new “smartness” features do you plan to incorporate in your switchgear products, going forward?
Smart is generic word which is now largely related to devices. We at Havells India design switchgear to efficiently extend electricity protection, even if it is not installed by a trained electrician. This is done by incorporating features like easy clip on, circuit identification window or air vent for self-cooling. We have made sure that any model of our switchgear can easily be installed with other standard devices, which eliminates issues of operational maintenance.
However, going forward, our intelligently designed devices will include Type-3 protection from surge, arc fault protection and smart metering. Communication-enabled devices will be easily linked to building management software and mobile application, bridging the gap between service provider and consumer.
We understand that Havells India has partnered with Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd to strengthen the distribution of electrical protection devices. Tell us more.
Yes, to ensure safety of users against hazards of electric leakage, Havells India and Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd signed an MoU to strengthen the distribution of electrical protection devices called residual current circuit breakers (RCCB) in north and north-western regions of Delhi. Apart from this, the partnership also focuses on creating awareness around good wiring practices and circuit protection devices through extensive awareness and training programme.
As a thought leader in the switchgear space, Havells has always prioritized user safety and was the first to provide a 6-year warranty on MCBs and earth leakage circuit breakers (ELCB/RCCB) when used along with Havells distribution board.
The association will help us sensitize consumers on the need to incorporate best in class protection devices in their homes and together we shall ensure that consumers are aware of the use of Earth-Leakage or Residual Current Circuit Breaker (ELCB/RCCB) through Tata Power DDL customer care centres.
“One of the most overlooked device in the household is an ELCB — a crucial device that breaks the circuit in a fraction of a second, thereby preventing electrical shock.”
We gather from industry sources that the penetration of ELCBs is very poor, even in metropolitan cities. What is your view and how can the situation be remedied?
Today, we are surrounded by electrical devices and most of us are not aware about the hazards that come along, due to lack of proper protection devices not being used. One of the most overlooked device in the household is an ELCB, which is a crucial device that breaks the circuit in fraction of second, the moment it senses a leakage current, thereby preventing electrical shocks.
ELCBs are extremely critical and play a major role in ensuring human safety from current leakage. A metropolitan city like Delhi has recorded significant electrical-related fatalities over the last decade. Deploying MCBs is the most common practice that is followed to ensure protection of electrical devices from short circuit and overload. However, MCB does not ensure safety of the humans from leakage current.
Our recent awareness initiative has been widely appreciated which clearly communicates the need for RCCB in an engaging manner. We have also introduced downstream protection devices (residual current protector in adaptor-and-plug orientation). This can be easily installed on devices/appliances like washing machine, water cooler, desert coolers, microwave , laptop etc. This helps to safeguard human from threat of electrocution.
Given the current landscape of rampant electrical accidents across many pockets of India, it is necessary to adopt an aware and responsible attitude. It is always wise to take preemptive measures and safeguard one’s life and property with good quality electrical protection devices.
