Godrej Lawkim Motors, part of Godrej & Boyce, has newly launched the E-switch technology in its motors, as a replacement to the conventional centrifugal switch. In this exclusive interaction, we have Xercsis K. Marker, Executive Vice President & Business Head, Godrej Lawkim Motors, telling us why and how the new E-switch technology promises to be of multidimensional advantage to consumers. Marker also takes through the five-decade long history of Godrej Lawkim Motors, whilst discussing his company’s undisputed market leadership in hermetic compressor motors.
Let us begin by a brief history of Godrej Lawkim Motors, right from the time of taking over Lawkim Motors in the 1970s, to understanding the range of motors currently produced.
Lawkim Motors, an independent family-owned company since 1977 largely catering to Godrej Appliances for their refrigerator compressor motors till 2008, was amalgamated into Godrej & Boyce as an independent business. Since then, we have continued to deliver high-quality products and services to our customers worldwide supported by our robust processes and stringent quality standards.
Godrej Lawkim Motors manufactures best-in-class, energy-efficient motors including specialty motors, hermetic compressor motors, and motor components like stators, rotors, die-cast and laminations.
We are pioneers of hermetic motors in India as we continue to use our engineering expertise to provide our customers with a wide range of energy-efficient applications covering industrial, commercial, and other home appliances.
We are also present in offering calibration and inspection services to various engineering sectors to help businesses assure and optimize the control parameters on their equipment affecting their production quality.
Over the last 7-8 years we have steadily grown our business with leading global compressor manufacturers, and exports.
Roughly how much of your production is consumed internally by the appliances division of Godrej & Boyce?
We mainly supply hermetic compressor motors for refrigerator compressors and high efficient air-conditioner compressors. Now we are further exploring possibilities of supplying motors for high-efficiency fans motors for air-conditioner and washer applications.
Over the last 7-8 years we have steadily grown our business with other leading global compressor manufacturers, and exports. We currently have an internal to external business contribution ratio of 1:3.
This has helped us tremendously to grow in scale, whilst continuing to support our internal business for their existing and new product needs.
We appreciate that Godrej & Boyce is a market leader in hermetic motors/compressors. Please discuss your domestic market share and your presence in the global market.
From the total market, motors outsourced by hermetic compressor manufacturers count as the addressable market for us. We are leaders in this addressable market.
The current market share of domestic refrigerator hermetic motors is about 47 per cent, air-conditioner hermetics is 20 per cent and commercial refrigeration hermetics is 90 per cent. We are listed as one of the top 10 best global independent hermetic motor companies on “MarketWatch”, but we do not directly export. It is only through compressor manufacturers to whom we supply and who in turn export their compressors equipped with our motors.
The high reliability of a hermetically-sealed compressor comes from the reliable Godrej Lawkim hermetic motor fitted inside the compressor.
In simple terms, what advantages does a hermetically-sealed compressor provide over the open-type ones?
Hermetically sealed compressors are widely used in refrigerators, air conditioners, and freezers. These are air-tight and ensure no leakage of the refrigerants or any fluid from the sealed system. Whereas, open compressors are more susceptible to leakage and need trained supervision all the time.
Open-type compressors are no longer used for domestic and commercial applications for the last couple of decades as hermetically-sealed compressors increased in popularity. They are easy to install, compact, less noisy, occupy little space, need no external lubrication, and are absolutely leak-proof. They are very reliable and do not need extensive maintenance.
The high reliability of the compressor is also attributed to the reliable Godrej Lawkim hermetic motor fitted inside the compressor which is, in fact, the heart of the system.
Please discuss how motors produced by Godrej Lawkim Motors have become more efficient – in terms of material efficiency, which is to say less material used, and energy efficiency.
The small induction motor developed for one of our customers was challenging for us but cost-effective and efficient that benefitted them. Likewise, we also have BLDC higher efficiency motors with control cards where the motor cost decreases but the overall cost is slightly higher due to control cards. In the future, we will horizontally deploy it for other Hermetic applications.
We appreciate that Godrej Lawkim Motors recently launched the E-switch technology in its general-purpose motors. From a technical standpoint, what advantages does this offer over conventional centrifugal technology?
The open-circuit switch also necessitated mechanical assembly by a trained person which is money and a time-consuming process, but with the e-switch, there is less time required for assembly as it works on an electrical connection without the need of a mechanical assembly.
The modern E-switch technology in motors is environment-friendly, does not contain any hazardous materials and provides a longer operational life thereby making it more reliable. The E-switch is also able to detect near lock-rotor conditions and sends timely alerts on overload conditions as well.
Thanks to the E-switch technology, a user can now save time and money with a long-lasting, reliable motor.
How does the end-user benefit from E-switch technology?
With longer life and strong reliability, the E-switch technology is an asset for the consumer to avoid spending on installation or maintenance cost of the motor, and rather invest in a technology that is compact, lightweight and maintenance-free.
The user can save time and money with a long-lasting, reliable motor. Moreover, the E-switch is also environment-friendly thus causing less damage to the overall environment while continuing to deliver efficient performance.
Do you expect a higher market share thanks to motors equipped with E-switch technology?
We are aiming to achieve a higher market share of 30 per cent of 100S Frame motors with the newly E-switch equipped general-purpose motors.
Are there specific industries that could particularly benefit from E-switch technology?
The E-switch technology will be useful across sectors including domestic, agriculture, dairy, food, sme, construction, and more for applications in areas such as monkey lifts, woodworking machines, air compressors, betel cutting machines, milking, mixing of paints and agri-machinery.
Also read: Godrej & Boyce Commissions 220kV Substation In Karnataka
Please discuss the R&D set-up at Godrej Lawkim Motors. Can we presume that new technology upgrades to your products are largely based on in-house R&D?
We have a cross-functional team of mechanical, electrical and electronics specialist engineers that has developed many complete homegrown solutions and is armed with the most modern test setup for verification and validation.
We also occasionally use global industry and academic experts to validate our design and development activities across a variety of products. We have developed the in-house expertise to design electronic cards along with the related software for BLDC motors.
Replacing old inefficient motors with high-efficiency motors will have immense benefits in long run though with some upfront cost.
Now for a general question: It is learnt that India can achieve tremendous savings by scrapping inefficient (IE-1 or below) motors and replacing them by IE-2 or IE-3 motors. What is your overall view on the precariously high presence of inefficient motors in India’s industrial sector?
Minimum efficiency for electric motors is mandatory for industrial applications, for line-operated three-phase motors, with IE2 as the minimum norm. This is also the case in some domestic appliances such as domestic air-conditioners and refrigerators, to name a few. There is still need to introduce such norms for several other applications, such as commercial air-conditioning, electrical/domestic appliances etc.
It is our belief that replacing old inefficient motors with high-efficiency motors will have immense benefits in long run though with some upfront cost. With rising electricity tariffs, the payback time—in terms of saving in power costs—is shrinking fast. In some cases, it can be as low as 1-2 years.
The potential is so high that the industry has helped reduce the burden of setting up of new large power stations and transmission infrastructure, considering the addition of millions of new energy efficient appliances every year.
(All photographs seen in this interview relate to products/manufacturing facilities of Godrej Lawkim Motors.)
