The Germany-headquartered LAPP Group was the first multinational cable manufacturing company to set up operations in India, over 20 years ago. In this interview, we have Gary Bateman, Managing Director, LAPP India, tracing the group’s journey in India over these long years. Bateman proudly notes that LAPP India is today serving customers from a wide spectrum of industries, and that too with highly localized but world-class products. Bateman is confident that the growth potential of India’s economy opens immense opportunities for wire and cable technology providers.
LAPP in India has completed well over 20 years and it is regarded as amongst the earliest cases of foreign direct investment in the wires and cables segment in India. How has the journey been?
LAPP was in fact the first multinational cable manufacturing company to set up operations in India. We identified India’s potential early on and set up the manufacturing unit at Bengaluru, 23 years ago. Since then, our operations have clocked steady growth and positive turnover year-on-year.
Today, LAPP India is the largest company in the APAC region and second largest in the LAPP Group with over 9,000 customers and two manufacturing facilities—Bengaluru (Karnataka) and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh).
Innovation is a key guiding principle for us. Our product development is designed to address industry challenges and customer requirements; backed by research and development. A full-fledged Innovation and Engineering Centre and state-of the art NABL-certified laboratory, defines our commitment to meeting customer requirements. We also develop and test new compounds and products at the facility.
LAPP, in the mind of the customers and stakeholders, stands for reliability, quality and trust. As a leader in cable and connection technology, we have always fostered innovation with young minds. We have partnered with leading technical institutes like RV College of Engineering in Bengaluru and PSG College of Engineering in Coimbatore to establish Centres of Excellence (CoE).
The over-two-decade journey for LAPP in India marks the transformation of LAPP from a cable manufacturer to a one-stop solution provider for all cable and connectivity requirements. We further strengthen our position in solution offering by offering industrial communication range of products for network connectivity.
LAPP India recently completed a major capital expenditure programme at its Bhopal plant. Please discuss the major contours of this expansion.
Established in 2012, LAPP Bhopal plant is a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant on 32 acres of land with the manufacturing capacity of 216,000 km of single-core wires catering to a growing Building and Infrastructure segment.
The plant was set up to manufacture single core wires and the manufacturing capacity was further expanded in 2015, to also manufacture multi-core cables. In 2018, looking at the growing demand for clean energy, we further expanded the manufacturing capacity to produce solar cables. This expansion was in line with the celebration of 20 years of LAPP in India. It marked our commitment to the Indian customers.
Differentiating the Bhopal plant is not just the state-of-the-art machinery but also the fact that it is a facility powered by clean energy. We have a 1-mw captive solar plant at the factory premises. The energy generated from this solar plant meets 90 per cent of the manufacturing facility’s power requirement, thus making it a green and sustainable facility.
“We are looking at strengthening our market presence in north India.”
What are the main markets and which regions are relatively under-exploited, for LAPP in India?
LAPP has over 40,000 standard products and customized solutions to meet requirements of customers across different segments ranging from textile, machine tool, food & beverage, infrastructure & building, railways, and renewable to automotive and more.
Being headquartered in Bengaluru, we have a strong brand presence in the south and west of India. We are looking at strengthening our market presence in north India as we continue to expand our customer base and channel partner network.
We understand that ÖLFLEX® remains the mainstay of Lapp Group in India. How has the Indian market responded to ÖLFLEX® and how do you see the years ahead?
Worldwide, including India, ÖLFLEX® is synonymous with power and control cables. The brand ÖLFLEX® stands for reliability and quality and hence enjoys customer loyalty. ÖLFLEX® continues to cater to applications ranging from measurement, high temperature, control to continuous motion, high flexibility making it extremely versatile for Indian market.
“We would further look at local manufacturing solar products for India to provide our customers greater value.”
Tell us more on LAPP Group’s plans of expanding its building wire segment in India.
India is the third largest in construction industry in the world and presents a huge growth potential. For over ten years, LAPP India has been investing in its building wire segment with ÖLFLEX® INFRA range of cables.
LAPP manufactures building wires in Flame retardant (FR), Flame Retardant Low Smoke and Halogen (FR-LSH) and Halogen Free Flame Retardant (HFFR) variants. These cables are used in locations requiring high degree of protection against fire and fire damage such as in public, residential and commercial buildings.
In addition to single core wires, we also offer power and multi-core cables, fire survival, fire alarm and security cables, telephone and lift cables, and data communication cables for this segment.
Also read: LAPP Introduces Lead-Free Cable Glands In A Global First
LAPP is offering solar products like cables, connectors, etc, to the Indian market. With India’s solar industry on the uptick, how do you see business prospects for these solar-related products?
LAPP has an exclusive range of products ranging from cables, connectors, splitters and special accessories for the solar segment. We offer cable and connectivity solution for photovoltaic projects to simple rooftop installations or even energy storage.
We see this as a growing segment with huge potential. We would further look at local manufacturing/sourcing solar products for India to provide our customers greater value.
“We are witnessing growing requirement for modular cable technology with the rise of smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0”
What would you regard as your major business growth drivers in India?
The Indian insulated wire and cable market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.3 per cent from 2017 to 2023 due to increasing government spending in infrastructure development projects. Transportation, food and beverage, oil & gas, and industrial communication will all be major commercial drivers for the wire and cable industry.
With the digital boom across sectors, there is a growing need for scalable, faster, reliable, and interoperable communication protocols, leading to an increased demand for cables and wires. The industrial communication industry, for example, is expected to grow at a CAGR of 6.3 per cent to $23.5 billion by 2025.
We are witnessing growing requirement for modular cable technology with the rise of smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0. India is on the path to be the world’s fastest growing major economy in 2022.
As per Indian Infrastructure Sector in India Industry Report, India plans to spend $1.4 trillion on infrastructure between2019 to 2023 and the Indian Railways was allocated a capex plan of Rs.215,058 crore for FY22 — the highest ever so far. As infrastructure spending increases, it is predicted to immensely boost demand for wire and cable technology as well.
There is driving demand from the India food and beverage packaging market which is expected to grow at a CAGR of 29.88 per cent between 2020 and 2025.
Finally, with the “Make in India” boost which promotes investments in the manufacturing sector, demand for wire and cable will continue to rise. According to Dun and Bradstreet, share of manufacturing in GDP is expected to increase to 25 per cent by 2025—a key growth driver of which would be the machine tool industry.
These are not mere valuations, but signs that reflect the growth potential of India’s economy across sectors, which opens up opportunities for the wire and cable technology providers.
