ON FACE
Pioneer in Showcasing Prowess of Indian Manufacturing!
Veena Parikh Managing Director, VERTEX Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd.
It provides import substation to its customers. It offers products which are “Engineered to Perfection”. ‘Vertex’ has been the unparalleled leader in forced feed lubrication systems for over two decades. ‘Make in India’ is a new programme to revolutionize manufacturing in the country. In an interview with MART, Mrs. Veena Parikh, Managing Director, VERTEX Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd. highlights how her company has actually been maintaining the spirit of ‘Make in India’ for long.
VERTEX has been a name to reckon with in the field of Forced Feed Lubricators for the last two decade. How has been the journey so far? Ans: Force Feed Lubricators were introduced in India by “Vertex”. Till then they were being imported by compressor manufacturers. We started our lubrication manufacturing with Ingersoll Rand as they were the leading compressor manufacturers in India, and they were known worldwide for their noiseless compressors. As we made lubricators for them, the other firms became interested in developing their models as well. At first, we had KG Khosla buy lubricators from us, and soon the government sector also followed suit, firms like Bharat Pumps and Compressors Ltd., ONGC, Oil India etc. got in touch with us to develop their models. As all the firms had
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different configurations, we consequently developed various different models catering to their compressors and pumps. Since that time, we have been OEM suppliers to all the Indian compressor manufacturers. How was VERTEX able to provide import substitution in its field? What advantages did it offer? Ans: Earlier there were only imported lubrication systems available. Many companies tried to manufacture them but were unable to provide same performance and quality. In 1981, when “Vertex” introduced its lubrication systems, we were able to prove that India can offer equivalent quality and performance at a competitive price. “Vertex” soon became a landmark in quality. The custom regulations on imports back then set the duty at 200%
which was an issue for the importers. “Vertex” lubrication systems came as a blessing for compressor manufacturers. Moreover, service and part replacement availability in India itself saved a lot of time for them as well. What kind of market share do you enjoy in India? What kind of customer base VERTEX has offshore? Ans: “Vertex” currently holds a 45% market share as an OEM supplier to Compressor manufacturing firms; however, 65% of lubrication systems are still being imported as many projects companies are bound to provide a certain imported brand of lubrication system. Our complete production capacity is currently being utilized by Indian compressor companies, since they are exporters, we supply spares worldwide.
We are currently headed to enhance our production facilities, so within a short period we will be capturing more market share, and imports will reduce. Our target is to capture 100% of the domestic market and then head towards export. We believe that if quality lubrication systems are manufactured in India, they should be utilized here first and exported later. Can you throw light on the entire product basket? What are the segments VERTEX caters to? Ans: Force feed lubrication systems are basically divided into two parts: 1) Pumping Element 2) Drive unit Our regular products are available in different working pressures like: a) LUB 1800 - 25-32 Bar b) LUB 1100 – 85 Bar
August 2016