C&S Electric to increase focus on overseas market

“The retail domestic market will be a key area of growth for us, in addition to greater strategic focuses on export markets like China” said Aditya Khanna, Managing Director, C&S Electric Ltd.
Delhi-based Rs 1,200 crore power equipment manufacturer C&S Electric Ltd is increasing its footprint in the global market. In an exclusive interview with EPR, Aditya Khanna talks about slowdown and his company’s strategy.
The Indian economy is not doing well. With that, how do you see the performance of the industry as well as your company?The industry is going through a difficult phase because of the slowdown, delays in project executions, and various policy constraints. Ultimately, we are a large country and we need growth in power generation to cater to the growing needs of the country. I don’t think it is the issue in terms of demand, it is only a matter of timing and I’m sure that things will pick up. Having said that even within the existing situation, I don’t think that all segments are impacted equally. Within the power segment there are multiple segments like infrastructure, industrial, real estate, consumers, OEMs etc. So within the landscape, there are pockets of growth still available.
As a company, though the infrastructure side is under slowdown, we are finding fairly good traction on the consumer, retail and real estate side.  This year we are expecting about 10 – 12 per cent growth in our LV switchgear business due to growth in retail segment. We have introduced new products on this front which is largely backed by the MCB range. Our medium voltage switchgear products which are mainly used on the industrial and distribution side are doing very well. On the distribution side we are witnessing a lot of traction on the urban distribution and semi-urban distribution driven by APDRP. In the next 1 to 2 years time, we will probably become one of the top 2 or 3 suppliers of ring main units for the distribution segment. Our bustrunking products are doing very well and we continue to enhance our market leadership position.
Our export business had been quite good during the year and we expect around 15 per cent growth for this financial year. Today our brand is well respected and recognised all over the world. As a result we are able to continuously grow our depth and spread in the export markets.
Could you name some of your significant projects this year?Our bustrunking products are being used in the landmark ‘World One’ building in Mumbai. We have made significant supplies of switchgear and busbars in Reliance’s Sasan power plant, the Nuclear Power plant being executed by BGR in Chennai and the IOCL Paradip refinery.
There are many MNCs present in your vertical. What are the advantages you offer being a local player?The biggest advantage is we are closer to the customer. The customers enjoy flexibilities in terms of product selection, engineering, and lead time of supplies. Being an Indian company, we have the ability to develop customised solutions according to customers’ feedback and specifications.
Which are the export markets doing well for your business?We export to over 85 countries and are present in almost all the major markets. In terms of our spread also we are fairly even. In export, our 20 per cent sales come from U.S. and North America region. European market contributes to 25 per cent, whereas Middle East is 15 per cent, and Africa attains around 10 per cent.
So far, all markets are doing relatively well for us. However, Africa emerges as a real revolution for us. We were not much present in Africa in the past, but in the last 2 to 3 years our sales in these markets have significantly grown.
Is it particularly in the MV switchgear market?No, it has been in the entire portfolio, but predominately LV switchgears and busbars.

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