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— Kamal Goliya, Chief Executive Officer,
Meco Instruments Pvt Ltd
Meco, a traditional name in the electrical and electronics T&M
industry, has been at the forefront in offering time-tested, reliable
and affordable instruments. With a standing of over five decades,
Meco has come to represent the face of the Indian electrical
T&M industry. In this conversation with Electrical Monitor,
Kamal Goliya touches upon a wide canvas of issues-ranging from
Meco's core business values to its future plans. Goliya admits that
the present business environment could be challenging but he is
confident of Meco passing every test of time. An interview by
Venugopal Pillai.
Whenever one thinks of meters, Meco comes first to the
mind. Tell us how Meco has come about being so synonymous
with meters.
It started more than 50 years ago. Meco was one of the
pioneers in producing some of the T&M instruments that the
industry then needed. Meco used to provide instruments for
railways, defence, etc. This journey continued over the years
and we developed so many instruments and even got
recognized by the Department of Science & Technology for our
R&D centre where we design and develop instruments.
Definitely, we owe our success to the support of our customers.
What are the core business values that Meco stands for?
We never compromise on quality. We ensure that our products
are reliable, long lasting and affordable to everyone - not only
institutions but also to the common man.
How do you gauge prospects of the T&M industry given the big
investment outlay in the power T&D sector?
Well, the current scenario with so many controversial issues
dogging the government is not very encouraging. No
investments are really happening. I can tell you for a fact that
business is down with everybody in industry. We depend a
great deal on government projects. The decision-making
machinery of the government is moving very slowly, and no
investment decisions are being taken in core areas like
infrastructure, power, railways or telecom, for example.
Can you quantity the dependence of your business on
government orders?
If you consider both direct and indirect business, I would say
our dependence is about 50 per cent.
We hear about competition from Chinese suppliers in the electrical equipment industry. What is the scenario with
respect to T&M?
Prima facie, there is competition from China in the Indian T&M
industry. Actually, the T&M industry falls into two major
categories - one is the manufacturers in the organized and the
branded sector. This category has it own brand and in some
cases, the manufacturing activity is global. In our case for
instance, Meco has strategic alliance with overseas
manufacturing companies in China, Taiwan and Europe.
Regardless of where the product is manufactured, the
organised sector companies ensure that the brand is delivering
its standards of quality, reliability and performance.
The other segment is that of traders and importers that bring
in just about any product, from all over the world including
China. These products are branded as their own or are sold in
the original brand. Today, one set of products is traded;
tomorrow, it could be something else. There is no focus on
quality or service. Though we might lose some amount
of business, especially in the low-end instrument segment,
we do not really see them as direct competitors in the segment
we are in.
On the other hand, how do you see competition from the large
multinationals that are establishing their base in India?
I see this as very healthy competition. India used to be in the
"Protection Raj" where there were controls and restrictions.
We had, for instance, great difficulty in sourcing components.
The domestic industry at that time grew, but under severe
limitations. However, this growth also gave the industry a
strong base. We are thus prepared to face competition from
anybody!
Are you looking at specific policy support from the government
for the T&M sector?
Not really, I think. Imports duties for instance are low and the
policy framework is quite conducive. It is only the decision
making and implementation that has to pace up.
How has Meco been faring in the exports market?
Well, our exports have declined over the past 1-2 years in the
EU & USA. We used to have sizeable exports earlier. Our
current focus for exports is the Middle East, Africa and South
East Asian countries.
Is there competition from China in the overseas market
as well?
Yes.
India is generally known to have poor R&D outlays, at least in
relative terms. Do you think bigger expenditure on R&D can
boost the T&M industry?
Sure! India has generally been a producer of "basic
necessities"; we don't have much of "high-technology"
products, generally speaking. The country's traditional
objective has been to produce goods for the masses. In this, by
now, the technology is quite mature and advanced. But if you
look at a developed country like USA, the products are much
more technically sophisticated. I thus feel that R&D should be
the focus area, for which lot of funds will need to be allocated.
What is your view on India's existing testing facilities like CPRI,
ERDA, etc?
The laboratories are well equipped in testing for standards like
IS, BS, etc. However, the cost of testing is very high. As far as
Meco is concerned, most of the testing facilities are available
in-house. Whatever products are introduced can be tested at
our own labs. However, when the need arises, we do avail the
services of other external testing laboratories.
A sector like T&M would need, as we expect, skilled manpower.
Do you face any concerns to this effect?
There is big shortage of manpower today. It has become a
precious commodity! It is not only with respect to skilled
manpower, but also semi- and unskilled labour. At every level,
the requirement of manpower is far in excess of availability.
This is also partly because of rural employment guarantee
schemes run by the Central government.
India is progressing and everybody has aspirations.
Everybody wants to be educated and when educated, people
will naturally seek better employment opportunities. Today if a
company does not get people, it should be seen as a healthy
sign for the country! It could mean that people already have
something better to do, and if you want them to come to you,
you should offer them the best! For this again, companies
would need to upscale themselves.
Coming back to Meco, what have been key launches in recent
times?
Yes, we have introduced certain calibrating equipment.
We have also introduced battery-capacity testers. Just like
we have generators acting as power generation backup,
we also have stored backup power sources like battery
banks. We feel that batteries need to be tested efficiently
so that they justify their role as a source of power backup.
The conventional methods do not give reliable results, and
hence we have introduced our series of battery testers and
analyzers. Our equipment gives an indication of how good or
bad the battery is; whether it needs to be recharged or
replaced.
What is your view on T&M requirements for India's EHV and
UHV power transmission ambitions?
In fact, Meco has supplied meters for the 1,200kV UHVAC Bina
test line being developed by Power Grid Corporation of India. I
think EHV and UHV are the future.
Tell us about your vision for Meco for the medium term, say five
years from now.
Five years down the line, Meco would like to be No. 1 in power
and harmonics analyzers, clamp meters, multimeters and
battery meters, just to name a few.
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