A Glorious Feeling

Schmersal MD looks back at 10 years of manufacturing in Ranjangaon and the company’s role in the industry’s future.

Sagar Bhosale (SB), managing director (MD) – Schmersal India Pvt. Ltd. shares his views with your author (SSP) on the expected growth in the vertical-mobility solutions and significant contribution by Schmersal India in the vertical-transportation (VT) industry, further highlighting the expansion of its Export Oriented Unit (EOU) and manufacturing facility at Ranjangaon.

SSP: Schmersal India recently commemorated 10 years of its manufacturing facility at Ranjangaon. How does it feel to mark such an important milestone, and what was the response received from the Schmersal Group Management Team?

SB: Schmersal India commemorated this jubilee celebration along with its channel partners, suppliers, customers and employees. Completing a decade is always a glorious feeling. In the last 10 years, we have written an unprecedented success story. The company has continuously expanded its production and business activities. Every year, we expand capacity by adding new product lines with innovative technology by adding high-end test equipment to ensure the quality of products. We produce electromechanical and solenoid interlock switches. We have 22 product lines, producing many variants depending on customer requirements. Many more product lines are planned in the coming years. The response received from the Schmersal Group Management Team is welcoming and supportive. Our management was part of the celebration in India.

SSP: What are the locational advantages of having the manufacturing facility at Ranjangaon, and how does it facilitate Schmersal India’s operations in Pan-India and across the globe?

SB: Location plays a vital role in having a manufacturing facility. Ranjangaon Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) serves as one of the best MIDCs in Maharashtra. This location is an important milestone for the company, signifying its continued growth and expansion in this market. It supports the best infrastructure for the company’s intensive goals for localization and safety awareness, which are expected to bring consequential change in the future. We have a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with almost 4,000 m2 of production and storage space.

We have also expanded our facility to manufacture certain product ranges for human and machine safety as per international safety standard activities in India — both by opening new sales offices and expanding our network of distribution channels — to address new markets, increase geographical coverage and improve knowledge and awareness of machine safety in India, as well as reduce logistical delays and costs for the Indian market.

SSP: How do you see factors like technology upgradation and safety influencing market trends in 2024 and beyond?

SB: Technology is the key driver for today and the needs of tomorrow. Technological developments, such as 3D cameras, radar, ultrasonic, advanced safety interlocking, I/O link safety, safety light curtain with Bluetooth/ Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), safety controller, etc., can be real game changers in the industry. From the software perspective, we learned that people are a bit lost when we’re talking about Industry 4.0 and other terms. Nowadays, it’s easy to collect and save data, but it’s more about what you do with this kind of data. We are trying to help our customers pick and analyze the data in the right way to improve productivity, especially in safety. Another trend that we have been noticing is that organizations are getting more comfortable with electronic sensors as compared to the earlier generation of electromechanical sensors. In fact, there has also been a steady rise in the demand for sensors for specific applications. For instance, the pharmaceutical and food industries are demanding hygienically safe sensors. Apart from this, there has been a surge in the popularity of safety sensors with RFID technology.

SSP: Schmersal India has made exports a priority and expanded the EOU in its factory in August 2020. What have been the benefits since then, and how do you see this giving the brand an edge going ahead?

SB: Capacity enhancement in the EOU opens more opportunities to serve global customers. It gives a boost to exports and earns foreign currency. Also, it gives us an increased market reach. This diversifies the customer base and reduces dependence on a single market, which can be particularly valuable during economic downturns in specific regions. It helps with revenue growth as it opens opportunities to sell products to a larger customer base. As the volume of production and sales increases through exports, larger production runs can lead to lower per-unit production costs, improving overall profitability. This gives the brand an edge going ahead as we have competitive advantage, and engaging with diverse international markets can lead to valuable learning experiences. We can purchase raw materials or capital goods duty-free, either through imports or domestic sources. Our well-executed export strategy contributes to sustained long-term growth, which is essential for a company’s stability and success. During the last three years, EOU has made a remarkable contribution to the growth of Schmersal India. We manufacture certain products exclusively in India under EOU to support the global market by supplying across the globe.

SSP: How do you perceive the future of the VT industry in India, and do you see Schmersal India playing an even greater role as the journey progresses?

SB: India’s rapid urbanization and the construction of high-rise buildings and complexes in major cities are driving the demand for VT systems. As cities continue to grow and expand, the need for efficient vertical-mobility solutions is expected to increase.

The adoption of smart technologies in elevators and escalators is also on the rise. This includes features like destination control systems, predictive maintenance using IoT sensors, safety and energy-efficient solutions. These technologies aim to enhance the user experience, reduce energy consumption and improve system reliability by increasing the focus on sustainability and energy conservation. Changes in regulations and safety codes are expected to shape the industry’s future by imposing strict requirements on manufacturers and service providers.

The VT market in India is competitive, with both domestic and international players. The competitive landscape could continue to evolve, impacting product offerings, pricing and innovation. We are witnessing continuous advancements in materials, control systems and safety features. The integration of AI, machine learning and data analytics is expected to play a significant role.

Schmersal India has a greater role as the journey progresses. Being a founding member of the Elevator and Escalator Component Manufacturers’ Association of India, we have taken the initiative with other companies and formed this association to create awareness and share knowledge with regards to the industry. We have a complete range of safety products like door locking devices, switchgear, emergency call systems, positive-break door contacts, position switches with safety function inspection boxes and manual controllers, floor displays and voice announcers to enhance man-machine safety in the VT industries. Being a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) committee member, we support the industry in upgrading the Indian machine safety standards in alignment with ISO related industry safety taken into consideration to implement in VT manufactures and uses. As the journey progresses, the industry will continue to see an increased demand for high-quality safety technology. Hence, we have a promising future for Schmersal India.

About Sagar Bhosale
Sagar Jeevan Bhosale has a bachelor of electrical engineering from Sardar Patel College of Engineering and his business management and export import management from IMC. He currently has more than 27 years of industry experience. He started his career with the Legrand group in the sales team. Then, he worked for two years for Industrial Sales in Crompton Greaves for its Motor Division. The next eight years of his career were with Schneider Electric in Mumbai and then in Pune, for its Low Voltage Control Gear, Medium Voltage Switchgear and Industrial Automation for Original Equipment Manufacturer, as well as the end users in Industry.
For the past 16 years, he has been with Schmersal India Pvt. Ltd. (a 100% subsidiary of Schmersal Group, Germany), which was a new start-up in India in 2007. He started as regional manager and was responsible for all the activities of company formation and product management. He was responsible for setting up the manufacturing plant, the Schmersal Global Competence Centre (for engineering and IT service for the group) and the EOU in India. He has been the managing director of Schmersal India for the past 12 years. His hobbies include reading and traveling.