Fermator Group Expands With New Factory

P. Abey George (PG), General Manager, TecnoDoors Pvt. Ltd., converses with Anitha Raghunath (AR) and Raghu G. (RG) during the inauguration of Fermator Group’s second factory located in Sanand, Gujarat.

by Anitha Raghunath and Raghu G.

AR and RG: What are the special attributes or Unique Selling Propositions that set the Fermator brand and its offerings apart?

PG: Fermator as a brand has been in the Indian market for the last 25 years. For approximately seven years, the doors were imported from our headquarters in Tecnolama S.A., Spain. The brand is well known to the elevator fraternity. This brand signifies quality, consistency, technology and service. The technology is derived from the nearly 50 years of R&D experience at our design center in Spain. Quality, consistency and service are in the hands of individual factories. Both our factories, namely Tecnodoors  Pvt. Ltd., and Innovatec Pvt. Ltd., are designed to be pure production centers which means they are focused internally on the process of manufacturing.

AR and RG: How does the new factory launch exemplify the “Make in India” concept?

PG: Fermator always believed in being close to the customer. Now, being close to the customer has dovetailed into the manufacturing strategy of having a world-class manufacturing facility that is consistent with the Group’s vision. The new factory also showcases the Group’s commitment to the Indian market.

AR and RG: What is the significance of the new factory launch? Which products will be manufactured here and to which markets will it cater?

PG: The new factory is a near replica of Tecnodoors in terms of equipment, processes, ERP systems, etc. It is basically to increase our capacity for doors. The Chennai facility has an annual capacity of 40,000 car doors and 240,000 landing doors. Innovatec also has a similar capacity. Innovatec will cater mainly to the West and North markets. It will be able to produce the whole range of cabin and landing doors, namely the C40, 40/10, Smart and the Premium models.

AR and RG: How do you expect this investment to provide Fermator with an additional edge in terms of capability and response/ turnaround time for its clientele?

PG: This investment is mainly to maximize our capacity in India. We will have more capacity for special doors and multi-panel doors. It will give us more flexibility and our customers will benefit from having the option of buying from the Ahmedabad or Chennai factories, depending upon the logistics. 

AR and RG: What factors influenced the choice of location?

PG: There were various aspects considered for selection of location for the factory, namely availability of suitable land parcels, general industrial climate, availability of an international airport, availability of manpower, governmental policies, infrastructure, general industrial environment, etc.

On the operations side, aspects considered were distance from the customer, availability of a good vendor base and availability of container terminals.

AR and RG: How do you envisage market growth for vertical transportation (VT) in India during 2025 and beyond? What role do you see Fermator and its brand playing in this regard?

PG: Elevator market growth in India is approximately 7%. The market size is approximately 140,000 elevators newly installed in 2024. The Fermator brand aim to epitomize profitable growth. As long as buildings above three floors are being built, the demand for elevators will be a reality. It is up to elevator companies and elevator component companies to carve out space in the market to achieve profitable growth. 

AR and RG: What key trends have you observed in the VT industry across the globe? Which of these have you seen or expect to see reflected in the Indian elevator market, as well?

PG: The global VT industry is focused on safety and enhancing value unlike most Indian players. We are still stuck in a “reduce price” regime. The pie is becoming smaller. We are having to produce more elevators to sustain our toplines. We are having to burn costly machines to sustain the same toplines. We are having to stoke in more materials to keep the toplines. In this mad rush to sustain toplines, where is the bottom line? We are using materials whose prices are going up, burning machines for which we paid a fortune to acquire.

AR and RG: Have you seen a change in attitudes toward aspects like pricing and quality in India, especially in the past few years? Do you envisage a shift toward a more quality-conscious approach as opposed to a lower price positioning going forward?

PG: There is a very slow shift from lower price positions to better quality and value for customers. Some of the stars in the elevator market are companies that have embarked on this journey of creating value for the customer through good quality, better after-sales service, product reliability and focused products for different market segments.

AR and RG: What is the significance of Fermator’s India operations for its brand?

PG: Our Chennai factory produces the largest number of doors in the group. It produced about 2.5 lakh doors last year. We have announced plans to build a third factory in India, which shows the significance of the India market for the group. India will be the only country where Fermator has three factories.

AR and RG: What is Fermator’s future strategy and vision for India? Do you see its capabilities reaching the stage of a manufacturer catering to overseas markets?

PG: The Indian factories already have the capabilities to service the overseas market. All our factories worldwide are designed to have the same processes and procedures. Product quality and reliability are the same irrespective of the manufacturing factory.

This is a state-of-the-art factory spread over six acres of land. It is equipped to produce 280,000 doors per annum. This factory will be capable of manufacturing all models of doors, namely Compact, 40/10, Smart and Premium in all kinds of finishes/grades like powder coated in various colors, SS201, SS304, SS441 etc.

The quality and reliability of the products will be commensurate with the Fermator global standards since the processes in this factory are the same as in all Fermator factories worldwide. Every detail in this factory is designed, installed and maintained per the high standards of the group.

Our collaborators are trained by personnel from the Chennai factory to ensure the highest and most uniform standard of workmanship. This factory is intended for Fermator customers in the Western and Northern markets, who will benefit from shorter transit times and lower logistics costs.