Extensive expansion plan on the anvil
Habasit-Iakoka has over the years carved a niche for itself as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of synthetic sandwich spindle tapes as well as high quality power transmission and conveyor belts in India. The company was in the news pretty recently when after 18 years of joint venture between Habasit Holding AG and Iakoka Syntrans, the former had announced the complete take-over of the Indian entity based out of Coimbatore. With the take-over Habasit aims to further strengthen its leading position in the Indian textile market and forge ahead with its ambitious growth plans.
Leading the company at this crucial juncture is Mr. Ashok Malhotra, who has taken over as the Managing Director from November 2014. Born and brought up in Jammu & Kashmir, Mr. Malhotra did his Bachelor’s Degree in Production Engineering from PEC, Chandigarh, before successfully completing his Master Degree in Business Administration from the Faculty of Management Studies in Delhi. Subsequently he also completed management programs at the prestigious Harvard Business School, INSEAD and Kellogg Business School.
With over 28 years of varied experience in corporate India across areas such as office automation, IT, industrial and life science instrumentation sectors, Mr. Malhotra has a deep understanding of the Indian business environment, a factor which has helped him successfully build several profitable businesses in both MNCs, as well as Indian companies, including start-ups with strong focus on cohesive high performance team-building, creation of enabling environment & stakeholder management, managing of strategic challenges and excellence in execution.
Referring to his early career, Mr. Malhotra said: “I started my career with the Tata Group and then moved to Swiss MNC, Ascom, as Country Business Manager. While with Ascom I successfully introduced new technology to India which led to a shift from Mechanical to Mail Management System. I established largest market share for Ascom Mail Management System in less than three years. Prior to Ascom, I was a part of the Bradma of India team where we set up the entire sales operations for direct and indirect channel and was also awarded as the Best Sales manager for two consecutive years for highest revenue in Mail Management System.
He subsequently took over as the Managing Director of Mettler-Toledo in November 2000 when Mettler AG wanted to take the Indian subsidiary to the next level of growth. “I successfully built Mettler manufacturing and distribution operations, both direct and Indirect. The objective was to build it as a leading brand in the industrial and life science segment in the Indian market. I was responsible for setting up the operations from scratch, leading and driving Mettler business for all the divisions. Mettler Toledo is a Swiss MNC, a leader in diversified analytical, weighing and precision instrument & solutions in industrial, laboratory and retail sectors,” elaborated Mr. Malhotra.
It was in November 2014 that Mr. Malhotra took charge as the Managing Director of Habasit India. This was after the parent holding company brought the entire stake of the local JV partner.
Going into details of his vision for Habasit operations in India, Mr. Malhotra pointed out: “One of the key missions is to make Habasit India as one of the best performed amongst the group companies worldwide. We will continue to build manufacturing, sales, grow revenues and distributors operations, while also looking at inorganic growth route in India in line with Habasit’s global vision.”
With the government aggressively pushing manufacturing through its ‘Make in India’ initiative, Habasit AG is keen to use India as a manufacturing hub not only for Indian operations but also for other Habasit affiliate companies, according to Mr. Malhotra.
Dwelling on the significance behind Habasit acquiring 100 per cent stake in the Indian entity, Mr. Malhotra explained that Habasit AG views India as a future market with huge growth potential. “Habasit plans to invest in India, and this was the logical route. The Indian market is very important for the Habasit Group. Habasit would like to take advantage of the highly skilled labour force in India. India is of significant importance to the group in view of its growing economy. The Habasit vision is to develop India as a key market for its products,” Mr. Malhotra said highlighting the company’s strong India focus.
Queried about the current manufacturing capacity of Habasit in India and its plans for any significant investments in expansion of manufacturing capacity, Mr. Malhotra said: “India is in the centre stage now and Habasit and Global management would support us to enhance manufacturing and distribution activities in India”. The current level of exports from the Indian plant, though small now, is expected to go up in the near future, thanks to rising global demand.”
At the global level, the very name Habasit has become synonymous with products incorporating the latest technology. According to Mr. Malhotra, keeping in with this commitment, the company would bring in improved products which would help it further cement its leadership position in the Indian market. “We want to build products specifically designed for the Indian market,” said Mr. Malhotra, adding that “textile business is our bread & butter, and we shall invest in, and develop the business stronger by partnering with our key customers and will bring the Habasit quality at premium Indian prices”.
Spelling out the future plans for Habasit in India, Mr. Malhotra observed: “It is very important for us to develop skills of our people stronger via increased support, skill our manufacturing work force, sales & service personnel and leverage of being part of a global company.”
He is optimisic of the continued good show by the company. “We have good local Habasit sales team and sales partners to support our mission going forward. We want to focus on our inherent strengths and further consolidate, in keeping with our long-term commitment to the Indian market,” added Mr. Malhotra.