B&E: As a company providing power backup solutions, what is your assessment of the power market in India?
Mark Werle (MW): As a UPS supplier we try to provide the best product possible in order to compensate for what the government is not able to deliver on the power front. Unlike in France and Germany where the UPS business is very small because there is uninterrupted power supply 24 hours x 7 days a week and there is hardly any shortage of power, the situation in India is not the same. The country suffers from a huge power shortage and there are long power cuts. So here there is a huge demand not just for power backup but for long backup support. As one of the top leaders in the UPS business in India we offer products and solutions that are tailormade for the market.
B&E: India is a good market for UPS players but the market has not been able to stand well on quality issues. Why?
MW: The main problem is that half of the market is unorganised. They sell their products by undercutting prices and compromising on quality. That makes it a challenging situation for us as we face a big pressure on margins.
B&E: Despite a string of new power plants commissioned of late the situation on the power front doesn’t seem to have improved? Why this dichotomy?
MW: India is a democracy, which is a very positive thing. But I think there is not enough political will to really take tough decisions that could ameliorate the power scenario in the country. For example, take the case of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, which faces a serious shortage of power. In the face of public protests over the issue of operationalising the plant, it has not been able to produce any electricity so far. Likewise there are other plants facing lingering issues, which have prevented any positive alteration on the ground.
B&E: With so many players offering UPS products, what is the USP of Numeric that makes it stand out?
MW: Our UPS products are ideal for providing long backup power support with the help of lots of batteries that are energy efficient and resilient. Also, they are better able to withstand the stress of frequent voltage fluctuations that is endemic to power supply in India.
B&E: With power generation capacity set to increase in the coming years, how do you see the growth opportunity panning out for UPS players like yourself?
MW: The future looks absolutely marvellous because even if the government today is taking decisions to solve the issue of power shortage, it will take 10-20 years before the ground situation starts turning. In the meanwhile, the middle class income group will expand manifold, increasing the demand for devices like ACs, refrigerators, etc, all of which need power back-up. So the business opportunity for power backup providers will remain promising
B&E: What are you doing to expand your UPS business in the country?
MW: Definitely we are targeting tier 2 and tier 3 cities and even smaller towns because the demand is huge in these places. Numeric is the Number 1 provider of UPS devices to banks. More than 60% of cash machines in India have a Numeric UPS inside. We service them and with the Indian government pushing banks to put more and more cash machines in tier 3 and 4 cities, we are now opening new service centers in these places.
