We have plans to increase our capacity by over 33%

Vimal Jalan, Director, Slimlites Electricals Pvt Ltd What are the different types of wires manufactured by Slimlites Electricals? The different types of wires manufactured by us are the enamelled copper wire and strips, paper insulated copper wire and strips, and fibre glass covered copper wire and strips. Copper wires are considered best, but the quality of copper is often an issue. What are the standards followed here for quality control? The company (SEPL) strictly follows the policy of buying material from reputed companies like Hindalco, Vedanta and other reputed international organisations. We, at SEPL have internal facilities where all inputs are tested; for e.g. copper is tested for conductivity, purity, resistance etc. As a policy, the material is issued for production only after proper confirmation is received from Q.C. What role do winding wires perform in providing energy efficiency? Today, all products are so designed so that they are compact and slimmer. Similarly, winding wires, which reduce weight are used at the heart of appliances, motors, etc. Therefore, it is imperative to design a compatible sized copper wire, without compromising on quality and efficiency of the final product. This can be achieved in copper winding wires only by producing winding wires with higher temperature resistant enamel (to take care of the higher internal temperature generated due to higher processing speed and compact design). At SEPL we have successfully achieved this by reducing our customer rejection to less than 0.1 per cent. There is growing usage of aluminium wires. How do these compare with copper wires? Though aluminium wires are increasingly replacing copper wires in many industries, the latter has the inherent advantage of better durability and strength, and is most importantly a three times better conductor. Copper scores higher and thus restricts the usage of aluminium to only a few products. What R&D do you undertake? Do work closely with OEMs to develop customised offerings? We at SEPL frequently arrange lectures/sessions from industry experts to not only educate our technical staff and operators, but as an exercise that enhances our consistent endeavour to excel in quality and be open to new challenges. This is why all our OEM customers always prefer us when they require a certain or special grade of wires. How organised is the industry? What are the problems and how effectively are these addressed? Historically, the copper winding wire industry has been dominated by the unorganised sector. However, due to government policies and measures being taken by various associations, the role of this unorganised sector has reduced to 1/3rd its original market size. Despite this, we still do face these kinds of challenges, which are addressed jointly as well as individually. How large is the Indian market for copper wires? What is the SEPL share? Any exports? The size of the enamel wire industry in India is 225,000 Metric Tons per annum, out of which SEPL´s share is currently only 2 per cent. We are committed to scale it upto 4 per cent in next three years and as in the next two years, have plans to increase our capacity by more than 33 per cent. Are cheap imports plaguing this segment of the industry? A lot of material is coming in from the ASEAN and SAARC countries due to import duty concession, facilitated due to the treaties signed with these countries. As per available current data, more than 15 per cent of total copper consumption is imported. What is your take on Make in India? What is the impact? The present government has taken lot of steps to boost the industry through policies, and day-to-day working has become more simplified and manufacturer friendly. In next few months we are sure that the economy will get its desired boost and will move steadfastly forwards on the path of growth, which will help us achieve PM Modi´s Make in India initiative. We, on our part, are doing our bit by trying to buy all our inputs domestically, while remaining as competitive as possible, to combat the foreign competition.