Business Head- Professional
Lighting, Havells India Ltd
How has the journey of Havells evolved since its inception?
We started our journey in the lighting sector in year 2004 with an almost negligible base. Today, in a span of 13 years we have emerged as one of the fastest growing lighting companies in India with a turnover of almost INR 1200 Cr. We are today one of the fastest lighting companies in India and this is primarily because of the speed in innovation and execution. The success is also attributed to our state of the art manufacturing facility in Neemrana ,Rajasthan which is a dominant pillar in our success story.
We at Havells strongly believe in ‘Make in India’ concept and are of an opinion that behind the success of any product in Indian market local manufacturing is the key factor and we are a testimony of that. By setting up a fixture manufacturing facility In India, we addressed several issues pertaining to customised design, speed of innovation, faster deliveries irrespective of quantum, excellent quality and end to end solution offerings to our customers .
Street Lighting projects in India are currently on an all time high owing to various Govt initiatives. Our huge production capacities are turning out to be a big boon for us. We have recently bagged an order worth 450 cr from North Delhi Municipal Corporation which is based on CCMS (Centralised Control Monitoring System) SMART technology. Moreover, we are making it astronomically linked, which ensures that the street lights are automatically switched on once the sun sets and switched off after dawn .The system also sends alerts to the central system for each light point which calls for attention .At the flick of a button the colour temperature of the street light fixture can be changed based on the seasons for example during winter season the street lights can be operated at lower colour temperatures (Warm Light) and similarly on 6500 k during summers .The system can also show the exact real time energy saving and consumption.
Do you work with architects and interior designers?
Yes, we do. This community is highly intellectual and we have to be very specific of their needs while working with them. We have a huge range of products to cater to their needs .It is both the functionality as well as aesthetics which are very important in a product and our R&D team and our manufacturing facility goes a long way in coming up to the expectations of the architects. Customisation is where we create a big differentiation for our customers vis a vis our competitors.
Design plays an important role in lighting. How you address this particluar issue?
We at Havells are in continuous endeavour to keep developing and improving our product portfolio. Not only from the technology and performance point of view but also from Product design perspective. Over the years we have developed a resilient & passionate team in our innovation Centre called “Centre of Research & Innovation”. Our CRI team consists of about 70+ product engineers & designers who work very closely with the marketing team and get constant feedback either directly or indirectly from the sales team. This process ensures capturing of trend movements and keeps us ahead of, or abreast with, the technology curve. The designs we develop are also shared with few eminent specifiers & customers for soliciting their inputs. Functionality and aesthetics are the key aspects and their inputs are taken which helps us in conceptualizing the final product. We invest around 7% of our total turnover to R&D.
What are the most significant changes you have seen in the LED lighting industry in the recent past?
LED Lighting industry has gone through tremendous evolution and has witnessed amplified growth in the last few years. One of the reason can be attributed to the fact that LEDs are direct replacement of conventional light sources, hence the adoption process has been smooth and fast. Another reason of rapid growth is because of the Government drive in implementation of LED lighting across the nation, And also creating infrastructure & opportunities to bring down the cost immensely. Government’s Make in India initiative has helped the Indian LED Lighting Industry grow by leaps and bounds.
Today, the Lumen per watt is on an upward trend and price per watt is on downward trend. Though the price points have now stabilized to an extent but at the same time the technology is still improving. LED products efficacy has reached 100 lumens per watt and in some cases beyond. Availability of LEDs has also improved considerably and they have become more technologically superior.
Companies are focusing on making better and better thermal design not only to improve the product aesthetics, but to also ensure the true performance of the lighting product. Making LED lighting a reliable lighting solution.
Metros are the first adopters of LED bulbs and with the immense government support & schemes; LED lighting is being adopted at the village level as well.
What are the latest trends in the lighting industry?
LED lighting industry has evolved rapidly in the past few years and is in continuous evolving state. Lighting earlier was being used only for illumination purpose, now with LEDs as light source, it offers immense flexibilities for product designers to develop solutions that provide task based lighting solutions, mood based lighting solutions, create ambient lighting effects, lighting also used for data communication purpose and energy savings.
With evolving lifestyle; dynamic or dramatic usage of lighting is now being used to reflect lifestyles and status. Today there are many options available to the consumers. From mood lighting, to dimming, to creating dramatic lighting affects to highlight artifacts and interiors is the latest trend in the consumers.
On the front of mass usage of LED lighting in various indoor or outdoor projects; some the latest trends in LED lighting industry:
1. Connected Lighting Technology – a disruptive technology for huge office areas where Smart Light fixtures are connected over Ethernet cables leading to achieve space optimization, HVAC integration, security mapping, energy conversation through day light harvesting and occupancy control.
2. Dimmers & Motion sensors – these days buildings are being designed with the usage of dimmers & sensors. These solutions are used for common area lighting and certain specific areas. Areas that are not in use are lit up only to basic minimum to keep the area visible & safe; there is also option of switching off the light for such cases. This leads to massive energy saving
3. Usage of Coloured LEDs –mix of Red, Green & Blue LEDs create lights in different visible colour spectrum, a process widely used across the world to illuminate buildings at night and create iconic landmarks. Helps in adding glamour and beauty to the structures.
Adoption of LED lighting is not restricted to metros only but it has percolated to Tier II and Tier III cities as well. Today, even Panchayats are putting in huge sums for converting conventional stuff to LEDs thereby saving huge sums of money and lot of energy. The consumption of LED is currently spiking in outdoor segment and it is poised to increase in indoor segment also very soon
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