FLUKE: Technology leadership in Test & Measurement industry
Q. FLUKE India has gained credible market share in testing & measurement technology industry; how did FLUKE India manage this significant growth?
Fluke has been a leader in Test & Measurement Industry in India since decades. Before acquisition, we sold through our vast network of authorized channel partners from TTL technologies, which changed to Fluke in 2012, after acquisition. Today the entire Fluke business is consolidated under one entity with a talented team working hand in hand with our experienced network of partners. We are now spread across the marketplace providing the best customer experience.
Being rugged and reliable, Fluke products builds confidence in its users, thus making us a preferred choice for our customers against many competitor brands. We believe that there is no shortcut to success and business growth. Even in difficult times, our team put best efforts to reach out to as many customers as possible and help address their pain points with Fluke solutions.
Q. Can you brief us about FLUKE’s global network & activities?
Fluke is a 73-year-old multi-national corporation headquartered in Everett, Washington, USA. We are currently operating in more than 100 countries with 2400+ direct employees and an extensive network of authorized distributor and manufacturer representative channels.
Our major manufacturing and R&D facilities are in US and Europe. We were one of the pioneers in T & M sector to tap talents from the APAC regions and establish our R&D and Manufacturing facilities here.
Fluke India has one of the largest team of R&D and supports globally for its software and hardware developments. We also have an extensive team of sales & marketing to support customers from India and neighboring countries such as Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri lanka.
We have separate business units to cater to different market segments and applications – Fluke Calibration serves the demand of precision standards for calibration and test labs, Fluke Industrial products addresses the T&M tools for Electrical & Mechanical maintenance, Fluke Networks provide solutions to check and trouble shoot the integrity of fiber and copper networks used in IT networks and Fluke Health Solutions revolves around solutions for healthcare industries, by providing standard and verification tools for medical equipment and so on..
Q. How about FLUKE India’s initiatives in testing & measurement technology space? Which are your focus areas?
Fluke has always worked on its new products and strategies keeping the global requirements in mind. We prioritize delivering better value for our users, which is evident in every product we launched since our inception in 1948. We were the ones to create a hand-held digital multimeter way back in 1977, when the engineering and technician communities struggled with bulky tabletop DMMs.
Fluke as a responsible manufacturer takes feedback from customers / prospective customers and develop products to solve their problems. The recent product launches like the sonic imagers, clamp meters with field sense technology, are all helping our customers to simplify their workload and find solutions quickly and safely.
Fluke is currently focusing on new technology sensors to do measurements accurately and safely. We are working on technology to meet requirements of Industry 4.0. Beyond that, we are developing algorithms cloud – based solutions to support predictive maintenance.
Q. What are the market opportunities for FLUKE products in India? How do you plan to position these products?
India is one of the fast-growing economies in the world with a large manpower and an increasing number of startups focusing on green tech products and solutions. The Indian manufacturing sector carry enormous potential for T&M products. New technology product desires for precision and reliability, and Fluke is a proven brand for such application for decades. As a premium T&M player, Fluke addresses the complete accuracy pyramids from top to bottom with our high-end test & measurement and calibration standards.
In the recent past, we have also launched our cost-effective test tools for residential purpose, for commercial technicians and for hobbyists. Customers who are looking for safer and reliable products are now switching from cheaper alternatives to Fluke to enjoy additional benefits.
Fluke positions its products as premium in its segment which ensures the best quality, accuracy, and safety. This ensures we always deliver the best values to our customers.
Q. What is your marketing strategy for Indian market?
India is one of our growth markets and needless to say, our focus for long term. Our strategy in India is to concentrate on safer products, safer workplace, and safer outcomes. With manufacturing industries as our core, we are reaching out to the new growth segments to serve our customers better.
We are coming up with a range of products that will be useful in improving the productivity of our customers with our well-known accuracy, ruggedness, and reliability.
Q. Can you please elucidate the contribution of R&D in the success of FLUKE India products?
Fluke believes in continuous innovation and emphasizes on R&D in all aspects. Our research focuses on two major areas – Market requirements and New technology to overcome upcoming challenges. Our research on market requirements gives us ideas on the grey areas to work on and the new technology solutions provides us a long term visibility of upcoming needs and demands of customers. This culture of continuous innovation helps us to come up with new and relevant products at a regular interval. This is evident throughout our journey of last seven decades and there are many milestones under Fluke such as the first handheld DMM, First connected T&M tool, Calibrators for PQ, Sonic imagers and so on.
Q. Brief us about the quality policy for the business?
Fluke has developed an internal quality system for its manufacturing, operations, sales & service divisions. We also ensure all our facilities are certified to meet relevant ISO standards. Our internal quality policy is stringent and so is proven for several years. It applies to all our divisions and groups too. Our strict adherence to this policy and internal quality audits reduces product service quality issues and helps us to resolve any shortcomings with minimum adverse impact.
We also encourage our vendors and partners to follow our quality standards so even the smallest component of our product is meeting the same quality we promote.
Q. Can you brief us more about FLUKE India’s top line product range?
The Fluke product lines are beneficial for professionals in a variety of markets. Fluke Corporation has products to cater test & measurement and calibration needs for various sectors.
Fluke calibration division designs and manufactures primary and secondary standards for Electrical (Voltage, Current, Frequency, Energy, PQ, etc.), Thermal, Pressure, Gas Flow and Radio Frequency. These are trusted by the standard laboratories, calibration, and design laboratories across the globe.
Fluke Industrial division is the largest test and measurement tool manufacturers for predictive and preventive maintenance. The product line ranges from general purpose test tools like Digital multimeters, Clamp meters, Earth testers, Insulation testers and Power Quality Analyzers for electrical application. Vibration testers and shaft alignment tools for mechanical maintenance and Thermal Imagers for Thermal profiling of numerous applications including R&D, Maintenance, Medical, Condition Monitoring etc. The recently launched Sonic imagers are now evolving as a preferred tool for engineers / technicians to detect gas, compressed air or vacuum leaks and Partial discharge detection in HV transmission, distribution and HV machinery industries.
Fluke Health Solutions addresses validation and calibration of medical equipment and Fluke Network products provide solutions to trouble shooting IT related network infrastructure.
Fluke has solutions for every users of electricity to improve their work efficiency and problem-solving ability.
Q. What do you think are the strengths of Indian testing & measurement technology industry & How it is positioning itself against the global market?
Accurate measurement and calibration are critical for product designing, quality certification, and maintenance. The engineering discipline is growing steadily. As a consequence of industrial development, the testing and calibration labs are growing hand in hand. A robust quality system is a backbone for any technologically developing nation. The quality system induces hygiene in the measurement practice and propels development. India has already established a world-class National Measurement Institute and an accreditation body.
The top Indian test and measurement companies invest heavily in human resources. They have in-house technical experts, software development centers, calibration labs, testing labs, and training centers. They regularly conduct training for engineers from different industries. Emphasis is given to stage the awareness programs by the internal talents. They conduct regular online and offline activities such as seminars, webinars, workshops on the new technology and products. We encourage open innovation to suit the local market demand.
Q. Please highlight Global perspective of testing & measurement technology industry and what is the differentiating factor?
Global technological progress in IT & telecom infrastructure is fueling growth for process automation, Industrial IoT & transparent factory concept. It is also driving Test & Measurement industry to adapt to new technology and develop innovative solutions. It is serving as a great push for cloud computing, smart sensors, and open Innovation driving collaborations between various players and platforms.
While the T&M industry is getting matured, it is paving its way from “standalone products” to “Connected System”. Customers are demanding Smart instruments which can provide “Actionable insights – Anywhere, Any time” and not just raw data.
Another highlight is sensor-based smart systems which are capable of remote monitoring, event-based operation and provide long term trends.
Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving testing & measurement technology industry?
The Testing & Measurement technology industry is evolving continuously.
I believe there are four essential key trends – Consistent new technology developments as per the need of the industry and users. Fluke has contributed to this innovation with Acoustic Imager that comes with Sound Sight technology. Second trend being Field Sense Technology through which one can measure voltage and current without touching a live wire. The third trend is the need of the hour, which is the kind of products that can offer multiple measurements and testing capabilities in a single device. Fluke has offered a variety of products like 438-II, Fluke 378 FC in this stream. The last trend that has created an impact in the test and measurement industry is software connecting platforms. Fluke Connect™ software collects, stores, and makes viewable machine data from more than 80 Fluke tools and sensors. Measurements can now be stored in the cloud, where teams can always access the data on their smart device or computer.
Q. According to you what is the forecast for the testing & measurement technology industry
In near future, we will witness a lot of new technologies coming in. One such update would be the consolidation of products wherein many major features will be combined in one. Subsequently, these essential plant assets and their T &M equipment will be connected to the common platforms. Making the access easier and more flexible.
Long term forecast is gradually moving to Prescriptive Maintenance strategy using historical learnings to adjust operating conditions for desired outcomes, as well as intelligently schedule and plan asset maintenance.
Q. According you what are the factors affecting to your business?
No one anticipated the deep damage caused by COVID-19, with a crash followed by persistent volatility. COVID-19 served as the visible catalyst for the 2020 market uncertainties. Though after subsequent recovery, I believe few segments are ready to exploit the business like Electrical Vehicle, Clean energy, Data Centre, Warehouse and e-commerce for better growth and infrastructure.
Q. What are the issues you need to address that are related to testing & measurement industry?
The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed our experiences―as seller, as employees and as humans. As a result, our attitude and behavior are evolving continuously. The test and measurement (T&M) industry is struggling to keep up with various challenges, such as the battle to lower testing costs, an increasing number of versatile test systems device complexities and performance levels that crave more cost-effective T&M solutions. Users demand greater functionality and flexibility from their T&M tool and at a cost-effective price. Fluke intends to resolve these issues in near future.
About Fluke Corporation
For information on Fluke tools and applications, or to find the location of a
distributor, contact Fluke India
E-mail : [email protected]
call toll free 1-800-419-3001 or visit the Fluke Web site at www.fluke.com/india