RR KABEL – INDIA’S brand trusted by the WORLD
RR Kabel is one of the largest cable manufacturers in the country and is part of RR Global, a USD 1.25 Billion conglomerate in the electrical industry. Established in 1986, the company has had a meteoric growth in recent years, expanding its manufacturing base in multiple strategic locations across the world. Employing a workforce of 4000 plus employees, the company makes an extensive range of cables and wires to meet the ever-growing demands of the industry at large. Its products conform to some 33 international certifications and are exported to 90+ countries across the globe. Obsessed with quality and reliability, the company strongly advocates safety from electrical fire which causes 70% of the fatalities of which 75 percent incidents are due to the use of substandard cables and wires in all sectors including buildings and roads. In an exclusive interview with POWERTECH REVIEW, Shreegopal Kabra, Managing Director & Group President, RR Global and erstwhile President of IEEMA, gives us a ringside view of the dynamics of the cable & wire industry and his company’s capabilities and contribution towards meeting the demands of the user industry cutting across all sectors. Excerpts:
Q. What is your present standing and niche?
RR Global is a $1.25 billion enterprise in the domain of manufacturing Electrical products including Cables & Wires, FMEG, Automated Multilevel Car Parking Systems, Busducts, Winding Wires amongst others. We are the first in India to manufacture a diverse and extensive range of products. Established in 1986, we are one of the leading companies in the electrical and copper industry, and our journey to success as well as leadership has been complemented with a desire to adapt ourselves to emerging trends.
RR Kabel is an ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 certified company. We are accredited with the highest number of product and system certifications. We are available globally with our products having been certified by BASEC(UK), UL(USA), CSA(Canada), VDE(Germany), TUV Rheinland (Germany), and others. Our products are also compliant to REACH (Registration Evaluation Authorization of Chemical Substances) and RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) directives. This has been achieved with extensive research and development by skilled professionals to make sure our products adhere to global guidelines and standards.
We believe that the future of our industry lies in innovation and effective R&D that in turn helps one to push boundaries and eliminate borders. We at RR Kabel believe in this and hence are constantly emerging with new products that are globally significant, aimed at providing an environment of utmost safety.
We are in continuous pursuit of cutting-edge technologies to remain a front runner, while serving society and partaking in nation-building in our own way.
Q. What’s the scenario of the cables & wires industry in India, and where do you figure in that?
The cable & wire industry is growing at a CAGR of 12-14% while the GDP of the country is hovering round 6.5-7%. In the cable & wire segment, we are the 4th largest in the country. But in copper bus bar consumption we are No.1 in India. We have the widest range of products, and have 33 international certifications. In India, we are the only company with 100% REACH compliance.
Q. What’s your range of manufacture today?
We have a wide array of products in categories like Construction & building range, Single core, Control cables, Drag chain & servo cables, Data & communication cables, Appliance wiring materials, Instrumentation cables, Silicon cables, Auto cables, Fire & security cables, LT power cables, and so on.
We also offer a plethora of application-based cables. To give you an example, the construction & building range includes all the wires and cables necessary for residential, commercial and public infrastructure. It includes cables conforming to IS:694 with FR, FR-LSH, HR FR properties. FIREX LS0H (Low smoke zero halogen) is a halogen-free single core cable specially designed as per BS EN 50525-3-41, to be used in Auditoriums, Hospitals, Hotels, Schools, Stadiums, and all edifices for public usage where fire safety is utmost important. The category also includes LAN cables – RATNALAN CAT 5E/CAT 6, telephone cable RATNACOM and Co-X Cable for televisions – Ratna Co-X. Cables for Submersible motors with PVC as well as XLPE insulation are also available. Flexible CCTV Camera Cables with a tinned copper braid along with speaker cables for PA system as well as for domestic applications are available. EIB BUS cable as per KNX standard is developed for home automation and BMS (Building Management system). Cables to international standards H07Z-R (6491B) to BS EN 50525-3-41, H07V-R (6491X) to BS EN 50525-2-31, 6181Y-BS 6004, 6181XY-BS 7889 are also in our range.
Q. What’s special about your Unilay cables about which there is a special mention?
Our Unilay HRFR (heat resistant, fire retardant) cable is India’s first heat resistant and flame retardant REACH and RoHS cable with Unilay conductor. With Unilay, there are no loose contacts, broken ends, or sparking or overheating. Made of 100% electrolytic copper, it is anti-termite and anti-rodent, with 101% conductivity.
Q. Please throw some light on your manufacturing facilities.
RR Kabel has its manufacturing plants for cables & wires in Waghodia & Silvassa, while our FMEG products like Switches, Fans & LED Lighting are manufactured in Roorkee, Gagret & Waghodia. In addition, we have our Busduct manufacturing plant in Dubai and our Automated Multilevel Car Parking System (under the brand RR Parkon) manufacturing unit in Khopoli. All our plants are well-equipped with modern machinery for producing quality products. We are ISO 9001: 2015, 14001 : 2004, 18001 : 2007 and ISO 45001 certified and are continuously upgraded to deliver quality. We have a workforce of 4000 plus dedicated employees and our plants have an excellent safety record.
Q. Tell us more about your R&D set-up, efforts and achievements.
R & D is at the root of our trendsetting technologies and innovative products. We have a full-fledged R&D facility manned by 50 plus engineers and skilled professionals who constantly ideate and work on improvising our manufacturing processes. Small developments make a big difference. To give you an example, the compounds used for insulation of cables have been developed in-house. Our lab carries the coveted NABL accreditation. No wonder we have been able to develop unrivalled and patented products like Unilay that are safer and utmost reliable for our customers.
Q. How do you instill quality and safety in your products?
As I mentioned, we have the highest number of certifications which stand testimony to the efficiency and continuous improvements in our manufacturing chain. Each product is subjected to our rigorous quality control regime. We are proud of our quality culture which lays emphasis on the process which automatically helps in chiseling out products of impeccable quality. Safety is of paramount importance to us – Safety not only in our own manufacturing, but also on the utility side of our products.
Each product meets an intensive Quality Assurance Inspection, which is endorsed by certifications of a dozen national & international standards monitoring agencies. Our lab carries NABL accreditation as per ISO 17025, and in wires and cables category, our products carry the highest number of certifications which makes them trustworthy in more than 90 countries across the world.
RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) is a directive on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment. It is often referred to as the ‘lead-free directive’, but there are 10 such hazardous substances not available or controlled for the cables offered by us for more than a decade.
However, to actually fulfill the purpose, we offer our products with REACH Compliance offering a high degree of human and environmental safety. REACH (Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals) is a regulation adopted to improve the protection of human health and the environment from the risks that can be posed by chemicals, most of which are carcinogenic in nature. When it comes to environment-friendly initiative, we are the first Indian cable manufacturing company to offer REACH Compliant cables. Currently under REACH, our cables are free from more than 200 hazardous substances.
Q. How would you sum up your major strengths?
People are our major strength. We have over 4000 dedicated employees, all put together, who go beyond the call of duty to accomplish their tasks. We follow ethical practices as enshrined in our work ethos. We have five manufacturing plants. We constantly expand our product range to meet the market needs. We export our products to 90+ countries across the globe… All these are our major strengths.
Q. What are your growth strategies and future thrusts?
We believe that the future of our industry lies in innovation and effective R&D that in turn helps one to push boundaries and eliminate borders. We at RR Kabel believe in this and hence are constantly coming up with new products that are globally significant, aimed at providing an environment of utmost safety.
Q. With the kind of impetus being given to infrastructure development in the country, how do you envisage the growth prospects of the cable & wire industry vis-à-vis that of RR Kabel?
Infrastructure development is on the high priority list of the Government of India. There is a huge capital expenditure allocation for the current fiscal to a tune of INR 5.5 lakh crore to propel infrastructure creation in the country. High rise buildings also play an increasingly important role in contemporary architecture. All this is good news for the wire and cable industry which will have an enviable growth in the coming years. If you talk of RR Kabel, we envisage a growth of 25% CAGR in the next four years or more. And we expect a major chunk of our revenue also to come from exports.
Currently our annual turnover of the entire group (RR Global) is over INR 9000 crores. We expect to touch a turnover of Rs.20,000 crore in the next five years.
Q. Could you enlighten us on your recent CSR initiatives?
We at RR Kabel have always strived to empower people’s lives through education. We have undertaken various projects that involve helping society at large like ‘One Teacher School’ program for the tribal kids, and skill development of students in rural areas, and the‘Kabel Star Scholarship Program’ for children of electricians.
Mission Roshni is an on-going initiative under which we extend financial assistance to electricians’ children. Thousands of children have benefited from this scheme.
Q. We understand you have booked a huge stall at ELECRAMA 23. What’s the show you are going to put up at this mega industry event?
Yes, we have taken a large stall at Elecrama-23, almost double the size of the last one. We would be displaying the entire gamut of our products with a special focus on consumer products particularly Switches, Switchgears & Fans. One can witness our innovative technologies and trendsetting solutions from the house of RR Kabel. Our new launches will also fascinate the visitors.