Interview with Ramesh Suri,Promoter and Chairman, Subros Ltd.

Coming to your Chennai plant, would you be catering to companies beyond Ashok Leyland?

Yes, of course. We would definitely like to cater to other commercial vehicle manufacturers based out of South India. We supply ACs for the Traveller that is manufactured by Force Motors. We started with them and have been quite successful in providing air conditioners for light commercial vehicles. We are working with other commercial vehicle manufacturers for supplying ACs for their smaller vehicles. We are an advance stage of negotiation with them for supplying such ACs to them. There is a very good potential in this segment as the demand for commercial vehicles has been rising for the last one and a half years. We are also working on truck cabin ACs. We are working with Tata Motors for their global vehicle. There is also a big demand for ACs coming from low floor buses. Low floor busses are much in demand in several metros across India. We are at an advanced stage of developing as well as supplying ACs for low floor buses.

You have inked a deal with Denso Corporation. What are the broad contours of this joint venture Denso Subros Thermal Engineering Centre?

They have been our technical partners for the last 25 years now.  We get all the necessary support from them as far as technology is concerned. We have our own R&D facility at Subros but the basic support comes from our partner Denso. They are the world leaders when it comes to automotive air-conditioning systems. Now coming to the joint venture, one must remember that the world is looking towards India as far as automobiles are concerned. All major players are setting up base here. As many of these players set up plants here, there is an understanding with Denso to supply their air-conditioners to them here too. So for the comfort of these players for air-conditioners and also electrical components, the same would be developed here in India by this joint venture company. There would definitely be a lot of time saving as well as savings on the cost front. Our agreement with Denso is such that we cannot supply our air-conditioning systems to the global market but only to manufacturers in India. Of course our systems are fitted in India in vehicles that are exported from here. 

How rapidly is Subros growing in the Indian market?

We have been growing by around 20pc and this has been consistent for the last three years. We are now a  1,200 crore plus company. This year too we are expecting a 15pc to 20pc growth.

Since Subros cannot export its products out of India but can supply only to manufacturers in India, does that restrict your company’s growth in some manner?

No, not at all. We are the only AC manufacturer that has all the integral parts of an AC. We manufacture the compressor here, even the condenser too. The HVAC too we are doing in-house. We are the only company manufacturing all critical components for an AC. We also have an R&D centre. Our hands are full. But again, we are working on the commercial vehicle front, we are also working on refrigerated vans, truck cabin ACs and we are also working for the Railways for air-conditioning their bogies.  We see a big scope in all these areas.

What about the Suri Group as a whole? What are the big plans?

As a group we are into hospitality too. The Lalit hotels are now nine in number. Three more are in the pipeline. We are also into the education system where we have set up schools in Delhi and Noida by the name of Step By Step which is rated among the best in the country. We also have a trading company which is into the distribution of Maruti vehicles. We are now one of the largest Maruti dealers in the North. We (Rohan Motors) are rated as a Platinum dealer of Maruti. Each family member is taking care of his or her respective business area. In every segment of our business we are growing.

So what is your vision?

My vision is to continue working and moving ahead. Unless you have the fire inside, you cannot keep going. Once this fire dies out, you stop. If I see any more opportunities I shall look into it. The fire in me is still there.