Company Description: Inventa
Cleantec Pvt. Limited (formerly Industrial Spares (India) Pvt. Ltd) was
incorporated in 1981 and is now one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers
of cleaning equipment for automobile and other industries such as industrial
vacuum cleaners, road sweepers, scrubbers & scrubber driers, high pressure
jets, upholstery vacuum cleaners, steam vacuum cleaners, back pack vacuum
cleaners, special plants & machines and misting system. Its cleaning
equipment are installed countrywide in government, semi govt. enterprise &
other public sector units and even automobile garages. The complete range of
its products is manufactured at its manufacturing unit in Noida.
Could you please start with a
company profile of Inventa? And how is it exactly catering to the automobile
industry?
We have been into high-pressure
water-jetting for almost 20 years now. That’s the premier tool for the
automotive industry when it comes to mechanised washing. A mega car workshop
has a turnout of not less than 30 vehicles a day even though during the
weekends it goes up to 80 vehicles a day. Recently, there has been a concept of
2-hour services offered by the service outfits of Hyundai, Maruti et al. So if
the vehicle has been run for over 5,000km, the workshops have to deliver the
service within two hours. That is where we come into play as we automate the
washing process. We also offer a series of products like pressure jets to these
service points that will help them in expediting the whole process. So when the
manpower services fail in terms of deliverance, we step in.
Are your customers OEMs or transport
undertakings or are they car owners too?
We are not only dealing with
automatic car-washing products but also with automatic bus-washers and train
washers. Infact, the railway segment is one of our biggest clients. However, my
products are not focussed on individual car owners. Ours is a purely B2B
product catering directly to the industry. Apart from car workshops, we are
also supplying our products to OEMs like Maruti, GM India etc. Besides that, we
have also allied with transport undertakings like RSRTC, GSRTC, and cluster
buses built by Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, etc.
What product range is currently
being offered by your company?
We are making hi-pressure water
jets, steam cleaners, steam vacuum cleaners, and automatic car washers.
So are all the products locally
made?
No, all products are not locally
made. When we talk about hi-pressure jets, the pumps are imported from Italy.
Our tie-up with the Italian manufacturer for the same product dates back to
more than two decades. We thoroughly believe in the quality of the pumps that
they provide us. So while we are assembling the jets, we source their pumps and
the rest of the components are locally procured. The idea is to provide our
products to the customers which are hassle-free in the long run. We are
importing some low-end pressure-washers in a CBU form as they are commercially
not viable to assemble here.
What has been the response to your
products at the Bus and Utility Vehicle Show?
Yes, we did participate at the Bus
and Utility Vehicle Show. The response was neither overwhelming nor
underwhelming. I would have been happier if the event was scheduled only for
three days instead of four. This is because the footfall on the last day was very
negligible. As far as the Auto Expo is concerned, we did make our presence felt
in 2012. But we are not planning to participate during the 2014 exposition.
Are there any challenges in your
business?
Yes, there are some challenges. The
technology required to make these machines is pretty high. If you talk about
the control units, they are all imported. Although they might be easily
available in the market and are manufactured by branded companies like
Schneider, Honeywell, Siemens, etc, they are still expensive. The paying
capacity of the Indian clientele is not up to the mark with global standards.
The installation of low-grade components obviously reduces the shelf life of
the products.
What impact has the recent economic
slowdown had on your business as the company deals with the automotive
industry?
We have yet not witnessed any
decline in sales of our products. This is primarily because even though the car
sales have not been very buoyant, they are still being added on a yearly basis.
So the additional cars bought by consumers also need to be cleaned. So it did
not have a direct impact on our volumes. But yes, there has been some kind of a
delay in ordering the automatic washers.
How do you see the mechanised
cleaning for the automobile industry in India and what’s your agenda for the
next few years?
The agenda is to have atleast one
dedicated centre which can install these machines in each tier-I city and one
for tier-II cities. This will ensure that the reach of our products is
pan-India. So every consumer, whether in tier-I or tier-II city, should get the
benefit of automation. There will be some shift to mechanised cleaning in the
next few years. We intend to provide the level of automation that is required
by our specific clients. We have started working on a modular system wherein
our clients can go for a basic automatic chassis wash without requiring lifting
the car. This is because all this will be taken care of by a robotic system
which we will install. The same system will additionally double up as a
pressure washer.