Elofic
Industries is the leading filter manufacturer in the country. The company
manufactures filters for all vehicles like passenger cars, tractors, commercial
vehicles, two-wheelers etc in its three production units at Faridabad (near New
Delhi), Nalagarh (in Himachal Pradesh) and at Hosur (near Bangalore).
Elofic Industries has been in the business of filters
for several decades but it’s only been few years since you got into two-wheeler
filters. What took you so long?
When I joined
the company in 2011 we realised that we were not producing two wheeler filters.
This segment was leading the growth in the overall automobile industry in a
major way. We wanted to be a very significant player in the market. In 2011 we
started making filters for two wheelers for the aftermarket and also tapping
OEMs
What’s been the progress in the filter business for
two wheelers?
If you look
at the aftermarket, for the last fiscal we have clocked about 20 lakh units and
we have an established network of 150 distributors across the country. We are looking to double this in the next
fiscal with a network of 300 distributors. This is a completely different network for the two wheelers and the response has
been overwhelming.
The Indian two wheelers industry is the largest in the
world. That means a huge scope for doing business in this segment, do you agree
to that?
When we
started off our main intention was to be kind of an OEM player. We started
approaching all the OEMs in the country and we are happy to receive a positive
response. Our products were very well accepted. Our aim is to work closely with
the OEM engineering, do a lot of reverse engineering for them, be it through
reducing a lot of parts in an assembly, or proposing alternate materials which
will eventually bring their cost down.
What are the different kinds of filters that go into a
two-wheeler?
There is a
wide range, the technology over the years has changed. Earlier, we had foam
filters in majority of the bikes. That technology is completely obsolete now.
We now have paper type filters, plastic moulded filters, plastic inline
filters, so it is the most appropriate time for us to enter the segment.
With so many expensive motorcycles gaining in
popularity in the country, is this segment too a great space to be in?
Yes, today if
you look at the sub 500cc category, we happen to be OEM suppliers to DSK
Hyosung, to Suzuki Motorcycles, etc. Maybe it does not get us the volumes but
it certainly gives us the prestige. We are in talks to Harley-Davidson, USA. We
are also in talks with Triumph, and other players in the segment. In the
regular two wheelers segment, we are in talks with Mahindra Two Wheelers, Royal
Enfield, India Yamaha for all their future engines.
Are you also exporting these filters to global
markets?
There is a
basket of more than 25 part numbers which we are exporting to OEMs globally. We
have not launched two wheeler filters in the aftermarket. We hope to be a
global player in this space too.