Tintometer® Group Inaugurates New Manufacturing Facility in India

The market for water analysis in India is growing rapidly as a result of the massive investment in infrastructure and a new emphasis on enforcement of regulations covering disposal of waste water. At the same time, Lovibond® products are helping to ensure government and industry benefit from European levels of quality, supplied and now increasingly manufactured in India. The Tintometer® Group’s investment in India recognises the enormous potential for this market in coming decades.

One positive factor backing up this assessment is the ‘Make in India’ campaign, initiated by the National Government. This important initiative addresses the relatively low part played by indigenous manufacturing in the overall economy. It will lead to a dramatic increase in the level of industrial activity over the next decade, all of which points to exciting opportunities for Lovibond® water testing and colour measurement products. This investment in industry is forecast to result in India becoming the third largest economy in the world by 2030, maybe even becoming the world’s leading economy in the second half of the century (CEBR, London, 2016).

There is also a drive to improve waste disposal, sanitation and hygiene standards in India – the ‘Swachh Bharat’ or ‘Clean India’ campaign was launched by the Modi Government in October 2014, and has ambitious targets to completely transform the country in terms of the approach to waste, as well as improving the quality of drinking water. Echoing the words of the Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi, the vision is to transform all aspects of Indian life, resulting in clean living for all.

With this push by the National Government and a dynamic economy now growing at around 7% per annum, India is making rapid progress towards industrialisation along with improving standards to meet international levels. At the same time, as markets expand, develop and mature, so the need for high quality control and measurement systems increases. This is partly a function of growing awareness of the need for better process control to protect expensive investment in capital equipment and save on operating expense, as well as the need to protect the environment from damage caused by harmful waste.

To better serve this rapidly growing market, the Tintometer® Group decided to invest in a 100% FDI manufacturing facility. After reviewing several locations, the headquarters of this new operation was selected to be Hyderabad, in the recently formed state of Telangana. The site was chosen primarily for its international connections, ease of access to other parts of this large country, as well as the ready availability of educated, trained and experienced personnel. Further advantages include IT and chemistry expertise, as well as a relatively well developed local transport system.

With the hub in Hyderabad, sales representation has been set up in all the main regions and continues to grow to meet the needs of both distributors and end-users. Concurrently, a network of service and maintenance engineers is being established to cater for the large installed base of Lovibond® instruments. The Tintometer® Group has been selling instruments into India since the late 19th century. So the Lovibond® brand enjoys strong recognition among scientific instrumentation customers, as well as in the water industry in general.

The team in India is headed up by Neeraj Karnwal, Managing Director, Tintometer India Pvt. Ltd. Neeraj has expert experience, having developed his own successful IT business and also taken a manufacturing start-up to market-leading prominence within a few years. Supporting Neeraj is a dedicated team of professionals, all drawn from relevant industry and government service, and focused on ensuring customers in India have access to global standard products, backed up by excellent local support and service.

Following recruitment of the core team, and the formal inauguration on January 2nd 2016, the operation continues to expand rapidly in line with the fast development of the market. Significant sales have been made into the drinking water segment, as well as to industrial water customers, where increasing emphasis on better control of water-related processes is key to improved efficiency and cost saving. At the same time, the active demand for colour measurement instruments reflects the increased focus on achieving international standards in the accuracy of measuring, recording and reporting colour results. Lovibond® instruments can help customers by ensuring that their products comply with ISO and other international quality norms, and make their processes more efficient. Lovibond® colour measurement has become the de facto norm for many industries including edible oils, petroleum, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

As Cay Voss, Chairman of the Tintometer® Group states, ‘We are delighted that our Indian factory continues to exceed expectations, and there is a very bright future for Tintometer India. In just a short time they have emerged as an important part of our growing international group.’