2021: The year that was
In this time of crisis where thousands of people are witnessing their near and dear ones dying and getting affected by the second wave of the pandemic, it is my duty to ensure that everyone associated with Gupta Power including our channel partners, employees and our dear customers are safe and sound. It’s a test of humanity and my moral obligation dictates me to check on my immediate family and my employees who are my second family and ensure they are safe.
As the COVID-19 pandemic second wave rolled well into FY2020-21, the government has been focusing on containing the infection and ramping up healthcare infrastructure. The nationwide lockdown saved lives but caused massive income loss and production loss, and an overall weak financial performance. COVID-19 coupled with economic uncertainty in several states led to disruptions in the production and supply in the wire and cable industry.
The key is diversification and a backward integration strategy during this time. We are trying to diversify our business to a great extent. To sustain as a growth leader, it’s crucial to diversify to minimise the economic risks inflicted by COVID-19 lockdowns. Besides, Gupta Power aims to sustain the growth trajectory by virtue of its continuous and relentless focus on product quality, manufacturing expansion, technological know-how, and robust customer service. We are trying to minimise risks associated with future lockdowns by focusing on these key areas. Hopefully, they will yield results.
The ‘smart city’ concept is gaining widespread limelight big time now. It focuses majorly on the development of clean and green cities which emphasises no facility downtime. The electrical industry plays a justified role in this regard, for any smart city by ensuring safety, continuous operation of any setup, measuring, and controlling several relative parameters.
Gupta Power’s cutting-edge optical fibre is not only advancing smart broadband internet connections but doing a lot more. Fibre-optic cable is ideal to accommodate today’s smart city applications as well as future technologies. The existence of fibre optic cables opened the opportunities to have ultra-broadband and low latency communication in cities as opposed to the traditional copper cable network, which had its own limitations.
The high-bandwidth and low-latency characteristics of fibre facilitate numerous key applications in smart cities, including smart grids for enhanced energy efficiency, smart health examinations such as patient monitoring, sensor networks to improve public services, infrastructure usage and safety, smart mobility for optimising traffic flows & improving road safety, and lastly city-wide network connections that are available to its residents and visitors.
Additionally, fire survival cables are the new reality of a smart city. With increased focus on electrical safety and in the light of fire hazards, Gupta Power’s fire survival cables are pioneering safety innovation and making our hospitals, office spaces, residential spaces, malls and traffic junctions a safer place.
Green wires are another major innovation. They are marked by low smoke, and are lead-free and halogen-free. It’s just a matter of educating the end consumer on the benefits of green wires and Gupta Power is carrying out campaigns to sensitise and educate consumers on the benefits of adopting Green Wires.
2022: The year that will be
No doubt, the pandemic-induced lockdowns have affected the usual flow of business and on-field activities like sales. But to stay ahead of the curve, we need to rethink and reinvent the marketing strategy. Gupta Power has been at the forefront of innovating new and fresh channels of sales and marketing by capitalising on online channels that are huge in this digital age.
Construction and manufacturing activities have mostly remained exempted from lockdown measures and will not have a multiplier effect on economic growth given its linkages to various industries like in the year 2020. Due to the rather stable demand for wires and cables currently, our company expects substantially higher growth in revenues from the electrical cables segment over a period of time owing to its well-spread sales and distribution network. We also plan to add products to our already vast portfolio.
The electric wire and cable market in India is expected to grow by USD 1.65 billion, at a CAGR of almost 4 percent during 2021-2025. So these are positive signs to look forward to.
Our strategy is to increase the production capacity and focus on the latest developments in smart cables, smart conductors, smart LED lightings, smart optic fibre cables and smart GIS substations up to 400 kV figure in the scheme of things. Future alliances, partnerships and expansions are also a part of the plan and we will plan it to the best of our strategic interests.
The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Key players in the market have been launching several initiatives and introducing innovative products and services to cater to a larger target audience during the pandemic. Like I stated, smart conductors, smart LED lighting, smart optic fibre cables and smart GIS substations up to 400 kV are our primary focus. We intend to expand our portfolio to more diverse customer-centric products.
Key Trends Driving the Growth
Increasing investments in renewable energy projects have been an instrumental factor in influencing the growth of the high-voltage power cable market. Other market drivers include expansion and revamping of T&D infrastructure in India and growth in offshore wind energy.
In addition to these, the wire and cable industry is heavily dependent on imports from countries such as China, the UAE, Russia, and Japan, and exchange rate variations can affect the industry considerably. The sector is prone to such vulnerability due to these factors. On top of all, providing quality products at a relatively low price will always remain a challenge.
To stay ahead of the curve, we have to keep up with the latest trends in the wires and cables industry. This helps us stay relevant and add value to the lives of customers. Of late, there has been a major shift towards the usage of fire survival wires and cables, particularly in the usual areas.
At Gupta Power, we make sure to follow the mandate of the National Building Code of India (NBC). The usage of fire survival cables is accelerating in public buildings and constructions, such as market complexes, hospitals, cinema halls, parks, etc.
Also Read: Gupta Power – The key is diversification and a backward integration strategy during this time.
Another major trend shaping the global wires and cable industry is the enhanced usage of Low Smoke Zero Halogen (LS0H) instead of PVC Wire due to its safety hazards. The trend is yet to catch up with the Indian market but as a company in a dynamic field, we have to foresee such trends and implement them to be a market leader and Gupta Power has been doing exactly the same.
