What goes into making smarter, safer, and more sustainable cables? In this interview with Wire & Cable India, LAPP India’s Chief Operations Officer Dr. Shiv Venkataramani shares insights on compounding, innovation, and sustainability in cables, highlighting global collaboration and next-gen materials.
Wire & Cable India: Could you begin by giving us an overview of your compounding plant—how it started and where it stands today?
Shiv Venkataramani: This is LAPP Group’s first entry into compound manufacturing. The compounding plant was made operational in January 2023, but the strategy for setting up the compounding plant was decided around 2018. The rationale was twofold. First, we wanted to be more competitive in the Indian cable market. Second, LAPP is known for its specialty cables. Unlike mass producers, we focus on niche applications: heat-resistant, flame-resistant, highly flexible cables, and so on. By developing proprietary specialty compounds, we enhance our internal capabilities and IP.
We use high-end machines manufactured by global OEMs. Our compounding line is fully automated and integrated with automatic dosing systems, which provide better quality, reliability and consistency of our compounds. At present, our utilization is quite high, and we are looking to expand our compounding plant and equipment as our cable business grows.
Watch: Top Cable Companies in India
WCI: Since you are new into compounding with the new plant, you must have faced some challenges. What were they and how did you overcome them?
SV: The biggest challenge was building the know-how. Compounding isn’t a new concept globally, but for us at LAPP India, it was completely unchartered territory when we started strategizing back in 2018. That meant we needed to build everything from scratch: technology, talent, and processes.
But we weren’t starting in a vacuum. Even before this, our Swiss engineering team and R&D team in Korea already had a small group of scientists working on specialty compound development. They were developing lab-scale formulations and scaling them through toll compounders in Europe.
In 2018, we formed what we now call our global internal “brain trust,” a collaboration between LAPP Switzerland, LAPP Korea, and LAPP India. For our part, we had to hire fresh talent from the Indian compounding industry. We brought in experienced professionals who understood the intricacies of polymer blending, extrusion, and specialty formulations.
This blend of internal R&D from Europe and Korea, combined with local execution in India, is what made it all possible. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. That’s how we laid the foundation and got the compounding plant up and running successfully.
WCI: There are usually varying levels of success with new compounds in high-speed production environments. How do your compounds perform in high-speed extrusion or with cross-linking processes like E-beam?
SV: Compounding is not as easy as it sounds. As a polymer scientist, I can attest to the fact that it is very dependent on both the equipment you use for compounding and the equipment you use for cable manufacturing. Any new formulation that we develop or reformulate requires optimization of speeds in cable manufacturing. We use Six Sigma and other tools for such optimization and deriving the desired quality of the compound and the cable.
We have a lab-scale development process: formulation, small-batch mixing, pelletizing, cable extrusion, and then testing. Once it passes, we scale it up for production. Ingredient sourcing also affects performance, which needs to be carefully considered.
WCI: To what extent are LSZH parameters adopted by the industry? Are you developing anything new for the LSZH segment?
SV: LSZH (Low Smoke Zero Halogen), or what is also called HFFR, Halogen Free Flame Retardant, has long been anticipated as the next major shift in the cable industry. About ten years ago, there was a significant expectation that the industry would move toward HFFR for safety and environmental reasons. The industry was bracing for a transition, but that shift didn’t happen at the scale we expected.
One of the key reasons is that HFFR compounds are costlier. Without enforceable legislation or regulatory push, customers naturally gravitate toward cheaper alternatives. As a result, even today, HFFR cables probably make up only 2-3% of the market. Of course, there are exceptions.
Certain global clients mandate HFFR for their Indian facilities because of corporate policies set by their headquarters. But these are outliers. The adoption of LSZH is much more widespread in Europe and the US. India lacks binding legislation on LSZH, ROHS, or REACH compliance. These standards exist in Europe and the US, and as a European company, we must adhere to them, even when operating in India.
That said, there are specialized applications where LSZH is essential, for example, in oil and gas refineries or underground metro stations, where the risk of fire and difficulty of evacuation makes low smoke critical. In such environments, the primary cause of death in a fire is often smoke inhalation, not the flames themselves, and LSZH becomes a life-saving feature.
To summarize, while we are continuing to work with LSZH formulations and have capabilities for it, the broader market shift is slow. The demand is growing gradually, especially for niche and mission-critical applications. But without regulatory backing, I don’t foresee a massive transition even in the next few years.
WCI: Hasn’t BIS had any impact on the adoption of HFFR or LSZH cables in recent years?
SV: Earlier, maybe before 2021 or 2022, if you made an HFFR cable, there was no BIS certification available. Now, HFFR has been brought under the BIS mandate. But this took time. BIS is a standards body, not a regulator. They don’t enforce usage or mandate which materials must be adopted. They set the standards, certify, and audit. So, yes, BIS certification is now available for HFFR, but its presence hasn’t yet caused a dramatic shift in market behavior because there’s still no regulatory requirement mandating or incentivizing its use.
WCI: Do you get any feedback from customers about what works and what doesn’t?
SV: LAPP, as a company, is known for quality. Every cable we make undergoes extensive testing during development. For us, safety and quality are non-negotiable. We sell peace of mind.
We never deviate from standards. We don’t release any product unless we’re sure that both the compound and the finished cable meet every test and requirement. Our internal benchmarks are even higher than industry norms. That’s just how we work; there is absolutely no compromise.
As for customer feedback, we rarely receive complaints about functional performance. We measure our customer complaints in PPM terms; that’s how low the numbers are.
WCI: You mentioned Korea. Are you ahead of Korea in terms of compounds?
SV: No, not ahead. We work together. In fact, even before LAPP India started developing or manufacturing compounds, our compound R&D groups in Switzerland and Korea were already working on specialty formulations and LAPP India team had a lot to learn from them.
WCI: Advanced ceramic-reinforced compounds with higher temperature ratings have entered the market. What specific performance attributes are important for your production and market positioning?
SV: High-temperature materials are certainly key for us. As part of our compounding journey, our German R&D team is also a key stakeholder. The team comprises of polymer and compounding experts and works closely with universities on these high-temperature applications. Our German team is primarily focused on these high-performance materials because high-temperature cable applications are not unique to India. Ambient temperature in India doesn’t necessarily drive the need for high-temperature compounds. PVC already withstands 70°C to 90°C, and our climate doesn’t exceed that. It’s the specific applications that demand thermal resilience. Take railways and coaches, for example. Inside locomotives, cable environments can reach around 100°C, and on top of that, they require oil resistance. Hence, it’s not about where the cable is used geographically, but what conditions the application imposes.
Currently, we’re working on several fronts: high-temperature polymers that can withstand prolonged exposure to elevated temperatures and cross-linkable polymers that can be enhanced further through E-beam cross-linking, which significantly increases temperature resistance.
We’re also focused on processable clean materials because, let’s face it, PVC is not biodegradable. That’s why our global brain trust, including collaborators in the US, Europe, Korea, and India, is actively working with universities and research institutions to explore options- like blending certain materials to improve biodegradability without compromising functionality.
We’re also monitoring regulatory developments. As new legislation takes shape, especially in Europe, we want to stay ahead by developing compounds that are not just compliant, but future ready.
WCI: If we increase compound speed, don’t extrusion machines need upgrading?
SV: No, upgrading machines is not always required. Sometimes, a better formulation can make a bigger difference. In some cases, yes, machine upgrades might be needed, but often, it’s more about optimizing how we use the existing equipment.
WCI: Could you share a case study of tailoring a compound for a specific customer?
SV: Yes, absolutely. This has been a long journey, almost five years in the making. We developed two specialty compounds using our internal brain trust, and the work originally started in our Swiss R&D unit. After the initial development phase, we had to optimize the compounds again when we introduced our electron beam (E-beam) technology, which required the materials to perform under new processing conditions. These applications are particularly demanding because they require not just high-temperature resistance but also oil resistance and durability under rugged conditions.
Once we optimized those formulations for E-beam crosslinking, we started manufacturing cables using those compounds, and today we are supplying them to some key customers.
So, this case is a perfect example of how our in-house compounding capability has allowed us to tailor materials for highly specific and demanding applications, creating strategic value not just for LAPP India but across the global LAPP ecosystem.
Also Read: Borouge: Ensuring Cable Reliability Through Quality Jacketing Materials
WCI: What’s the next big leap in material science to meet evolving cable industry needs?
SV: I believe the next big leap will be in green materials. The entire world is moving toward sustainability, and it’s not just a trend; it’s a necessity. For us, the primary focus is on analyzing and reducing the carbon footprint of our cables. Most of that footprint comes from two sources, copper and PVC. The copper part is being addressed by the copper manufacturers, who are looking into green copper. On our end, the opportunity lies in polymers and compounding. We’re exploring how to reduce what’s called PCF, Product Carbon Footprint, by redesigning or replacing some of the PVC content and ingredients. Green materials, therefore, is a major area where we’re investing effort. Our global brain trust is collaborating with academic institutions and universities across the US, Europe, and Asia towards developing this science.
Then there are niche, high-growth segments like energy storage systems. LAPP has developed specialty cables with advanced compounds specifically for battery-based energy storage. These require safety, flexibility, and thermal performance, all in a compact footprint.
We are already a global leader in solar cables. But the market is evolving. Now we see emerging applications like floating solar, where cables are laid on water bodies like lakes, rivers, and reservoirs. These require unique properties like water resistance, UV stability, and rodent protection.
Another big area is EV charging. We’ve been making EV cables for some time, but now the focus is shifting to lightning-fast charging, i.e., charging your car in 10 minutes instead of two hours. That changes the game for cable design, requiring better thermal dissipation and higher current capacity. And it’s not just about cables. Connectors need to evolve too. We’re working on both fronts.
Lastly, there’s the need for more customized, small-batch specialty cables. Traditionally, the market favored mass production. Today machine builders, automation companies, solar EPCs, all are seeking niche, purpose-built solutions.
To sum it up: sustainability, customization, speed, recyclability, and smarter design. That’s the next leap.
WCI: Anything else you’d like to mention?
SV: Our compounding is entirely captive. We supply only our own cable plants and, selectively, to other LAPP subsidiaries. What makes this journey special is the global collaboration it fostered within the LAPP Group. We’ve built what I often call a global brain trust: sharing knowledge, co-developing solutions, and creating proprietary formulations protected through trade secrets and IP. That gives us an edge in what is otherwise a commoditized market.
All of this is still evolving, but it’s an exciting space.
