Excerpts from an interview by N Balasubramanian with Arvind Tekur, Director (Market and Product Management), Harting India Private Limited about the company’s products and innovative strategies
Could you elaborate on Harting’s presence in the Indian market? When did your company enter the market and how has your India journey been?
Harting India, a 100% subsidiary of Harting Germany, was set up in April 2005. Harting India, headquartered in Chennai, started the journey with a small team primarily engaged in sales and marketing activities by importing its own high-quality products from Germany and delivering the same to various customers. Over the course of time, we devised a value-added growth strategy of turning our product-selling company into a ‘solution providing’ company by catering to many segments such as railways, machinery and robotics, energy (conventional and renewable) and other sectors in line with our global strategy.
Harting India now has regional offices apart from sales touchpoints across five extended regions in the country. We have also recently set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Chennai, spread over 32,000 sq. feet to exclusively cater to the demands of Indian customers. The investment made for setting up this state-of-the-art manufacturing facility is the commitment from Harting towards the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian government. It is also Harting’s commitment to customers to become a strong local manufacturing company by promising ‘Make in India’ products to all customers.
What are your best-selling products in India?
Harting India is a market leader in the field of connector and connectivity solutions. Our ‘Han’ connectors are the best-selling products due to their technical features and proven performance.
How is the impact of the latest trend of switching over to electric vehicles on your business?
We are getting a lot of enquiries from our esteemed customers for our EV guns and connectivity solutions. We expect this trend to continue and have positive impact on our overall business.
How important is the EV space for Harting and what solutions do you provide for e-mobility?
Harting India is closely watching the e-mobility market and we expect this market to be the next fastest growing with a lot of potential. We are currently offering our EV gun assembly which meets different standards as required by the OEMs.
How strong is Harting when it comes to research and development?
Thanks to our research and development and innovation hubs present all over globe, we are able to contribute to our business by continuously working and providing innovative components and solutions to various markets.
Do you manufacture customized products in India?
Yes, we have a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at our Chennai plant from where we support our local customers by offering innovative customised solutions to various market segments.
What is your message for Indian customers in this segment?
Stay connected because Harting India will be offering more and more innovative, customer-friendly and application-specific products and solutions.