India is an emerging economy. So, what kind of potential do you envisage for your products and services in India?

India is one of the fastest growing in the world with high GDP of about 7 per cent. Further, it has a huge population which is not using refrigeration at home or stores. So, considering this fact, there is a huge potential to increase the refrigeration market in this country. By having people with more disposable income and more power for consumption, we believe that India is going to be a huge market for Embraco solutions.

Which products have you launched at ACREX India?

ACREX is a very important trade show for us and is one of the largest in Asia Pacific. During the event, we have presented new solutions focused on energy efficiency and better food preservation, focusing on food retail, food service, aftermarket and merchandisers to connect with the value that we’re providing to the end user.

First, we have the solutions for food retail segment, such as supermarkets and convenience stores. Second, Embraco has portfolio for food service applications, as professional kitchens for hotels and restaurants. The third one is for aftermarket where we have condensing units as well as replacement parts. We’ve also presented the merchandisers portfolio which can be applied in bottle coolers, for example. In ACREX, we have introduced NJX series compressors and this technology is equipped with motors up to two horse powers that are ideal for professional kitchens and cold rooms applications.

Our solutions for India have wide voltage features, if you have any fluctuations in voltage and power is off, the compressor will keep working. For household refrigerators, we have showcased FMX compressors co-branded with Whirlpool, which has longer life span approved by VDE Institute (with 25-year lifetime) and is a bugless solution, a very relevant feature in India. These compressors can help the manufacturers in India to achieve the energy efficiency regulations which are stringent. India also has energy regulations that are very similar to Europe.

These solutions have high energy efficiency and can support OEMs to reach their energy efficiency goal. Further, we have also introduced FMFD compressors for food retail, such as supermarket islands and reach-ins. These are the most efficient compressors in the world for this range, with low energy consumption. In addition to the new launches, Embraco is still one of the leaders of R134a market, delivering a reliable and robust solution focused in India.

Embraco’s FMF compressor range

Do you think that ACREX India is the right platform for launching of the products? What kind of response did you expect for your products?

ACREX India is one of the best platforms to launch products in the Asia-Pacific, especially in India, and we’ve participated for the second year. Our goal at ACREX was to position Embraco as one of the biggest players in the refrigeration segment and as a global company that promotes quality of life through innovative cooling solutions. To be present in a large trade show like ACREX has been important to introduce Embraco’s innovations in the Indian market and make ourselves known as a trusted and reliable brand.

How do you differentiate Indian markets from European markets for your products?

We are selling almost the same products that we sell in Europe. India also has stringent regulations for achieving the goal of energy efficiency, such as Europe. So, the products are similar. The only differentiation for the Indian market is to offer a compressor that can work with any voltage fluctuation and this is something that Embraco has been doing for almost 20 years around the world through Fullmotion (variable speed) solutions. We have powerful products that will work even if the power goes off.

How unique are your products? Do you have any competitors for your products in India?

Embraco is a global refrigeration company that, throughout its 48-year journey and its local team, has invested in developing innovative solutions with the aim of providing a better quality of life for society. We are a pioneer in variable speed compressors that help to achieve energy efficiency and reduction of power consumption as well as divide voltage. As India has problems with voltage fluctuations, it can work efficiently in India and bring higher energy efficiency. Embraco is also working with this technology for over 20 years, that is differentiated by natural refrigerants as well. It is in our portfolio if the customers want to have any new product, then he has the option with natural refrigerant or alternatives. Moreover, we push our customers trying to engage them to go for the natural refrigerant to achieve energy efficiency. We call it future proof solution as if a customer adopts natural refrigerant product or service, it will not affect the ozone layer and our next generation can live much better than us. India is also concerned about emission of greenhouse gases impacting the ozone layer.

We do have competitors for our products in India. So, it is very important for us in ACREX to increase our brand awareness with differentiation that we have in terms of portfolio and services in terms of distribution. Today, we are serving India in every region. Then, these kinds of events help us a lot to get to know the market and also the market to get to know about Embraco.

Embraco’s FMX Model Compressor

Do you have any expansion plans in India? Do you have R&D centre in India?

Right now, I cannot speculate about expansion plans in India as we are under the acquisition process. What I can say that is we have a right set up with local and very experienced team. We have Indian workforce already working for Embraco in India, which work closely to our distributors to offer Embraco products in the whole territory.

Embraco’s R&D Centre also has the support of its own 47 labs, located at its various plants. These labs are equipped with cutting-edge technology for research, measurement and diagnosis, as well as software for simulation and experiments. In India also, we have a team that has very strong technical expertise.

What is your outlook for HVACR industry in India?

I would say it is going to go very close to the GDP of India or even higher. I expect HVAC industry would witness 15-20 percent of growth every year and is going to grow more in the next five to ten years.

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