Yamunanagar-based Erol Exports Private Ltd, a 100 per cent export-oriented unit (EOU), engaged in manufacturing abrasive blasting, is planning to introduce robotics in abrasive blasting with foreign collaboration. Moreover, it will invest Rs 3 crore in three years in the upgrade of machinery. | |
| The company manufactures abrasive blasting and spray painting equipment and was rated C2 by the Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) rating agency in 2005. |
| |
| Abrasive blasting involves surface cleaning, by impinging a spray of a large variety of abrasive media with only air or mixed with water, and it has emerged as one of the largest suppliers of control equipment globally. |
| |
| Talking to Business Standard, Lalit Saluja, chairman and managing director of the company, said, "We have a plan to introduce robotics in abrasive blasting, with foreign collaborations. Already talks are going on and once it is materialised, we will be the first manufacturer in India to introduce Robotics." |
| |
| Commenting upon future initiatives, he added, "Six months down the line, we will have an internet-based interactive, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system in place. The innovative feature of this system is that our customers can see the production process and access the requirements accordingly, eliminating the need for formal requisitioning." |
| |
| The company is exporting to more than 30 companies in the US, Canada, Holland, France and Germany, etc. |
| |
| "Our strong focus on consistent quality and timely delivery helped us to impress and win over clients in the US, Europe and other areas. We leverage India's advantage of competitive pricing to position ourselves as an outsourcing outfit for a number of companies, a decade before outsourcing emerged as a hot trend," he said. |
| |
| "We recently spent Rs 80 lakh on the upgrade of machinery to achieve higher scale and speed. Also, we are planning to infuse fresh capital of Rs 3 crore to further upgrade ourselves to meet the demand," he said. |
| |
| He added the company spent 15-20 per cent of its turnover on research and development. |
| |
| Commenting upon sharp increase in the prices of raw materials, he said, "Our major raw materials are tungsten carbide, aluminium and steel. All these have seen steep price increases in the last two years. However, we have enjoyed tremendous flexibility in passing on price increases to our customers." |
| |
| In 2005-06, the turnover of the company was Rs 8.12 crore and this year it is expecting to touch Rs 15 crore. |
| |
| Saluja said: "We are expecting to have a foreign technological collaborator in two years." When asked whether the company had plans to foray into the domestic market, he said there was immense potential in the overseas market, and in the near future it would like to concentrate on the overseas market only. |
| |
|
| |
