Kohler testing Caldtech developed portable flush toilets in Kerala

Company feels these off-grid toilets could meet sanitaion needs in the country under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

US-headquartered Kohler Co.'s Indian subsidiary Kohler India Corp. Pvt Ltd is testing its closed loop flush toilet system in Kerala, to understand its utilities in the India context, where it has the potential to become a sanitation solution for the millions in the country who do not have access to hygienic sanitation conditions.

The company, a global leader in kitchen and bath design technology, had collaborated with California Institute of Technology (Caltech)  in the development of a photovoltaic toilet as part of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge, hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In response to this successful project, the Gates Foundation recently approved a two-year grant to Kohler to design and fabricate five closed-loop flush toilet systems for field testing in developing world locations without adequate sanitation. With the recent announcement of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the solution assumes greater significance in the Indian context, feels Salil Sadanandan, managing director, kitchen and bath, India & sub-Saharan Africa. The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan aims to build 100 million toilets across the country.

This apart, the company is bullish on the premium and luxury bath segment in India, which comprises nearly 30 per cent of the overall Rs  7,000 crore bath and sanitation fittings market in the country. For that matter, India is considered amongst the three main hubs for Kohler globally, claims Sadanandan. The other two are its home market US and China. "The Chinese market is at least 10 times the size of that of India at the moment, and the US is also quite big. However, the US market is saturated with 90 per cent sales coming from the replacement segment," he explains. In comparison, India is still a nascent market, with only a 40 per cent penetration of sanitation amongst its 1.2 billion population, and 90 per cent demand is still driven by new construction.

The market is growing at 13-14 per cent, of which the premium segment is clocking a 17-18 per cent growth rate. Sadanandan claimed that Kohler is the leading brand in the premium segment among multinational players.

The company, which has already invested around $150 million in setting up a manufacturing unit in Jhagadia, Gujarat is planning to expand the capacity at the facility which currently exports nearly 20 per cent of its production to countries in the EU and Africa apart from the US.