Eureka Forbes to launch ACs with 'active shield' technology

Consumer goods company Eureka Forbes Tuesday said it will nationally launch air conditioners under the brand name 'Forbes' by March-April this year, with patented technology to deliver air free of microbes and germs.

"We call it 'health conditioner' because it removes 99 per cent microbes and germs within two hours. It comes with 'Active Shield' technology for which we have applied patent," said Vikram Surendran, President, Eureka Forbes Limited.

The company has done test marketing for the last fifteen-odd months in Gujarat and Kerala, and based on research, it is going launch air conditioners nationally between March and April, he said.

The product, Surendran added, is present in 451 multi-brand outlets in Gujarat, where it has achieved 2.8 per cent market share.

"Since its pilot launch, the Forbes brand has achieved 2.8 per cent overall market share in Gujarat and 2.5 per cent in Kerala and sold over 45,000 units. It has now also introduced cassette and tower ACs," he said.

The "health conditioner" technology was developed in the company's R&D facility in Bengaluru around two years back.

The company achieved a turnover of Rs 2,300 crore in the 2019 financial year, with water purification remaining its largest segment, contributing about 70 per cent of turnover, he said.

Vacuum cleaners would be about 20 per cent, and balance would be security systems and air purifiers, he said, adding that the category of AC will take time to develop.