Avinash Pandey, Content Writer at CNCTimes.com in conversation with Mr.Ludovic Navarro, Managing Director, Gravotech, at Engimach 2017

Can you please let us know about Gravotech and your company’s presence in the Indian market?

Gravotech is a French company with brands such as Technifor and Gravograph. Technifor and Gravograph were two separate companies that merged in the year 2005, to give birth to Gravotech.  We are pleased with the merger as each brand is focused on the different sector of the industry. Gravograph is more towards high-quality engraving whereas Technifor is all about industrial marking application.

We have a presence in India for last ten years. The Gravotech group is a midsized company with about 1000 people worldwide. In India, we have around 25 people, and our focus is mainly on the products used in industrial application. That is our core business, and all the solutions we see in India are focussed towards it.

Gravotech is a specialist in marking and engraving technology, mainly for automotive applications. Wherever you have solid components, and you need to identify and trace them quickly, it is important to mark them. Marking the parts with a shift code or manufacturing date will help the manufacturer determine the batch number and the time when the component was manufactured.  When components are very similar to each other, it can become complicated as they all look identical, especially if one of the components needs to be recalled from the market, the manufacturer can remember only that specific batch and not the entire shipment thus helping him save money in the process.

How do you find the Indian market?                                               

Indian market is challenging, and at the same time, it is fascinating. It has enormous potential, but it is a price sensitive market, and we have to adapt according to the applications and demands which is unlike the requirements in Europe. So, we have adjusted our offering and solutions according to the Indian market scenario. Indian market is always fascinating for my company and me.

How do you see the customer behavior in India? Is it price-oriented or application-oriented?

In India, we are mainly supplying to the two-wheeler and four-wheeler automotive segments. It is a small market, and it is also very price sensitive. I will not say it is because of the application of product which has been pushed into the price sensitive market. To put it just, if we sell a machine to the company that manufactures Jaguar car, for them, the price is not very important as when compared to when we sell to a company like Hero Motocorp. So the point I would like to make is that in the Indian Market, manufacturers want machines that have the superior quality of the BMW cars but are only willing to pay the price of a TATA Nano car. We believe that any product that we sell in India should match the expectations of price and quality. Keeping this in mind, we have taken a particular action and have developed some models and solutions solely applicable to the Indian market. Our products are moderately priced.  We have achieved the perfect balance between application, price and the quality of the products.

What is your primary focus at Engimach, 2017?

Since we do not have much presence in Gujarat, Engimach was the perfect opportunity for us to do market penetration. At present, we are looking for distributors and channel partners.

Everyone is talking about industry 4.0, what is your take on that?

The next machine we plan to launch is in the month of March-April which will come with such a feature and connections that will allow us to service it online. We are developing a technology through which customers can interact with the machines remotely and can get all the information they need. These techniques are currently present in the overseas market, but we will soon bring it to the Indian market.

What are your strategies regarding branding and promotion of the company in India?

We are very active on the web as most people have access to the internet these days. We also do a lot of telemarketing to connect with our customers and even participate in exhibitions for branding and promotions.

• Follow @CNCTimes