Indians are very smart and thorough in selecting technology: Israel Gonzalez

By Niraj M Wanikar, Chief Editor, CNCTimes.com, 2016-02-11 14:10:00

Cut with Confidence’ is the motto of Hypertherm (India) Thermal Cutting Pvt Ltd and the company has been doing it since 2007. The company’s mission is to provide customers with the best industrial cutting solutions in the industry. It's a mission that Hypertherm has been committed to since 1968, when the company’s founder Mr Dick Couch and colleague Mr Bob Dean discovered a way to create a narrower plasma arc, capable of cutting metal with a speed and accuracy never before seen.

Nearly 50 years later, Mr Couch's founding principles of customer focused innovation remain strong. More than 10 percent of the company’s associates work in engineering, leading to many cutting innovations such as oxygen injected cutting, HyDefinition® plasma cutting, Coaxial-assistTM jet, and LongLife® technologies etc. That is the reason why Hypertherm's plasma, laser, and waterjet systems consistently outperform the competition in cut quality, productivity and operating costs.

“We are also bringing technologies like CNCs, high controls and software for testing. We are everything about cutting. Not only this, we have also made a foray into 3D cutting after successfully acquiring Robotmaster, the software for 3D cutting technology,” the Regional Director (Asia Pacific) of Hypertherm, Mr Israel Gonzalez said while speaking to CNCTimes.com during IMTEX Forming, 2016.

At IMTEX, Hypertherm unveiled its SureCut technology, which is brought to the industry through various delivery mechanisms that include Hypertherm systems, CNCs and online/offline CAM software. This is a user friendly and intuitive system that offers high cut quality, but is simple enough to be operated by staff with different levels of skills and experiences. The very essence of the SureCut technology lies in the embedded expertise within Hypertherm CAM/CNC products that simplifies and automates jobs for end users with limited operator intervention. SureCut provides operators with 3 clear benefits - Easy Setup (Cut Pro Wizard), Optimized parameter (Part program support) and Easy troubleshooting (Remote Help).

The US company also launched Powermax30 AIR that delivers high performance in a compact, portable package. With a built in air compressor, it’s the smallest, lightest handheld plasma cutting system in its class so one can take the Powermax30 AIR to where the work is rather than bring the work to the system.

“We started our Indian operations in 2007 and since then the Indian market has been very important for us. It is a very prestigious market where we enjoy premium stake over our competitors. While our competitors are still trying to establish themselves in this market, we have carved a niche for ourselves by providing the latest cutting technologies,” Mr Gonzalez said adding, “There are a lot of opportunities in India and the level of expertise is very good. People here are very smart. That is the reason why this market is getting better and better with each passing day.”

When asked whether Indian market is price sensitive, Mr Gonzalez, who was accompanied by the company’s Sales Leader (India), Mr Abhinav Sood, said that the Indian market is value sensitive. “The people here evaluate each and every technology thoroughly and they are quick to take advantage of any new advancement. Indians are very interesting people as they can cleverly assess and analyse any technology. Besides, the new steps being initiated by the Indian government are very conducive for value-based products. All in all I am very happy to see what I am seeing,”

He added that while Hypertherm’s systems are relatively more expensive as compared to the competitors, the company has performed considerably well in India. “Indians buy “value” and it is very difficult to convince them easily. Today, everyone wants to be in India and we are also considering to expand our network in this country where after-sales service is very important, to which we are committed in totality,” Mr Gonzalez quipped.

“Compared to the global market, Indian customers are very smart in spending money. They are very thorough and difficult to convince. The best part is people are fully aware of the brands and seek value-added services. Indian market offers great potential,” Mr Gonzalez said. Mr Sood added that “Make in India” is a very interesting and important concept. “Everybody is looking at it as the government is taking concrete steps in the right direction. India is attracting investments from many countries, such as Japan, China, and Middle East etc, and we are looking forward to more infrastructural development that can really be helpful for these global players to stay put in this country.”

Speaking of Hypertherm’s vision in India, Mr Gonzalez said that the company will consolidate its distribution network and strengthen its presence with OEMs, besides reinforcing its structure for better service which is very important. “We plan to keep launching new products, new technologies and come up with many integrated solutions in plasma and waterjet cutting. We aim to ensure that OEMs prefer our brand and in the years to come, we will be more communicative towards providing better service, interacting with customers, as well as increasing our reach to every nook and corner of the manufacturing sector,” Mr Gonzalez signed off.

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