‘Will go a long way’
Rajesh Chawla, Director, VEKA India, talks about uPVC market in India with Realty Plus Tell us about your company and core competencies? Germany based VEKA AG is the world's second largest extruder of Un-plasticized polyvinyl chloride (uPVC) profiles used for windows and doors. Valued at US $1.4 billion, the company had commenced operations in 1969 as a manufacturer of shutters in Sendenhorst, Germany. With 86 continuous lines and 13 lamination lines in its Sendenhorst plant, VEKA is the largest manufacturers of doors and windows systems in Europe and the second largest in the world. The Group employs more than 3600 people through 25 subsidiaries in three continents around the world. Its manufacturing facilities are spread across Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Poland, USA, Russia, Mexico, China & Malaysia. In India, VEKA is based out of Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra and operates from its 20,000 sq. ft. that houses a state-of-the-art warehouse and distribution set up, a fabrication training workshop and a Window Testing rig along with an application center. Its profiles are available across all major cities including NCR, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Hyderabad, Vizag, Bangalore and Chennai. VEKA India as a part of the worldwide VEKA Group remains a wholly family-owned business. VEKA is a systems based company and that is one of the biggest competencies that one can have in the field of windows and doors. So VEKA’s products confine to global standards which ensure quality, reliability and safety. In India, VEKA offers an unparalleled choice in windows and doors systems to suit both individual and project needs. From its wide range in the home – office deco industry, VEKA’s premium series offers innovative solutions. What are the latest products offered by your brand? Some of the top line Window systems include ‘Tilt & Turn’, ‘Top & Bottom Hung’, ‘Crank operated’, ‘Lever operated solutions’, ‘Pivoted or reversible’ among others and in Doors the company offers ‘Sliding & Folding’, ‘Lift & Slide’, ‘Tilt & Slide’, ‘Special combinations’ among the more popular choices. VEKA also offers its expertise on Wood Finishing and Coloured Special Solutions with 'Lamination on Coloured profiles’, ‘3 Wood Grain Shades’, ‘Aluminium thresholds for flush door bathrooms’ among others. VEKA in India offers the widest range of profiles. The Premium range is a mix of class 'A' and class 'B' profiles and the Projects range consists of class 'B' profiles and are classification categories accepted globally. What are the market trends for 2016? The windows and doors market in India, especially in uPVC – since its inception a decade ago, has seen a sizeable growth barring the last couple of years on account of the slowdown in the real estate sector. More and more individuals and projects are opting for this material now and we expect the trend to continue. The past growth of uPVC can be pegged at 20 to 25 per cent per annum. The same growth trajectory is expected for the 2016 too, especially with the realty sector starting to show signs of recovery. What is the USP of your company? Ten years ago when we entered the Indian markets there was little or no presence of uPVC in the windows and doors systems, as an organized sector. In the past there was no emphasis on the performance criteria of windows in our country. The uPVC profile systems by VEKA and our windows are in line with the International Standards requirement. Even today, there are no official standards for windows in India whereas the world over, the most referred Standards for uPVC windows is EN 12608 or BS or RAL. We have pioneered the concept of quality in uPVC windows and doors profile systems in India and that has gotten us the winning advantage and is our USP. Our R&D team designs and improvises our product offerings based on the geographies of regions of applications. Today our fabricators realize the value of quality we provide to them which they vouch for and promote to their customers. We are sure that adhering to international standards, thereby creating value, will go a long way in differentiating our products in India. What is the target audience for your products? We are focusing on both cluster developments as well as standalone properties and have developed our products range to best suit the needs for these. We have recently introduced a new range of profiles system in the Indian market. Categorized into two segments viz. VEKA Premium and VEKA Projects, the new range stocks the most extensive selection of windows and doors to match the design and utility functions of India’s evolving life spaces. The new offering, a system specifically for residential projects in India, has been custom developed to cater to the requirements of urban living and will be available in all major cities.
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