The Ideal Solution Is to Educate the Market

Dinesh Gupta, President, Bry-Air| Industry 2.0, IMMA | April 13, 2010

 
Bry-Air, a Pahwa group company, specializes in providing solutions for moisture and humidity control for general industry, and reliable auxiliaries for plastics. Operating in a framework of environment and energy. It has plants located in India, Malaysia, China, Brazil and USA. Dinesh Gupta, President, Bry-Air, in an interview with Reshmi Menon focuses on the present status of this industry, its growth potential and future prospects.

How would you describe the growth of heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) industry in India?

At present, the HVAC industry accounts for Rs. 20,000 to 25,000 crore in India. And it is estimated that this size will double every four years. The global demand for HVAC systems will grow 5.1 per cent annually through 2010. The Asia-pacific region will outpace the world average, led by China and India. The other developing countries of Asia and Africa/Mid-East will also have strong gains in the market. The southern region of India is growing at a rate of 35 to 40 per cent per annum. The industry is slated to grow at the sanic pace for the next decade.

Has strict environment norms increased implementation of environment-friendly solutions?

India companies have taken stricter environmental norms in a very positive manner. In any case. It is a win-win situation with companies becoming more energy efficient.

How would you compare the Indian scenario with the worldwide growth?

The Indian HVAC industry is quickly aligning itself with the developments taking place worldwide. I feel it (Indian HVAC Industry) will become a major force in the world in the next decade.

How did the global recession affect this Industry?

The slowdown has mainly hit the commercial side of this industry, and did not curb the industrial growth, particularly the food and the pharmaceutical sector. To give you a scenario, for Bry-Air the key customers are pharmaceuticals and food processing units. With India becoming the global hub for pharma outsourcing more and more research and manufacturing units are being set up. At any pharms unit, a dehumidification machine is at the heart of  it.

Also, more and more food processing units are increasingly adopting such technologies to maintain right humidity while processing and packaging any food item.

What are the challenges in this Industry?

The industry in which we operate offers solutions to a niche segment. The challenge lies in establishing the concept amongst the target audience. People are unaware about the process of dehumidification across different industries in India and that becomes a major roadblock in its growth.

Keeping the current scenario in mind, when companies are creating products that meet global standards, the ideal solution is to educate the market, create awareness of problems caused by humidity and then often the product as a solution. This will not only spread awareness. But also initiate growth in this sector.

Why are Indian companies less proactive in adopting eco-friendly solutions?

I think lack of education in this area is one of the major reasons. Also, it has been witnessed that often companies are reductant to incur additional expenses for turning their units green. However, this is changing fast and companies are looking at going green in a positive manner.

How do you foresee the future of this Industry?

I think, this industry holds a bright future. With new manufacturing units opening up, there will be a raise in demand for such products, and increasing awareness about such technology will reap good profits in future.