Delta Electronics India has been a leading player in bringing international quality complete solutions to the industry. Spread across Automation, Power Electronics, and Infrastructure, Delta’s expertise lies both in design and manufacturing solutions that are becoming an important asset for the Indian industry. We speak to Mr Manish Walia, Head – Automation, Delta Electronics India to know how the company aims to create more value in business.
Delta Electronics has been present in India for over two decades. What is the nature of Indian operations and manufacturing facilities?
The two decades that Delta has been in the Indian market, have been a defining period in terms of growth. We have penetrated and set up roots in various sectors like Automation with both Building and Industrial, Telecom, the Data Centre space, Railways, etc. We are a pertinent force in the renewables sector with storage and inverters. We even offer a wide scope in EV charging too – covering basic requirements to cutting edge technology.
Our success has largely depended on our integrated operations system with engineering, design, sales application, and a strong team to handle our varied businesses here. We have two strong R&D units, one in Gurgaon and a bigger one in Bengaluru. On the manufacturing front, we have 3 complete manufacturing units, Gurgaon, Rudrapur, and Krishnagiri. The Krishnagiri plant is the latest addition, has two sets of factories, a DTA area meant for domestic production and a SEZ area which is a major exporting unit which will help our exports to the US, Europe, the Middle East, and the South East Asia region. We are looking at further expansion of both business and facilities in the coming period.
What are the R&D activities conducted locally and their significance for global operations?
As I mentioned earlier, we have two R&D centres, one in Gurgaon and the other in Bengaluru. While India R&D centres independently work on internal national requirements we also cater to Global projects for multiple verticals and business groups. One of our focus areas is products and solutions catering to low voltage and low power areas and the other on high power and high voltage. Products developed for the Indian market are primarily based on high power and high voltage areas including the renewable sector and power quality segment. We have also significantly contributed to the Indian Railway industry, and many more opportunities are coming up in the Metro systems too. We also continue to add resources across software, firmware, and hardware development. India is attracting a lot of investments and we are well-established in the right place at the right moment.
As a major vendor for factory automation, what are the solutions offered to the industry?
Our offerings in factory automation encompass a wide variety of product lines for a wide variety of industries from general industry to FMCG, Electronics, Automobiles, Paint, Pharmaceuticals, Plastics, etc. From component to drive, robotics, and control solutions, we provide the gamut of factory automation solutions. We don’t just provide ready-made solutions, we take a close look and study the pain area and then try to customise a solution that works for our customers. We have an integrated team right from design, operations, product management, engineering and an execution team, who are executing these large projects across multiple industries.
What are the dominant trends in the factory automation segment today, especially after the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic?
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way we function and what we value. As we see in this current shifting geopolitical scenario, the lessons we have learned during the pandemic continue to serve us. Post the pandemic, resilience has emerged as a key value in business. Resilience has translated into the need and wants for remote operations so that geographical location no longer dictates operations. This requirement is achieved with complete connectivity across processes and the factory making it possible to have Data to drive this scenario forward. Accessing information on equipment and processes anytime and on the go has the positive impact of a faster response and turnaround time. There is also a need for optimisation of human potential with repetitive processes being conducted without human interference through Robotics or other automation systems.
Digitisation and 5G are crucial elements to all major changes in the coming years. Data is required to build logic around it that will give insights – preventive or related to the process. A lot of changes that we were expecting over a 10 year period have already been expedited and with growing investments in digitisation, we will see these changes come into force in the next 4-5 years.
Cybersecurity is a serious concern with growing digitisation. How does the company address this issue?
As Data becomes more essential, its security has become paramount. The owner of the Data needs the assurance that the data created by the machine and process will not be mined, infiltrated, or lost. Our software has to have a secure interface to meet protocols that provide cybersecurity to the end user of the process. We continue to add secure layers with Ethernet ports, VPN access, password protection, Transport-level security being TLS/SSL secure, and more based on the products or processes involved and as per the need of the end user.
The company has recently announced the global launch of its DIAStudio Smart Machine Suite. How will this help the industry?
The vision with Delta’s DIAStudio Smart Machine Suite is to help the users gain more efficiency by aiding in designing the whole system around the products that we are building. This is a single integrated software solution to help choose the various models Delta has, to create a complete solution or system plan. Discarding the need for multiple platforms, DIAStudio Smart Machine Suite optimises and hastens the process of creating a complete solution around the products. Better, faster, and according to the requirement of the customer, which is always a better approach for the industry.
Does Delta have any plans for expanding the manufacturing operations in view of the various government policies and initiatives like the PLI Scheme?
The various PLI schemes brought in recently are attracting a lot of investment. We are dominant in manufacturing electronics from our solutions and are keeping a close watch on the PLI schemes around important investment areas. We stand committed to the Indian market and its growth; and would not shy away to expand investments if the need arises, in R&D or manufacturing. Delta is quick to respond to market requirements. We are already expanding our R&D facility year on year and increasing the workforce at Bengaluru. Our complex at Krishnagiri has the potential to house more factories for both domestic and international markets with the SEZ. So it is a matter of time before we utilise this potential further. We are bringing in more products from our different business groups in India to be manufactured in Krishnagiri to export as well as to use in the Indian market.
A die hard sports enthusiast, Manish Walia heads the Industrial Automation Business Group of Delta India. Besides holding the responsibility of growing Industrial Automation Business in India since 2008, he recently has been entrusted to promote the MVD product line also in India.
The interview was published in Industrial Automation Magazine
