We offer customised cabling solutions

Marc Jarrault, Managing Director, Lapp Group India, in an email interview conveyed to Samuel Joseph Editor of ITJ his views and vision of the company with regard to the products and services rendered to the textile industry in India.

In cabling products and solutions, how is Lapp Group, Germany rated globally? Where does the Indian subsidiary stand vis-a-vis its competitors?

Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, Lapp Group is a leading supplier of integrated solutions and branded products in the field of cable and connection technology. Lapp Group is a pioneer in the industry. Its wide range of portfolio ranges from standard and highly flexible cables for power, control and data applications, and industrial connectors, customised system solutions, robotics solutions and automation systems for the intelligent factory of the future.

Lapp Group India is the 100 per cent subsidiary of the Lapp Group. We offer more than 40,000 extensive range of high quality and durable products and solutions necessary for various industries. We are a one-stop-shop for all your cable and connectivity requirements. We have our expertise in providing the customised plug and play cable assembly solutions under the brand name OLFLEX® CONNECT – from simple cable harness to a complex chain assembly.

Give us some background of the formation of Lapp Group India as a 100 per cent subsidiary of Lapp Group? What has been the developments in production over the years?

LAPP is the first international cable manufacturers to set-up its office in India. During its initial years, we were a trading unit and we are now a 100 per cent subsidiary of Lapp Group. In India, we started our operations in the year 1996 with a manufacturing unit in Jigani, Bengaluru. The Bengaluru unit is the second largest manufacturing facility of Lapp Group and has the capacity to manufacture 60,000 km of multi core cables and 78,000 km of single core wires per annum. The company has invested approximately Rs 165 million (2.1 million Euro) for this project. The production area at Jigani was also doubled in 2014.

In 2012, Lapp Group India set-up its second manufacturing facility in Pilukhedi, Bhopal, which is helping us strengthen our base in the single core wires segment as well as cater efficiently to growing customer demands in India. It has an existing capacity of 1,000kms of single core cables daily, catering mainly to the building segment. The Bhopal facility produces 36,000 km of multi core cables resulting in overall capacity increase of 60 per cent in Multicore cables in addition to the existing 2,16,000 km capacity in single core wires.

Lapp Group India provides about 1,50,000 km per year of power, control, instrumentation and data cables along with connectors, accessories and customised cabling solutions to over 5,500 customers pan India. Our customers are spread across different industry segments such as automation, textile, automotive, machine tools, oil and gas, renewable energy, process industries, as well as in the infrastructure and building sectors. To service our customers better, we currently have two manufacturing units, 23 sales offices along with five service points and five warehouses. We also have a strong network of 180 dealers and distributors, a state-of-the-art laboratory and a fully-fledged Innovation and Engineering Centre. We provide tailored solutions for customer-specific applications to meet the industry challenges. In the year 2018, we will be celebrating 20 years of Lapp Group’s presence in India. We are committed to Indian market and foresee a huge potential as well.

How does Lapp Group India perceive textile industry among other segments in the supply of products and solutions? Brief us about the quality standards according to international levels?

In 1996 when we started our operations in India, textile industry was one of the two focused segments. We have some of the reputed textile manufacturers as our oldest customers. Our products are ideal designs for textile industry that cut across the entire process from spinning to garment production. Lapp is re-thinking and re-defining the cable and connection technology, with focused R&D and innovation, to meet the challenges faced by the textile industry. Our offerings go further than just the cables for the power, control and data applications but also connectors, conduits, cable glands, marking systems and tools along with our OLFLEX® CONNECT customised cable assembly solution.

What are the various special products and USP of Lapp Group India for the textile industry?

Lapp is synonymous with innovation and we believe in developing innovative cabling products and solutions that help and assist our customers. For the textile industry, we offer tried and tested products and customised solutions, used in various stages of textile processes like spinning, weaving, knitting, fabric and garments processing. Lapp products are designed for critical applications like continuous motion, high temperature, for chemical and other harsh environments. Lapp cables are slim and light in its construction making it more flexible and can withstand high temperatures. The products are chemical/oil resistant and weather proof, with great mechanical strength. Following are few of our products that caters to the textile industry:

OLFLEX® CONNECT: OLFLEX® CONNECT our customised plug ‘n’ play solution, ranges from the simple cable assemblies to industry standard servo connections and right up to sophisticated high-speed drag-chain systems, to help meet exact customer requirements.

OLFLEX® CLASSIC 110 cables: These are screened PVC control cables with transparent outer sheet, designed to be flame retardant and all weather resistant.

UNITRONIC® cables: Data network cables and field bus components provide a forward-looking solution for all applications in industrial machinery and plant engineering. From transmission of simple control signals to field bus signals in complex network structures, we offer a reliable cable and connection solution.

ETHERLINE® cables: High-quality data communication systems for ETHERNET technology. A secure, fast and reliable path to the future of ethernet applications and delivers an effective solution for applications in the industrial environment.

EPIC® SMART: Industrial connectors designed and manufactured specifically for Asian markets with the promise of high performance at a cost-effective price. These connectors are waterproof and temperature resistant that can be used for the power and control applications in textile industry.

With modernisation and automation taking shape in textile industry, how does Lapp Group India see the growth in demand and supply of its products over the next few years?

With world moving towards automation, the high-speed Ethernet cable and conductors have become the need of the hour to facilitate smooth and complete networking of systems in the production environment. Lapp offers its UNITRONIC® range of high-quality data network cables that are highly effective in avoiding leakage of the data and HITRONIC® fibre optic cables that are designed to transfer large volumes of data. Lapp ETHERLINE® range of products and M12 connectors are designed to transmit highest data rates with consistent reliability in drag chains that are under constant movement with a data rate of 10 Gbit/s. Building on this innovation, we have also introduced ETHERLINE® ACCESS the managed and unmanaged switches. These switches can connect all the machines in a factory floor which enables them to be controlled from a single point in the control room. With these switches along with data cables and connectors, Lapp is a one stop shop to ensure reliable connectivity.

How do you see the future of cabling products and solutions for textile industry? What are Lapp India’s goals and targets and what are its strategies and investment to meet them?

Textiles, being one of the oldest industries in India has undergone a drastic change over the years and the level of technology related to the automation of textile machinery has brought about an even bigger revolution. There is now a necessity to start enhancing efficiency, adaptability, agility and optimisation across the textile industry. There is also a growing need for customised plug-n-play product and solution. Lapp is future-ready with research labs that are constantly innovating to develop products and solutions that are best suitable for the complex environment of the textile industry.