In this exclusive interview, Ashok Pandey, Director of Pharma, Automotive & Consumer Filter at Freudenberg Filtration Technologies India Pvt Ltd, delves into the company’s innovative approaches and discusses the strategies poised to propel it forward in an ever-changing industry.
There have been many inventions and innovations in relation to the HVAC sector post COVID, can you briefly talk about that?
The HVAC sector definitely has gone through some drastic changes. When it is related to pharmaceuticals there’s not much of a difference between pre-COVID and post-COVID situations because of the strict norms and the pharma industry follows that. Technological advancements took place and we have done some changes in the product as per the expectation of the industry.
Tell us about your products used in different sectors such as airports etc.
Wherever the air comes in, we need filtration. So, airports have HVAC systems, there are lot of opportunities to upgrade it as there are a lot of passengers travelling in and out and because of the pandemic there’s a concern. So, there are a lot of offerings which can be brought in for Airports, exhibition centers etc. wherein even the virus and bacteria can also be taken care of by using proper filters.
Tell us about the HEPA filter and other products.
We have housings where these HEPA filters are installed. We have the pre filters and advanced series of the filters which were earlier used in other industries but then we found that it is making a lot of sense to use it in the pharma industry. So cross working across different segments also has grown up.
Tell us about the consumer filters.
We have just launched the consumer filters in the last year. Room air purifiers are now being used with growing concern and the segment also is growing. We believe that in the coming years that would be a good market for us.
Could you talk about the opportunities you have in India for Freudenberg products in the HVAC sector?
We come from the filtration side so right from the air entry till final delivery one has to take care. According to different requirements of areas such as health care sector, tablet manufacturing etc we have all the product range.
What are the areas you are finding business opportunities in?
All people involved in the pharma business are expanding and expansion creates opportunities. There are a lot of upgrades which are being requested from the market. These upgrades mostly demand better efficiency so we are customizing according to their needs. Opportunities are being created on the infrastructure side, a lot of infrastructure brings in a lot of pollution and this pollution is at the end related to our health. So, filtration is one thing which comes in between and takes care that people can parallel have both development and safeguarding their health. And that’s where we pitch in and it creates opportunities.
Talk about the automotive sector.
We are mainly into air filtration. In the automotive sector we supply the cabin air filters which goes into the HVAC of a passenger car or a commercial vehicle. This is a different dimension of the business because there’s a lot of demand and a lot of concern of pollution. On an average a person spends at least 2 to 3 hours every day in a car and the pollution levels are so high. I really translate it into like you can save a person smoking 10 cigarettes a day if you have a good filter installed.
What is the market share of Freudenberg in the automotive sector and for pharmaceuticals?
We have about more than 75 per cent market share in India for automotive and for pharma we would be very close to 30 to 35 percent market share because there are a couple of players.
How do you find the opportunities that the real estate, both residential and commercial sectors provide?
Commercial is anyway there! Residential in India is yet to come to that level where we have individual or centralized air conditioning for the buildings. But I believe maybe in a couple of years that will also become our sector to address.
Are you overall optimistic about the future?
We are very optimistic!