Viz-A-Viz with Vishal Amin, Director (Solar Division), Lubi Electronics

Q. Please tell us something about Lubi Solar including the vision behind its formation and its current role in the market.

Lubi Solar is a division of Lubi Industries, a premier name in pumping industry. We at LUBI believe in the concept of continuous improvement by adopting new and progressive technology in our existing products and processes, thereby delivering higher value to customer.

Lubi solar is the resultant of an idea of providing access of clean water to the marginalized farmers having limited access to electricity. The idea has been executed well and today we manufacture high efficiency solar panels in a completely robotic manufacturing plant out of Ahmadabad.

We offer to the market, solar panels and solar pumping systems, all indigenously made in India.

Q. While dealing with project owners how do you manage the cost factor?

We closely monitor costs at all stages of the supply chain and try to optimize it to offer world class products to the market at competitive prices. Our execution team is quick to get all government approvals to avoid any revenue loss to end customers. We have implemented CRM to track all customer projects and ensure timely delivery.

Q. In present scenario where technology changes frequently, how do you manage to upgrade your technology?

We try to keep up with the global technology and integrate the same into our products organically. Also we track the adoption of the new technologies in the market, by closely following competition and adopt them progressively from time to time.

Q. In your view, will the implementation of safeguard duty on solar imports for two years help in safeguarding the interests’ of solar manufacturers?

Safeguard duty has eased some pressure on the solar panel manufacturers which was under constant pricing stress. We would welcome more measures to support solar panel manufacturers while keeping the market competitive.

Q. In your view, what should be done by the government not only to promote Indian manufacturing but also exports of Indian modules to other countries?

The safeguard duty has released some pressure on domestic manufacturing. However this may soon be offset by a steep fall in prices of Chinese panels owing to subsidy phase out on installations by Chinese govt. The government needs to work on incentivizing domestic manufacturing by creating a vertically integrated ecosystem for solar panel manufacturers.

Q. What is your strategy in regards to offering best value to customer for the price, compared to similar offerings from competitors?

As a company we focus on optimizing the procurement process in the value chain and deliver the products better and faster. Product innovation is the best way to stay competitive in India market. Every year we introduce new products to improve our market position. Recently, we have launched new Bifacial solar panels which give 30% more generation compared to conventional solar panels. We are also expanding our stainless steel DC submersible pump offering upto 10 hp.

Q. How do you envision the future for solar in India and what role do you expect Lubi Solar to play in shaping the future of the industry?

We see tremendous potential for Solar in India and expect to become the most preferred supply partners in the industry. India will mostly likely not be able to meet its 100 GW installation target by 2020. There is enormous scope for solar business in India. Even today 30% of population in India don’t get reliable electricity.

Q. Is there any further expansion plans in the next five years?

With government support in policy, we are looking to expand our capacity to 1GW per annum.