We continually make investments to upgrade our facilities

We are concentrating on BSVI engine oil and long-drain hydraulic oils. Our attention is also on high-performance greases. We don't sell hydraulic oil that contains zinc. We are among the first and most experienced companies in India to offer engine oil solutions across all product categories.

The product that we are focusing on here at IMME is MARATRON LSP CK4 engine oil, which is BSVI compatible engine. It can run up to more than 80,000 km in regular intervals.

When it comes to the greases, we have a whole basket of greases. We provide both calcium solvent goods grease and products based on lithium. Here, our attention is on the construction and equipment market. Here, we provide highly specialised calcium solvent grease and lithium complex grease. The benefit of these products is that while other greases can last up to eight hours, our greases can last up to twenty hours, providing 2.5 times the advantages of current conventional products.

How do you look at the market for lubricants in India?
The Indian market is divided into two parts – automotive and industrial. The industrial lubricant market is growing at a modest rate of 3.5 to 4 per cent vis-à-vis other countries in which there is a stagnation of the lubricant market.

In the industrial segment, the construction and mining industry contributes around 12 per cent to the lubricants market. However, the construction and mining industry is growing by more than 30 per cent as of September. The potential of lubricants in the construction and mining segment is better and we look forward to having a better share.

We are really new in offering lubricants for the construction and mining industry. We are strengthening our foothold in mining and construction lubricants.

Which are your stronger pockets in India?
For us, East India is a strong market for mining and construction. For construction, the western region of Maharashtra is the strongest market.

Are these products completely made in India?
We have five manufacturing units that are spread across the nation. We have plants in Kolkata, Navi Mumbai, Silvassa, Faridabad, and Chennai. These five plants produce close to 1,11,000 kcal. Whatever products— specialty or conventional products—that we are selling are made in India. The technology that we boast of is our own R&D, based out of Mumbai. We have certified labs and are self-equipped to give the best.

Any plans for capacity expansion?
We have got a single shift operation of 1,11,000 kcal. Our annual sale is around 84,000 to 85,000 kcal. Still, there is a gap of 25,000 kcal. That is only for the single-shift operation. If you multiply that by a two-shift operation, then the numbers will be even more. We are not investing in capacity expansion, but we are definitely investing in modernising our plants. Earlier a lot of manual operations were going on; now, all our plants are highly robotised.

We are even looking at sustainability. We are investing in those technologies. Our Silvassa plant is 100 per cent through renewable energy. We are also investing quite a lot to make it a self-dependent renewable energy source. Not to enhance our production capacity, but to be a sustainable player in the market, wherein we have got something to offer to the environment rather than taking everything from that.

In terms of performance, how was the current year?
Fortunately, our industrial businesses are growing by double-digits. Our OEM business is also growing many folds now. We have added a lot of new OEMs which were not there last year. In automotive, we are at a flat level, we have not grown.

Our top-line growth is very good. At present, we are at more than 12 to 14 per cent. There is stress in the bottom line. This is because the basic input has gone up. We are sure by the end of the year; we will have robust growth as compared to the last year.