"We have recently introduced Ozone Plus hydraulic patch; a revolutionary patch fitting which has compacted the door closing technology in a super slim size. This new product is getting excellent response from across the globe. Ozone is not only known for bringing advanced products but also known for offering sustainable solutions for all architectural hardware requirements. Today, our product portfolio of more than 3000 different products has the ability to offer hardware solutions for all with best international quality & safety standards," says Mr. Alok Aggarwal, Managing Director, Ozone Overseas Ltd. in his interview with Maria R.
Could you please tell us about the company's progression and milestone developments which have led it on the global platform as a leading brand in Architectural Hardware Solutions?
Ozone has been treading the innovation path since its inception and has been achieving newer milestones constantly. We always strive to bring technologically advanced products for our discerning customers. This endeavor has put us on high growth trajectory and achieved global recognition in Architectural hardware industry. We have recently introduced Ozone Plus hydraulic patch; a revolutionary patch fitting which has compacted the door closing technology in a super slim size. This new product is getting excellent response from across the globe. To make ozone a globally leading brand, we are expanding our reach to new markets internationally. We have recently participated in Glass Build, Las Vegas where our newly launched Ozone Plus hydraulic patch got tremendous response and acceptance from all visitors. As part of our effort to expand global reach, we have established offices in Dubai, Australia and Canada.
Sustainability is shaping the building industry to an ever greater extent than any other sector; how would you correlate sustainability with your products and solutions?
Safety issue is of great concern while selecting fittings for glass as these are used in critical structural & load bearing applications like Façades, roofs, canopies; how are you helping the buyers to select the quality products in place of substandard fittings?
Considering safety as the prime concern architects, builders and specifiers select the hardware with utmost care. Our team of technically skilled staff helps the customer to choose the right product from various options available. Today, architects in India are experimenting with building architectures and proposing unique shapes and styles of commercial and infrastructural buildings which offer a new challenge to manufacturers such as Ozone who has always been looked upon by the industry as a leader for providing smart hardware solutions. At Ozone, we apply intelligent technology to optimize the safety, security and convenience of our hardware solutions, effectively satisfying our customers' diverse and dynamic needs. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing processes conform to international safety standards and follow the European norms to manufacture and deliver best quality products. We, at Ozone, understand the importance of safety in all types of building structures and therefore, study the requirement in-depth and then our team of experts do thorough research and development to meet the requirement. Once the design is done, a product is tested for structural application, load bearing capacity and safety standards as per best practices followed worldwide. There are many imitative substandard products available today in the market which might lure the customers. Our job is to guide the customers by giving them correct information with technical support so that they can choose the right product.
A word about your customized solutions & OEM services. Do you have your own installation team?
In your opinion, how has the building products' market grown in India during the last decade? What will be the growth trajectory in the coming years?
In India all development activities, especially infrastructure, have taken place in the last one decade with the opening up of the Indian economy for global players. Ever since this globalization started, the need of having a modern infrastructure has been realized and a wave of development has flowed in all other areas also such as shopping malls, commercial buildings, retail outlets, airports etc. These development activities generated huge demand for technologically superior architectural hardware products with international quality and safety norms. Even end consumers also want to have smart and hi-tech products for their interior space. With ever increasing demand, architectural hardware industry witnessed high growth in the last decade. In the coming years too this development process will continue the way it has been so far as there is a lot to be done on infrastructure development. So far, we have seen all kinds of development in the metro cities of India. Now these development activities are picking up pace in tier II & tier III cities also which will increase the demand further for architectural hardware products. Therefore, requirement for more advanced and intelligent hardware solutions will be far higher in future offering a greater growth opportunity to all.
Do you have plans at hand to enhance the production capacity and to initiate sales and marketing activities seeing huge business opportunities in the country? Are you also looking for market expansion?
Ever since Ozone's inception a decade ago, we have always been on the expansion mode. Technological advancement worldwide has enabled us to upgrade our manufacturing set up from time to time meeting constantly evolving customers' needs. We have recently installed new machineries to deliver customized solutions with excellent quality norms. Rapidly growing India and developing infrastructure offers huge opportunity to us for strengthening the brand Ozone and consolidate the product portfolio. Considering this fact, we are strengthening our Sales and Marketing team to ensure our presence with better services to our customers in all parts of the world. We have a robust marketing team in place which ensures every possible support to sales and is working strategically to enhance the product and brand visibility in the market across India. All these efforts are planned and executed keeping in view our vision of reaching every household of progressive India. Every right step will prove a milestone in achieving this ambitious vision which requires very focused & strategic move.
What is the company's current market share and target for the coming years?
More than 50% of Indian Hardware market is occupied by unorganized players. Hence it is very difficult to ascertain market share of a well-established brand too. Market share of any brand, varies as per product category also, like, in one product category a brand could be leading and in the other it may be just ensuring its presence. We have always been regarded by the industry players for leading the market with our futuristic vision in providing architectural hardware products that ensure utmost safety, security and convenience to customers. We will continue with our efforts to justify our position even in the future and looking forward to growth higher than industry growth.
