It first ventured to India in 2008, and has eight locations on four continents across the globe.

Mr Erhard Eble, the VP of IKA Group was recently in India and spoke exclusively with BioSpectrum's Raj Gunashekar.

He talks about the company's experience in India thus far, the factors that have contributed to its growth, future plans, and the company's strategies for continued success in a challenging market like India. Edited excerpts:

Q: What trends do you see in the lab and processing equipments market in India?

A: The market in India today is very good and it has tremendous potential opportunity, and we are seeing many more international companies setting up subsidiaries here in India.

We have learned that customers in this market require high quality lab and processing equipment and the trend we are seeing at IKA points to success similar to that which we have experienced in major markets such as India.

Q: What were your challenges while entering the Indian market?

A: India is geographically a very big country and reaching as many potential customers as possible is very challenging and takes time.

So, we established regional sales locations to deliver information faster to customers and have our own on-site service engineers providing the fastest service possible.

While our products are the best in their class, the biggest challenge is in expanding that coverage without sacrificing the quality of our service.

Q: How do you tackle a price-conscious market like India?

A: Customers are price-conscious everywhere. We are a global manufacturer that produces products in India, Malaysia, Brazil, the US and China, and of course, Germany, in order to offer our products worldwide.

Our products are produced using only the highest quality materials, to the exacting standards of German engineering.

That is why we can say 'made by IKA' with pride, especially with customer service and support that is second to none.

Q: Do you see any differences between the German market and the Indian?

A: The German market is mature and highly saturated, and IKA has very loyal customers in Germany and throughout Europe because of a long history built on quality and service.

But, this is not yet the case in India. If you provide quality and excellent customer service, you will develop a reputation for it and becoming easier over time, to win-over the market.

Q: Do you face competition from smaller players in India?

A: The competition in India is similar to other world markets.

We do have local competitors. We believe, the key to success is to have local offices to provide as much customer support as possible.

Q: How did IKA perform financially in the last couple of years?

A: Our business is good in Europe and the US, and we have experienced very good growth in China.

India is now becoming a significant player and a large contributor to our growth.

Sales in China have been stronger, but only because we started there earlier.

Q: What has driven IKA's growth here in India?

A: The chemical and pharmaceutical industries greatly contributed to our growth.

Q: How much of your revenues go into your R&D?

A: Our R&D happens in the head office in Staufen, Germany. Several million Euros go into it.

Q: Any M&As planned in India?

A: M&As are not our strategy. We are a family-owned business as old as history, and our strategy has always been to be innovative in developing new products which fit our customers' needs.

We have always developed our own products, and IKA is continually bringing new products to market, and upgrading existing products with new features and functions thereby increasing the suite of products we offer.

Q: Tell us about the company's plans in India.

A: Our training is done here in Bangalore, where we invite customers, distributors, partners and our service engineers.

So, we would like to be present on-site for our customers more. That's our key.

We also have close relationships with universities in India, working on the needs of customers.

Accordingly, we customize all our products to their needs. This helps us to identify new trends and address market demands.

Q: Further expansion to other continents?

A: We haven't planned to immediately expand to other continents but we would be open to it, if that market shows to be too-good-to-ignore.

We are not too overly conservative at IKA, and we have always kept an eye on the horizon.

When we ventured into the US 30 years ago, we did it with a pioneering spirit that succeeded.

We are now looking forward to grow, still further in India, because its market is young, dynamic, and has a very promising future.