Ceasefire: Increasing the world’s safety quotient
Q. CEASEFIRE INDUSTRIES LTD. has been operational for a long time as a leading integrated fire safety and security solutions provider; please share some of the company’s milestones & achievements?
Yes. It has been a rewarding journey for us so far. Reflecting back, what gives us true satisfaction is the fact that we have not only been successfully able to create some of the most revolutionary, demand-based product solutions for our customers but also gotten some of the most reputed quality certification agencies in the world to come and endorse our product quality.
Our product portfolio is extensively research-based and is developed at the very forefront of technology. Today, Ceasefire’s USP lies in offering a 360-degree integrated firefighting portfolio under one roof so that our customers do not have to go anywhere for their fire safety needs.
Q. Could you brief us about the overall business activities of Ceasefire Industries (tie-ups, associations, reach, network)?
Ceasefire is powered by a team of over 2000 people that adds approx. 3000 new customers each month into the system, operating from over 100 locations, which makes for 5 lakh customers worldwide. Today, we are looking at three markets primarily: India, the UK, and the World.
In India, we have successfully consolidated our position as a market leader. Whereas, in the UK, we have set up a trade partner-based business model. A model that focuses on reaching end users via trade partners. It gives me immense pleasure to share that our trade partner network in the UK is already 100 strong.
Globally, we are today exporting worldwide, including Europe, France, Africa, far eastern countries like Singapore and Hong Kong, and immediate neighbours like Nepal and Bangladesh.
At Ceasefire, we have always aimed at bringing the best quality products to our customers, and our technology tie-ups with some of the premium supplier brands worldwide immensely aid in this cause.
Q. Can you elaborate more about the product portfolio & its applications?
Today, at Ceasefire, we offer a holistically-integrated firefighting portfolio certified by the best quality agencies in the world. These include a complete line of fire extinguishers, in-panel systems, suppression systems, kitchen systems, fire alarm systems, and accessories.
As I mentioned earlier, these are all demand-based products, each developed to solve a unique fire risk in a unique environment. At Ceasefire, we have not only fulfilled market demand but have also generated new demand with our futuristic technologies. Today we have an application-centric product portfolio. Our fire extinguishers and systems address the risks of unique applications like homes, offices, factories to special environments like hospitals, data centres, CNC machines to even strategic defence establishments.
Q. Which are some of the pioneering products you introduced in the market recently or is there any plan to launch the new products?
We have always been ahead of time in bringing new technologies to the Indian market. One of the latest products launched is the automatic extinguisher (wall-mounted), which expands our range of automatic fire suppression extinguishers to address newer challenges like targeted protection of assets.
The next is Atom X, a revolution in the fire suppression segment that takes away the limitations of conventional fire suppression systems. It is a completely flexible and retrofittable system that can be installed anywhere without structural changes.
Lastly, we have also launched lithium-ion extinguishers designed to kill battery fires. These directly address the risk of battery fires and, therefore, our extinguisher range also covers this new area of fire risk that is rapidly coming on the scene.
Q. How do you account for R&D activity in your company?
Our R&D is the main engine of the organisation and is always thinking ahead of time. They are the ones listening to the market, addressing new demands and developing futuristic technologies that could meet those demands. In simple words – Our R&D is futureproofing our business.
Q. Brief us about the quality policy for your business?
The core promise of Ceasefire is to provide the best quality products where the customer wants them. This quality is deeply embedded in every tiny component that goes into the making of our extinguishers and systems. Today, top-notch quality agencies globally endorse us, including LPCB, BIS PED, BSI, MED, BDS, and ISO. All these agencies have tested our products from their own testing perspective on unique performance and safety criteria for even unique applications and spaces.
Q. How do you foresee “India” as a potential market, and what are the prospects?
Every market goes through an evolution curve. The west has already evolved, while India is just at the threshold of opening up from an infrastructure development perspective because of significant investments in infrastructure taking place in our country. Significant amounts of built-up space are coming up rapidly. On the other hand, the regulatory guidelines are becoming stringent by the day on fire safety norms.
Both these factors combined, the market for fire safety is anticipated to grow in our country. But the important thing is that only quality players with the ecosystem to deliver and maintain quality will survive and take advantage of this opportunity.
Q. What are the distinguishing facts of the global market as against the Indian fire safety & electronic security market?
The west is an evolved market, so they are getting into specific applications and demand-based fire safety needs. On the other hand, India is at a point where the market is opening up in a big way. Slowly, the price-sensitive customers are giving way to quality-conscious ones, and that itself will take the Indian fire industry in an all-new direction where quality will reign supreme and everything else will follow.
Q. What are your strategies to improve the CEASEFIRE INDUSTRIES’ position in Indian & global markets as well?
Ceasefire is known for its cutting-edge fire safety technologies, and we cannot afford to fall behind in this area. Rapid product development has led to the emergence of new application sectors, which necessitate the development of technologies to meet those needs.
Here, our product-centric strategy is put into action, which satisfies current market demand and creates it for the future while upholding product quality. At the same time, we are developing a dynamic distribution model based on a combination of company-led operations and trade partner alliances. We cannot, understandably, operate directly in every country, so we rely on our trade partners’ local knowledge, experience, customer loyalty, and customer base.
Q. According to you, what are the factors affecting your business?
Political, economic, social, and technological factors all impact our business. For those of us in the fire safety industry, the rapid development of technology is creating new opportunities as we work to meet the associated challenges. We must develop new technologies to address these specific fire risks.
Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving the integrated fire safety & security industry?
Today, businesses are evolving at a great pace, and the industry is driven by consumers who seek products that meet their needs. To meet these new-age challenges, products are not being produced simply for the sake of creating products. They address a particular need in the market or resolve a problem. This emerging technological trend has shaped our company.
Q. What is your vision for CEASEFIRE INDUSTRIES?
Since inception, we have worked on creating firefighting technologies that could aid in our quest to “Increase the World’s safety quotient”. We believe we are in the business of saving lives and therefore shoulder a big social responsibility. At Ceasefire, we are committed to ensure that we not only maintain our leadership position as a brand in India and grow our global footprint but also create technologies that the world can count upon for their fire safety needs.