Defining the benchmark in vehicle & pedestrian access control arena
Q. Magnetic Autocontrol has been operational in the industry form long time; please share some of your milestones and achievements?
Magnetic Autocontrol started our journey way back in 1946 in Germany. We were & continue to be the industry leaders for drives and motors for various applications including Traffic barriers, Security products and AFC products & solutions. This is a major advantage in market segments particularly in access control for smart city projects where stringent requirements must be placed on the product such as high volume transit applications. The India operation of Magnetic was started in 2000 and very quickly had high acceptance in the Indian market. This enabled us to start the production unit for Vehicle Barriers and Pedestrian Barriers in India. In 2014 we have also started a world class Training Centre in Chennai where we conduct regular training programs. During this year, we doubled our Production facility at Pondicherry.
Q. Could you brief us about overall business activities of Magnetic Autocontrol
Magnetic Autocontrol is a company operating in the high growth market of “vehicle and pedestrian access control” headquartered in Schopfheim (Germany) and subsidiaries in Australia, China, Malaysia, Brazil, India and the USA. From 2012, Magnetic Autocontrol is part of the FAAC Group from Italy which has the business interest in Gate Automation, Toll products, Parking solutions, Commercial and Residential Barrier products and Pedestrian & Immigration solutions.
Q. Can you elaborate more about the product portfolio & it’s applications?
You experience our products every day: by driving into car parks, by entering public buildings like museums or offices or by using the public transport as well as airports. In short: Our products are used wherever people or companies have the need for a secure and regulated access control. We regularly define the benchmark for security or mass transport / public management solutions in the field of vehicle and pedestrian access control. Our core competence is drive and control technology as well as aesthetic designed products. We do not only offer highest quality and reliability but also comprehensive knowledge sharing services to our customers.
Q. Which are the some of your pioneering products you introduced in the market recently or is there any plan to launch the new products?
MPR series of Flap Barriers, MPP series of Tripods along with Microdrive Vehicle Barriers are our flagship products. Our engineering team is already working on the new housing designs for customized offerings and AFC solutions from India. Apart from that our Magnetic TRAFFIC H1 horizontal barrier is an all-purpose solution for various safety and Security applications as well as for the guidance of vehicles and / or pedestrians. In typical applications the barrier is used for securing tunnels, bridges or pedestrian paths. In the field of vehicle or pedestrian control applications it is quite often necessary to control the vehicle and / or pedestrian flow alternately in longitudinal and lateral direction. A frequent case of application is e.g. the use for protecting automotive assembly lines. Any form of in-plant traffic control is also possible. TRAFFIC H1 horizontal barriers can also be installed everywhere where it is impossible to use a vertical barrier, e.g. because mechanical obstructions prevent the vertical opening of a barrier boom. A boom length of up to 6.0 meters and an opening / closing time of 4.0 s guarantee a high throughput of vehicles and pedestrians. The rotation angle is 90° by default, it can be reduced optionally. The built-in control unit leaves nothing to be desired regarding the functionality. It offers an immense range of functions that can be further enhanced by additional plug-in
modules.
Q. Brief us about the quality policy for your business?
We are an ISO 9001:2008 organization. Magnetic manufacture and offer products with high reliability as against competition in the market. This results in our solution being substantially superior to other suppliers and our customers deriving greater value from the lower total cost of ownership and trouble free operations. We believe that quality of the Product and offerings are the key factor for our organization’s success till now.
Q. How do you foresee “India” as a potential market, what are the prospects?
With the new Smart Cities initiatives in India, there is a great interest shown on security of the pedestrian in buildings and toll ways in expressways. We are sure that our new Products which are being launched would be the solution for the trouble free pathways for the Pedestrian Traffic as well as tollways. Magnetic vehicle barriers are already well known in the Indian Roads & Tolls and with our experience over the last decade + in India, we are very hopeful in serving the new smart cities.
Q. What are the distinguishing facts of global market as against the Indian market?
Indian market is different than many markets across the globe in terms of the technical demand however is a very cost sensitive market. Now the efforts and interest to maintain and manage the systems are increasing in India too which is a good sign. Gone are the days where the technology used to be delayed to be available in India and now India is looking for the best technological solutions and the market is growing very fast compared to the other global market which are almost into a saturation mode
Q. What are your strategies to improve the Magnetic Autocontrol‘s position in Indian & global market as well?
We are focused on the infrastructure opportunities as a separate business vertical in India as well as Globally. This gives a capability to service our existing customers with our other regional team. We have been adding new solutions to our product portfolio as well to address the new Infrastructure business like Metro / BRTS project opportunities. Our new service division is ensuring that the end users and system installers are being educated / trained on the product and systems so that their needs are met. Globally, being a part of FAAC group, we are able to give a combined offering to the customer depending on their demand from the vast product lines.
Q. According to you what are the factors affecting to your business?
We have experienced sometimes, the end user chooses the product/solutions only by initial investment but are not educated in the operational expenses and long term ownership challenges. These are very critical in comparing products and solutions since in this business mechanical components play a major role and other than initial cost, long term ownership plays a vital role. We are started the process of customer education programs. We have also seen that aesthetics plays a role and in some cases compromising the Technology aspect. This may not be good for the industry since non-performance issues overshadows aesthetics in the long run.
Q. What are the key technological trends that are driving the vehicle and pedestrian access control industry?
Like any other industry, ease of installation, Product uptime & ease of rectification if any are the key drivers for the Vehicle & Pedestrian Access Control Industry too. With TCP IP technology being used for the Remote Monitoring and Control, the interest is increasing on our product ranges too. One of the Toll Operator would be starting to implement the TCP IP based Vehicle barriers in Indian roads soon. The Interest for Solar Powered products are also increasing.
Q. What are the issues you need to address that are related to your industry.
Indian Security Industry is growing very fast and there are many new players. This creates more awareness and also challenges in terms of attrition of trained resources. There are gaps in terms of technical competence and the we feel the only way is through by regular trainings programs for the engineers, designers and end users. We had invested for a state of art Training Centre cum Demo Centre in Chennai where we conduct regular training programs and Customer visits. We also participate in Roadshows where the customers can have the feel of the Products.