Turkish by birth, Galipoglu Hidromas was founded in 1975. A family-owned business, Hidromas began by manufacturing tractor hydraulics. And it was the first company to produce it in 1980, and hence it is easy to see why the company commands roughly 95 per cent of the market in Turkey. And it was in 2011 Hidromas stepped foot in India.
ExpertSpeak – Mr. Subhamoy Ghosh, Business Head – Hidromas India, states: “In 2015, Hidromas was manufacturing 250 hydraulic kits per month dedicatedly for two automotive brands in India and 10-15 for non-OEM market. Within two years, the numbers went up to 1200-1400 units a month which includes selling to non-OEMs as well. We knew that market was always there but we had just one active dealer in India in 2015. But now, we have 22 dealerships, 27 stocking locations for them, one dealer in Nepal, we have set up our aftersales network and that’s the reason we are doing well now.”
Market Ready – If they sold a mere 180 hydraulic units in non-OEM market in 2015, today Hidromas is clocking 350-400 units per month. What spells success for Hidromas is that, “Our designs and technology come from Turkey, steel comes from South Korea, sealings come from Italy, but we have been making them in India since last two years. Now we not only manufacture cylinders, but we make our own pumps and valves as well,” says Mr. Ghosh. The key to success for Hidromas in a short period of time has been the cost advantage over competition.
Market Pie – Hidromas enjoys 17-18 per cent market share in hydraulics for tip trailer segment and their growth last year was pegged at 5-7 per cent. Hidromas is now focusing on vertical growth with more participation from their existing OEMs. Mr. Ghosh feels: “We offer cost efficiency which is substantiated with service, relationship, network and quality. Now, we are participating much more in the tip trailer market.” He says proudly: “We are big players in the big cylinders for the tip trailers with capacity from 50-70 tons.”
Footprints – The parent company, Hidromas Turkey, services the global market catering to the needs of its customers at home, in South Africa, Australia and Europe. Hidromas Brazil, which began operations in early 2017, is being nurtured to become self-sufficient and for now pumps and valves are being exported from their Indian base. He reveals, “Plans are afoot to cater to the markets in the Far East and South East Asia from India.” For Hidromas global, India is soon set to become a manufacturing centre.
Roadmap Ahead – According to Mr. Ghosh, mixed generation of tipping kits are on the horizon with electronic interface. He explains: “There are challenges in this – one is the obvious inflation in the cost and the other is the readiness of our customers to accept the trend. And to circumvent this issue, we are going to launch it for tippers in mining which face rigorous situations unlike on-road machines and the customer will be open to the data at his fingertips.” Mr. Ghosh also revealed their plan to enter retail network in India under the project name, R-100. Speaking about it, he briefs: “Locations that are not in the mainstream, from where our customers order for parts from metros or those who go to the local workshops and get retrofitted, we will target them. Many of our parts are 1:1 replacement to the competition parts in the aftermarket. Our objective is to set the market from repair to replace. This is like covering the last mile in our business.”
Hidromas produces more than 20 variants of the hydraulic kits for tippers in different types, lengths, sizes and capacities and with its aggressive expansion plans, it aims to leave the competition behind.