SW: What is your current market share for needle detectors in India and what kind of target have you set for yourself in the coming future?
Mike: YDS has been present in India for only 2 years and has less then 10% market share. We attribute this to our limited presence and service support network in the country. Now with the company’s association with Mettler Toledo, YDS can offer a stronger infrastructural support, ensuring that the Indian customers can have maximum uptime of the equipment.
SW: What is your strategy for meeting the targets that you have set for yourself?
Mike: We are excited about the opportunities in India: There is clearly a lot of expertise and infrastructure in place to effectively support the textile industry with most of the macro economic trends pointing towards India as a key region for manufacturing.
Therefore, our strategy is very simple and based on building better support of our customers with training programmes to help them set up effective needle detection programmes. In addition to this, we are also focusing on imparting training of sales and service to our local agents.
Market Development Manager, Mettler Toledo, recently visited India to get a feel of the local apparel industry and assess the potential market for its needle detectors. In an interview, he discusses the company’s future plans and targets for the region.
SW: Does the company have some kind of association with any international retailers or brands?
Mike: YDS has worked hard to promote its technology world over. So we work with companies such as Mothercare, Gap, Nike, and many more, which have placed us on their approval list for those manufacturers who are producing their goods.
SW: How long have you been associated with Magnum and what will be their role in your future plans?
Mike: Historically we have had a number of agents in India to make sure that our customers have the right kind of service support to maximize their uptime. Our association with Magnum has been for 2 years now, and they are certainly going to be a key strand of our Indian business model. The company has all the attributes including a focused and targeted long-term growth strategy, strong sales team with established long-term customer relationships, and a technically capable staff.
