Goverdhan N. Vaswani, founder of Malhar Plast Pvt. Ltd., the signage business holding firm from mumbai in association with Prashant S. Ruparel, owner of Kalpavrux International For Technology Transfer, has recently introduced a range of Light Guided Plate (LGP) an important component used in the manufacturing of LED lighting, LED signage and other display products. The company has started its operation this july with imported stuff and is in process of expanding its market base. To know more on this front, we, at LED World, caught up with Prashant S Ruparel. Here is the edited excerpt of what he shared.
Which all products have you come up with?
The product portfolio includes a wide range of diamond light guided plate, frosted light guided plate, led stick on dotted film, optical light guided plate, prismatic light guided plate, and textured light guided plate. Besides, we do have the best range of one side matt diffuser sheets, two side matt diffuser sheets and light diffusion sheet with effective & timely delivery. Apart from that, the gamut also includes reflector and a wide range of protective sheets.
How these products would help improve the quality of light?
See, after years of R&D, we have been able to find solution by decreasing the thickness and increasing display size. Optical Grade Polystyrene Light Guided Plate has changed the time consuming laser dotting LGP technology. It saves production time for laser marking and Edge Polishing as well as reduces material cost due to Optical grade PS resin instead of PMMA resin. Now it is more affordable and has increased the overall demand in the market.
Our range of LGP would help save the production time and material cost for manufacturing LED displays. Along with being super thin in size, it also offers uniform illumination even in bigger sizes of signage. OPS-LGP is designed to ease out the process of production. It can be cut into required size and LED strips can be fixed around the edge thickness. While connected with 12V DC power supply reflector, it gives uniformly-distributed Illumination in bigger size. It can also be framed into sizes as large as size 8 ft x 4 ft even when the thickness of LGP sheet is as thin as 2.0 mm. “This was not previously possible in Laser Dotted PMMA LGP sheet.
What made you to enter this industry?
Before entering the market, we did extensive survey wherein we found out that this particular area is yet to be noticed despite being such an important factor. Most of the manufacturers are getting it imported for their usage. We looked at it as a massive opportunity to coin on. We are a company which always looks at the market needs and solve the problems and give the right product at right time.
Which specific product is meant for LED lighting industry? Who are your target audience?
As I said, we have nine variants of light guided plate to cater to the needs of our target audience at all levels, right from economy to premium. All these are essential for the lighting and signage industry. Along with it, we do have diffusers and reflectors to complement LED lighting industry.
In fact, these are not the final products but vital components when it comes to producing LED lighting products or signage. It guides the lighting evenly across the surface for better illumination and makes the outcome pretty conducive. Our range of LGP comprises three categories OPS-LGP for signage, Optical PS-LGP for panel lights, High Definition PMMA-LGP for mobiles, TV monitors and screens. With all this, we are going to approach our clientele comprising LED light manufacturers, signage manufacturers, TV manufacturers, and mobile manufacturers.
Does your range of product carry warranty?
Yes, of course, our products carry warranty certificate. The range varies from two years to five years depending on the products’ usage and applications.
Are you manufacturing these products indigenously? Where is your plant located?
For now, we are importing the range from Taiwan where all the products are manufactured following specific guidelines to suit to typical and varied Indian weather conditions.
However, by the end of current fiscal, we would start manufacturing these products/components in India. We already have purchased the land and the construction of the facilities is in progress. We are coming up with two factories – one each in Bhiwandi near Mumbai and Khapoli Village near Pune. The spread of the facilities are 35,000 sq. ft. and 3.5 lakh sq ft respectively. Also, extrusion sheet manufacturing machine, high speed CNC machine, 3D V-groove and high-end laser dotting machine have been imported for the purpose.
What would be your distribution model?
We will market our range of products through distributors. By now, we have appointed five distributors – one each in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Vadodara, and Bengaluru. These would be as good as company depot to serve the need of that particular region.
In which regions do you want to market your products? What is your target revenue?
We not only want to market it across the country, but also overseas especially European countries. In the first year, we are targeting Rs. 50 cr, and hope to double the same by the end of the second year. All our products would be carrying international certifications along with meeting the national standards.
How are you educating your clients about these products?
We have a dedicated technical team offering technical support, if so needed. We do offer technical expertise to those who are willing to start manufacturing LED lighting products, signage, TV or mobile. Apart from that we have plans to organise round table conferences in major cities, besides participating in national and international exhibitions to promote this concept and proliferate the knowledge to our target audience.
