Sumit Majumder, Managing Director, UWT Level Control India Pvt Ltd.

What range of level measurement and control products does UWT Group have, and how do they cater to different industries?

With nearly 50 years of extensive field experience, UWT is one of the world's leading solution providers and manufacturers of primary field instruments in level measurement technology and a world leading supplier of field instruments for safe, reliable and accurate detection of levels and limit values in silos and material processing across a wide variety of industries. Whether for bulk goods, liquids, pastes or foams – UWT, with product lines such as Rotonivo®, Vibranivo® and NivoBob®, is synonymous with the perfect measurement technology solution for almost every application across the industries.

With production sites in Betzigau Germany and in Malta, as well as further locations in the USA, Great Britain, China, India, Brazil, Spain and Mexico, more than a million applications have now been put into practice. UWT stands for level measurement at the highest level worldwide.

Since its foundation in 1977, the UWT product portfolio has developed and refined to provide solutions for a wide range of industries such as the chemical, petro-chemical, food & beverage, cement, metal, power, oil & gas, plastic, rubber, animal feed, water & environment sector, etc. Product ranges available are different types of Point level switches like Capacitance, Vibration, Rotary Paddle and Continuous level measurement transmitters like Radars, Electromechanical, Capacitive and Display interfaces for visualisation and monitoring. The company is ISO 9001: 2015 certified and continually expands its portfolio of product certifications with regard to international markets.

The whole enterprise is based on the three strong pillars of technology, performance and partnership, together with collaboration at eye level – with customers, suppliers, partners and close to 200 employees. We have carved out an outstanding and strategic position in the market within the area of limit levels for bulk solids and liquids, and set new standards with the rotary paddle switch and capacitance switches. In addition, we offer end-to-end digitisation from the latest E-tools, which enable quick and easy product selection, configuration and commissioning, through easy and intuitive operation to innovative device communication, all of which ensure smooth operation. The high quality and reliability of the UWT products, the robust design, the easy handling and the longevity of the sensors ensure low downtimes, high levels of system availability and thus a high degree of operational security. All made in Germany. The range of products and services has been continuously developed and now also includes monitoring and visualisation systems as well as complete system configuration. Further proof of how unswervingly UWT GmbH is geared towards growth.

As an owner-managed, German, medium sized company, UWT is ideally positioned with an international sales network in over 90 countries with personal contacts on site, available locally. Open and honest communication with customers and partners alike characterise UWT together with its loyal and satisfied employees as well. The notable great team spirit ensures that UWT feels like one big family – and that’s what counts.

What trends do you see shaping the level measurement and control industry in India, and how is UWT Group positioned to address them?

India has emerged as the fastest growing major economy in the world and has potential to become a global manufacturing hub by 2030 and can add more than US$ 500 billion annually to the global economy. Currently India is witnessing a GDP growth rate of above 6%. The industrial corridors would further assist in integrating and developing a conducive environment for the industrial development and will promote advanced practices in manufacturing across industries. By 2030, the Indian middle class is expected to have the second-largest share in global consumption at 17%.

Reliable and robust process automation systems with the primary field sensing instruments are the heart of any process industry nowadays. UWT is catering to a wide range of process and manufacturing core industries like chemical, petro-chemical, food & beverage, cement, metal, power, oil & gas, plastic, rubber sector, etc., and the growth in these industries is synonymous to the anticipated growth of UWT in India.

India is going through expansion and modernisation of the steel sector to meet the global demand and to minimise the cost of production by scale of economy and similarly new cement plant projects and modernisation of the old one, capacity expansion is going on. Power is in high demand in India and many new private sector high-capacity power plants are in operation.

From a reliable study, by the end of 2022, the estimated Field Level Instrumentation market in India was appx 4500 million INR and in another 5 years by 2028 the same is expected to be 5800 million INR with a CAGR of approx 5.2%. So, there will always be demand for technologically highly advanced measurement sensors manufactured by UWT to efficiently and optimally control the solid and liquid handling process across all process industries. The UWT Indian subsidiary is also prepared to be a successful growth partner of India and fully equipped to offer the most efficient and optimal level instrument solution and achieve customer satisfaction.

How does the company plan to address emerging trends, such as digitalisation and sustainability, in the level measurement and control industry?

UWT offers end-to-end digitisation from the latest E-tools, which enable quick and easy product selection, configuration and commissioning, through easy and intuitive operation to innovative device communication, all of which ensure smooth operation.

UWT has always defined strategic areas of action, including digitalisation and sustainability and these topics are being deliberately integrated into future product developments. The focus is always on delivering clear customer benefits.

How do you think the increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies will impact the demand for level measurement and control solutions?

Industry 4.0 is revolutionising the way companies manufacture, improve and distribute their products and also always a major driving force for UWT to integrate manufacturing with new technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT), AI, Cloud Computing and Machine to Machine Communication.

The increasing adoption of Industry 4.0 is already increasing the demand for intelligent, connected sensor solutions in the process industries to have a greater control on overall manufacturing and distribution and that will continue to grow in coming days.

UWT is also actively incorporating digitalisation into the ongoing development of its products and overall product portfolio in line with the demand of Industry 4.0. The added value for the customer – such as improved data availability, process integration, and predictive maintenance – is at the core of this focus. Technologies like Ethernet-APL are becoming increasingly important – a trend UWT is closely monitoring and integrating into its strategic planning.

What is the nature of UWT Group’s India operations? Are there any plans for manufacturing or value addition in India?

UWT is a successful global brand that stands as a consistent, reliable and robust products manufacturer and solutions provider for industrial field instrumentation, level measurement applications over the last nearly five decades. With its worldwide proven expertise in manufacturing innovative Level Transmitters and Level Limit Switches for industrial and general applications for bulk solid and liquid level monitoring, measurement and control. As of now all major products of UWT are being manufactured in production sites of Germany (Betzigau) and in Malta by UWT GmbH for a very high quality and reliability. UWT in India has already achieved a very strong, consistent and loyal customer base of end-user industries, EPCs and OEM industry leaders from varied core industry sectors, through its consistent quality, reliability and a holistic customer orientation.

UWT Level Control India Pvt Ltd is the fully owned subsidiary of UWT GmbH, founded in 2012 in New Delhi to cater the requirement of the Indian subcontinent market for the UWT range of products. Apart from Indian customers and users, we also serve neighbouring countries of Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. Our warehousing facility is centrally and strategically located at Gurgaon, to connect with all customer locations pan India and adjacent countries for seamless and faster deliveries. Highly professional, experienced in the field and qualified Sales-Marketing and skilled Service engineers ensure to understand and deliver customer requirements correctly and in time. The Corporate office is located in New Delhi and regional sales-marketing offices are located in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Vadodara to cater to the local customers more effectively and promptly. Also, a strong network of experienced Authorised Distributors throughout India further strengthens the sales, distribution and after sales operation.

UWT in India is with a long-term vision and local manufacturing setup in India is definitely on our radar and one of the key areas of working for us. We shall share more information on the same on upcoming issues.

How does the company plan its further growth in the country? Any potential partnerships, collaborations, or acquisitions to drive growth?

UWT Group – India, has carved out an outstanding and strategic position in the market within the area of limit levels for bulk solids and liquids with end-to-end digitisation. The high quality and reliability of the UWT products, the robust design, the easy handling and the longevity of the sensors ensure low downtimes, high levels of system availability and thus a high degree of operational efficiency and security.

UWT India has witnessed a massive two-fold business growth in the last couple of years and is also anticipating closing the current business year even with greater success. We are strongly looking forward to achieving our vision to be among the top 5 international players in India for level instrument products, with exceptional customer acceptance, by 2028.

We are in the continuous process of strengthening our Sales, Marketing, Product and Customer Support Team with a focus to reach the untapped areas. New Sales Offices have been opened in Bengaluru and Hyderabad last year. Partnering with qualified dedicated distributors pan India to increase the customer reach and to timely and professionally cater the local customer needs towards pre- and post-sales services.

Establishing a manufacturing cum value addition centre in India is also in consideration in coming years and one of the key areas of working for us. The related information on manufacturing centres in India will be shared in time.

Sumit Majumder is the Managing Director of UWT Group – India operations since 2018. Sumit joined UWT India in 2016 as the Country General Manager. He is a Chemical Engineer and MBA by training and a senior management professional with over 30 years of industry experience. He has earlier worked with Weir Group PLC, Nivo Controls India, and Endress+Hauser Group; and also worked as an associate with Cryostar Cryogenics France & Monsanto USA. Sumit is well versed with the techniques of managing Marketing/Sales operations and organisational environment that motivates teams, sustains and encourages high performance in optimising their contribution levels.