The demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) is growing in India with rise in awareness levels in industrial sector of worker safety and government statues for the implementation of safety norms. Mallcom, which operates in all the major PPE segments, helps industries to meet their safety requirements. As a one-stop solution provider in industrial safety gear industry Mallcom caters to all its global and national clients with products manufactured in its units across India. The company has always taken the onus of using its expert manpower and advanced machinery to produce the best protective equipment for industrial workers. In this interview, Satya Narayan Lakhotia, General Manager – Operations, Mallcom (India) Ltd, explains factors diving demand for PPE, Mallcom product range and importance of vendors in driving business. 

 

According to you, what are the factors that are driving the PPE industry in India?

The growth of the Indian economy, rising awareness levels in industrial sector of safety of workers, and government statues for the implementation of worker safety norms are all playing a significant role in driving the PPE industry in India. 

 

In earlier times, PPE, which had little or no utility, was bought without any proper hazard assessment. However now that has changed with companies being more involved in the safety of their workers thereby leading to buying of PPE, which is of high utility. This trend clearly is a testimony that the market is maturing. The Make in India ideology is also playing a role in the growth of India PPE companies.

 

The change of mindset towards PPE over the last 20 years has in fact touched all industries. Specially in the construction sector, earlier there was no awareness of need for worker safety. However, that has changed completely now with more and more companies engaged in construction, waking up to the need of worker safety. Even other sectors like petrochemicals, automobile, food & beverage, hospitality, etc have seen a lot of growth. These sectors are now brand and quality driven which is also adding up to the spice in the market. 

 

Industries across different categories are now adapting PPE and are graduating constantly from lower levels to high levels of PPE. Globalisation of the Indian market and the advent of the MNCs in the Indian corporate landscape have also played a significant role for the buoyancy of the PPE industry in India.

 

What are the different categories of PPE products manufactured by Mallcom India?

Mallcom operates in all the major PPE segments, viz head protection, hand protection, body protection, feet protection and fall protection. All these products used together help in making the workplace safer. Mallcom has been a pioneer in the field of PPE in the Indian market and has always taken the onus of using our expert manpower and advanced machinery to produce the best protective equipment for industrial workers. As a one-stop solution in industrial safety gear industry Mallcom caters to all its global and national clients with products manufactured in its units across India. The production of an assortment of safety gear with no compromises in quality is the main area of focus for Mallcom.

 

What gives Mallcom a competitive edge to be the market leader?

Mallcom is a one-stop-solution provider offering the entire range of protective equipment from head to feet and also fall protection. The entire product range is of high quality and comprises certified products, parallel to none. Mallcom has extensive knowledge garnered over the 35 years of its existence, and an expert at providing customised solutions for our clients. We also have the capability to co-brand our products not only in the OEM vertical of our business but also in our branded product segment.  

 

In your business, what raw materials constitute the majority of the purchases?  

Mallcom India manufactures the entire range of PPE products from head to toe. Under each category, we manufacture a number of products. For instance, in the head protection category, we manufacture safety helmets, face masks. In the hand protection segment, we manufacture leather gloves, knitted gloves, NBR coated gloves. Along with these, we also have workwear as well as safety shoes. Products under each of these categories require a different set of raw materials. For instance, for workwear categories, we buy cotton, cotton rich blended fabric, FR fabric. Along with these, we also buy multinorm fabric which has certain specific characteristics like anti acid, high visibility, antistatic and water resistant. In case of safety shoes, we buy steel toe cap, polyurethane chemicals, etc. At Mallcom, overall almost 75 per cent of our revenue is on the procurement of the various raw materials we buy. 

 

What are the criteria that you look at before selecting a vendor for Mallcom? What are the avenues you consider to find a vendor?

Mallcom follows a highly systematic and methodical way of selecting a vendor. The first step is to ascertain the number of years of experience the vendor has in manufacturing raw materials for PPE industry and specially the raw material Mallcom intends to procure from them. Mallcom also checks if the vendors are ISO certified as also SA certified. 

 

Other areas which are also of importance to us, are the various social compliance norms followed by the vendor, such as child labour policy, focus on women empowerment and number of women in the workforce, the working conditions provided to the workforce etc. These social compliance aspects also form important parameters for Mallcom at the time of selecting a vendor. 

 

Along with the above mentioned, we check the vendors capabilities to ascertain whether they would be competent to produce the raw materials required by us. The vendor’s financial and R&D strengths are checked. The vendor’s R&D skill is of critical importance, as Mallcom treats every vendor as a partner to success. We collaborate with our vendors and have long relationships with them. We believe while it is tough to become a vendor to Mallcom, but when one has been selected, then it a tremendous opportunity for growth for both the vendor and Mallcom.

 

To expand our vendor base, we go to different sourcing fairs, such as the Canton Fair in China and other fairs like A+A, Garment Tech, TechnoTex. Other sources to search for vendors are magazines such as Perfect Sourcing, Stich world, Apparel Online etc and also the Internet.

 

What are the steps you take to ensure consistency and quality from your vendors?

Mallcom’s criteria for selecting a vendor is so tight and robust, it ensures that the vendors selected have already passed a number of critical tests. When a vendor is selected it is not just the raw material supplied but a mindset of the vendor organisation entering into the Mallcom ecosystem. When Mallcom develops a new product in most instances for the raw material we reach out to our existing vendors first, and ask them to do a modification in their supplies, based on which we will develop further material. Mallcom continually checks the incoming raw material. 

 

Online checking is done when the production is taking place so the process and the product is checked in the system. This elaborate process is designed to ensure that the output quality meets the requirements 

of the customers. 

 

What are the benefits Mallcom India gives to its vendors/suppliers?

Mallcom believes in long terms relationships with vendors. We are fair to our vendors and treat them equally. There are also numerous occasions where new and upcoming vendors have benefitted from their relationship with Mallcom and are today established vendors in the market. There are times when our vendors come over to our plant and suggest ways to make our products better, since they have a deeper expertise on the raw material. Our vendors believe in growing with Mallcom and building long term relationships with us. There are a number of vendors with whom we have doing business for more than 20 years. We work with some of the biggest vendors nationally and internationally. 

 

Does Mallcom source raw materials from outside India? Are you contemplating sourcing the same raw materials from India?

Mallcom imports raw materials from a number of countries outside India, such as Argentina, Brazil, China, Europe, Germany, Italy, Korea, Taiwan etc. In a globalised workplace, we have the option of sourcing from any part of the world. Sourcing is not limited to raw materials but also includes services and capital goods. 

 

At times, Mallcom sources both raw materials and capital goods from overseas but we also encourage sourcing of the same from Indian companies, provided they meet the quality and commercial terms, which are the most important elements in sourcing. The basic elements governing our sourcing policy are logistics, quality and commercial terms. Mallcom does not limit its sourcing only to overseas, and any supplier meeting the sourcing criteria is illegible, irrespective whether they are a Indian company or a company based overseas. 

Mallcom as an organisation is in sync with the tenants of the Make in India ideology and is open to buying the same raw materials which it sources from overseas from Indian companies, if the sourcing criteria are met.