Business

Passion For Innovation Drives Rabatex

Haresh Panchal is among the few who have made a mark in the Indian textile engineering industry, with a very focussed vision and approach towards innovation, R&D, customer service. His hard work and perseverance has resulted in highest repeat order ratio in the industry. We give you a glimpse of how Rabatex achieved success over the year. Venturing into textile engineering in 1962 – speculation or a calculated decision Rabatex was started in 1962 by my father and his elder brothers. It was their visionary foresight - they could foresee lots of potential and growth opportunities in this segment. Your aim and aspirations when you joined your family business My vision was to expand the Rabatex footprint globally with state-of-the-art advanced technology. Your inspiration over the years I drew inspiration from many companies who were successful in the export markets. Hence I started focusing on this untapped area of exports to overseas markets. I made my first trip to Nigeria in 1998 to execute the first order and succeeded in generating many leads by visiting other potential clients. Today Rabatex has prestigious installations in over 32 countries including USA and Turkey. Your challenges and successes over the years Rabatex is built on the foundation of technology and innovation. Being a major player in the warp preparation area, we have launched many advanced technological products over the years. For some years we could not generate enough volumes due to imports of second-hand machines and other low-cost imported products from China. It took us a long time, a lot of perseverance and hard work to prove the real advantage of our technology over the used machines, to the discerning customer. We haven’t looked back since. In 1996, we took up the challenge to develop India’s first 3-Axis Advanced Sectional Warper for Ashima Ltd – Ahmedabad. It was perhaps the toughest decision of my career, but our single-minded efforts towards successful development of the machine resulted in more than 500 Installations in the next few years. [caption id="attachment_22725" align="aligncenter" width="600"] A young Haresh Panchal with his team member[/caption] Your love/hate relationship with the industry? We are very successful in warp preparation machines, and passionate about developing innovative and advanced technologies, as well as import substitute products at fair prices. This has kept us going strong in this industry. What I particularly love about the textile industry, what fascinates me, is the huge opportunities it offers to machinery manufacturers. For a company like Rabatex, which is passionate about innovation, and believes in a solution-driven approach, this industry has given us the opportunity to come up with the best technological yet economical solutions for the customer. My only grouse with some companies is their short-term vision which leads to imports of second-hand, old technology, or low-cost Chinese machines, which offer no real benefits in the long term. I also oppose some government policies that encourage the import of such inferior technologies, which affects the indigenous manufacturer. Your vision, your immediate and mid-term goals for the company To be a global player with more than 50% of the sales coming from the global markets. To become a leading logistics solution provider and a major supplier for ASRS (Handling / Storage Automation Products) for multiple industries. Your life and business ethics Customer satisfaction is a top priority, continual improvement and growth for all stakeholders including employees at Rabatex. Have you met your aspirations today? Yes, to a large extent. Enjoying customers’ trust with the highest repeat order ratio and creating a strong global footprint in 32 countries is a proud achievement for Rabatex. Your advice to fellow and aspiring entrepreneurs Your company should focus on in-house R&D and innovation in order to develop advanced technology products, in turn helping your customers in terms of production, quality, and lower operating cost. Also, it is important to ensure best support with after-sales service for 100% customer satisfaction.