Sunny Surlaker MC-Bauchemie (I) Private Ltd
MC-Bauchemie (I) Private Ltd. is an important player in the construction sector with a manufacturing base in India. Inheriting the legecy of his father Samir Surlakar, Sunny who is the generation next at MC-Bauchemie was very vocal in his chat with ICR on related subjets.
Samir and Sunny Surlaker from MC-Bauchemie (India) speak on the range of products that their company offers, the markets they plan to target and their future plans
Brief us about your company and the range of construction chemicals that are manufactured/marketed from your end. What are your flagship products?
MC-Bauchemie (I) Private Limited is a leading name in construction chemicals for over 25 years in India. We manufacture over 200 construction chemicals in technical and financial collaboration with MC-Bauchemie, Germany, a 50-year-old international organisation. We are an ISO 9001: 2008 certified company, having pan-India presence through technically trained and qualified channel partners and IRP (Germany) trained applicators.
We provide solutions for a wide variety of issues cropping up in the construction segments. For e.g., we provide a full range of admixtures and additives for improving properties of concrete during placement, like workability time, slump retention, retardation, etc. Then there are additives that make concrete more durable, more impermeable and help in better finishes, etc. Following this, we have special curing compounds to ensure that the concrete does not crack, heals micro-cracks in concrete and does not cause loss of bond for overlays to the concrete. We have specialty coating and waterproofing systems that ensure waterproofing as well as special applications such as protection of concrete in sewage treatments plants, where pH levels are extremely low. We now have material systems that can take care of concrete in exposure levels where pH is from 0 to 14!
There are special injection systems and special polymer modified mortars to address water ingress as well as repair applications to increase the longevity of both newer constructions as well as heritage structures. Also there are specially formulated breathable, crack bridging, UV resistant, anti-carbonation protection systems that help improve life of repairs, but are also used to extend the life of new structures. These materials provide a cover factor to the reinforcement in excess of 50cm of standard M30 Concrete. This kind of protective quotient helps to improve the service life of new structures dramatically.
These materials find application in all types of RCC construction, deep basements, wet rooms, swimming pools, water tanks, sewage treatment plans, industrial and commercial buildings, schools, hospitals, infrastructure, marine structures, drinking water reservoirs, transportation tunnels, station buildings, roofs, terraces, external facades, masonry construction, heritage structures, shipyards, hotels and other similar structures. We are happy to assist our customers with solutions for their specific needs. We are doing very well in the fields of waterproofing, repairs, floorings and coatings.
Some of our most popular product lines include Integral waterproofing additives, niche admixtures for special concretes, curing compounds, tiling systems, grouts, floor hardeners and our waterproofing systems. We are also looked upon for highly durable and top end concrete repair and protection systems.
Having an extensive range for today?s construction, along with MC-Bauchemie?s German technical backup, extensive experience in India helps us address our customer?s construction dilemmas and help us tap the large infrastructure market.
What are your present responsibilities and your future plans?
We focus on the high-tech high quality range of our industry. We solve problems and provide systems through free technical assistance. We do a lot of training for engineers as well as our clients, which builds effective technical partnerships for long-lasting solutions. We continuously go in for innovations and new developments. We cater to the quality conscious segment of the market and not the price sensitive segment because we never let ourselves forget that MC-Bauchemie has a worldwide reputation to keep. Our focus was and will always be technical. With this approach, our customers keep coming back to us. We visualise all-round success to our company. I believe in a future where we interact with our clients, not solely as a supplier, but also as a technical service partner.
Our present responsibility and future plans is to ensure that we follow this philosophy and work towards sustainable growth of the company.
What does your corporate management structure look like?
MC-Bauchemie India has a very flat management structure, which ensures clear and open lines of communication between our clients and the company as well as communication within the company. This helps us respond to technical as well as commercial queries as fast as possible and necessary. Being a family-held company in both Germany as well as India, our structure is geared toward developing efficient relationships and communication with our clients and providing seamless technical solutions. This structure immensely helps our quest to promote durability in the construction Industry.
Give us some idea about your manufacturing facility. Do you import any finished products? Are all the products that your parent company manufactures available in India?
MC-Bauchemie in India has been known to have products that have a long performance life, and are very durable. Our motto in this regard has been "Do it Once and Do it Right". To get the material spot on in quality and consistency, our hi-tech products are manufactured in our well-equipped plants in Gujarat and Goa under Technical and Financial Collaboration with MC-Bauchemie, Germany, utilising their state-of-the-art Technology and Quality Assurance Systems.
As with production capacities, the capacity is adequate enough to meet demands in the coming years. Our Goa plant is currently undergoing expansion and is supported by a state-of-the-art-training centre and laboratory for better interaction with our customers. As far as the product lines go, we are continuously improving our product lines to meet the stringent market demands this year.
At the moment, we only import extremely high-tech products from our German collaborators. Most mineral-based products, admixtures and coatings are manufactured right here in India. The bulk and relevant range of our collaborators is manufactured in India. Extreme specialties require very special raw materials, which at the moment cannot be very easily sourced in India at the moment. These specialties follow the import route.
Tell us something about your IRP applicators. How do you train and develop them?
Many of our applicators, apart from being trained in product use in India, have had the technical calibre and interest to be trained by independent international training and educational organisations. There are quasi-governmental institutions abroad, e.g., BZB in Germany, which issues IRP certificates to trained, qualified applicators. These applicators and their staff are trained both in-house and externally to keep them in the loop with the latest material and application technologies available for waterproofing and repair applications. This gives them an extra edge in understanding and solving constructional problems. Of course, we always support our applicator team, whenever the need may arise.
How do you manage your market across the country? How do you differentiate between retail and institutional markets?
We manage the market across the country with the help of our able channel partners and well-trained applicators. Most of our channel partners and applicators themselves are highly qualified civil engineers, who have tremendous experience in understanding material technology and using them to solve civil engineering problems. Most of them have been with us for over two decades, virtually making them an integral part of our organisation, rather than just applicators or distributors. Our network of technical advisors, technicians and sales people support this network. At the moment, we are not very active in the retail market. We look more towards projects. Institutional sales are more focussed to evaluating products technically as opposed to simple price-based marketing, often seen in retail markets. Our primary focus is to provide high-level technology to solve constructional problems and improve durability of structures across the nation.
The market of construction chemicals is cluttered, with a variety of players like big, small, and local as well as multinational. How do you maintain your position in this highly competitive and cluttered market?
In today?s fast-changing world of technology, "Innovation" is the key in staying ahead and fuelling growth of any organisation. We follow the same trend. MC-Bauchemie?s motto for years has been innovation, competence and service. These three principles would be the cornerstone of our activities for the future and will propel our growth to the next level in coming years.
Looking at market factors, we believe with the advent of our Construction Chemicals Manufacturer?s Association, our industry is pushing forward the drive for awareness on "Correct Usage of Construction Chemicals". Once this wave catches on, it would be a big boost in driving the growth of our industry and our company forward.
The MC brand is built on trust for the last 25 years in India and over 50 years in Germany and is honoured in the market for a technical professional approach and ethical practices. Based on the quality of the completely executed works, our products have long been popular and accepted readily into the market. As always, we cater to the quality conscious segment of the market and not the price sensitive segment because we never let ourselves forget that we have a worldwide reputation to keep. Our focus was and will always be technical. With this approach, our customers keep coming back to us, which has shielded us from the slowdown.
How do you provide customer service?
We provide customer service through our network of salespeople, technicians, channel partners and authorised applicators. I believe in a future where we interact with our clients, not solely as a supplier, but also as a technical service partner. We plan to achieve this and expand the awareness of technology by means of our Training Centre and Laboratory in Goa for maximum positive interaction with our customers. Our young team of marketing and technical executives and experts will ensure that we expand our reach to meet the needs of the construction industry.
How has your company?s performance been in the last two to three years in terms of growth and product launches?
Growth has been good and steady in the last few years.
Please comment on the Research & Development activities you carry to support your future products…
In recent years, we have contributed several innovative technologies, like acid resisting concrete, dense packing concrete based on Quantz Technology and very low pore volume thick coatings for drinking water and wastewater industry based on Dynamic Sync Crystallization, to name a few. These processes developed in our labs find application in day-to-day concrete technology as well.
Our success is based on innovation, competence and service. These are the foundations for MC?s quality and international market reputation. New ideas, products and technologies emphasised and developed by MC have set the standards in many key areas. MC-Bauchemie invests 10% of manpower and resources in R&D, which is available to us, by virtue of being collaborators. Research into newer and more efficient raw materials and enhancing properties of our product range for better performance, is the focus of our R&D in India.
What has been your general approach in the market to sell products?
Our approach has been purely technical, which helps us maintain a differentiating edge in the market.
Give us a brief about the awards and accolades you have received for your products and services…
Our Managing Director, Samir Surlaker and we have been applauded and felicitated with awards for our service to construction and construction chemicals technology over the years. Some of these accolades include:
- Young Indian?s Award from Jaycee?s
- Udyog Rattan Award by Institute of Economic Studies Delhi for best Small Scale Industry.
- Excellence Award for MC-Bauchemie for productivity from Deputy Chairman Planning Commission 1991.
- ?International Man of the Year? award in 1991-92 for Concrete Protection & Waterproofing from IBC, UK.
- Listed in marquis USA "Who?s Who in the World" for 1990.
- Biographical sketch is included in International-Biographical Centre, UK for distinguished service in the field of engineering.
- Listed in the Reference Asia "Asia?s Who?s Who of Men & Women of Achievement"
- Listed in "Asia – Pacific Who?s Who"
- Recipient of "Outstanding Contribution to Concrete Technology Award, 2005" by Maharashtra Mumbai Centre of the Indian Concrete Institute.
- Recipient of "Outstanding Concrete Engineer Award" at ICI-Ultratech Awards, Goa in 2014
- Honoured for Contributions to IIBE since its inception, presented by Nitin Gadkari and GN Das of NHAI
- Presented with Award for Best Construction Chemicals Company by Builder?s Association of India at their Platinum Jubilee Celebrations at Mumbai, by Hon Governor of Maharashtra Vidyasagar Rao and Shri Kiran Shantaram.