Carrier India 'Solution' Over 'product'

It was back in the year 1936, when Carrier installed India’s first ever air-conditioning system at Rambagh Palace in Jaipur. The brand went on to establish itself as the major air-conditioning brand in 1987 in the country and then there was no looking back. In 1988 Carrier inaugurated its first state-of-the-art, manufacturing facility in Gurgaon, Haryana. The lavish premises of the unit also boast of an excellent Technology Development Centre and an advanced quality clinic. Today the company is indulged in offering cassettes, ducted splits, package units, air-cooled and water-cooled screw chillers, fan coil units, air handling units and commercial refrigeration products. With more than 550 sales and service channel partners throughout the country, the company aims to launch more advanced solutions for its customers. “At Carrier, it is always ‘solution’ over ‘product’, says FarokhMadann, Director - marketing & strategy, carrier India. In a recent conversation with surfaces reporter’s Editor-in-Chief, Vertica Dvivedi, Farokh spoke about their latest and customized offerings for India, company’s collaboration with Toshiba, and much more... Here are the excerpts.

- Vertica Dvivedi

Take us briefly through your journey and career graph so far?

I have been in this field of HVACR for over 20 years. I started my career with this company way back in 1996 and since then have been associated with different profiles in sales, product management and key account management within the company. Then I transited into a different industry of commercial refrigeration, where I had international roles. I was based in Europe for few years, handled some global key accounts for the prior company and since last two years I’m back to my first company – Carrier, for a second inning. This time, I head marketing and strategy wherein we look at product management, new product development, advertising and promotions for our brands, channel management and CSR. I also have a separate team that focuses on building relationship with key influencers like architects and HVAC consultants.

With more than a century of history of this company, what are the primary differentiating factors with the close competitors?

We are known as experts in the field of air-conditioning. Our philosophy and goal is always to give the right solution amongst multiple solutions available to customers. It is important for us as solution providers to give the right solution which benefits the customer, both in terms of initial costs and more importantly after acquisition costs. This is because these equipments typically have a life of 10 to 30 years depending on the equipment; so both the costs are important for the customer. The energy cost which is multifold of the initial cost is a very important factor. We have products which are very innovative and futuristic that integrate into a whole building management system. Today, HVAC is not seen as a standalone but as a part of the total solution of the building.

What is the primary product range which Carrier offers in India?