‘Our aim is to imbibe the best from the west so that our customers get future-tech at affordable prices’

Fabtech Technologies, a recognised name in the cleanrrom market has grown expediently across the globe. The company has already explored different segments of the business which are interlinked with its niche. Aasif Khan, Managing Director, Fabtech Technologies talks about the company’s growth parameters with Usha Sharma

Fabtech’s corporate website mentions that the company offers cleanroom services affordable to all, without compromising on the quality, could you please justify?

Aasif Khan

Fabtech has its own in-house design and manufacturing expertise which gives our clients the flexibility of customised solutions. Fabtech in fact is beyond and much more than cleanrooms. Quality now and ahead is a given. It is no longer a USP. We leverage our international presence to bring innovative solutions to India and
vice-versa.

What additional features are you planning to introduce for the Indian pharma market? How big is the Indian clean room market and at what pace is the company growing?

Innovation is the key and in our business, new innovative building material have begun to make an entry. The market will soon see, we launching innovations in the market. The market size is huge, unfortunately no one knows the number.

And growth would depend on the speed at which new products can be introduced. We are currently growing at around 20 per cent CAGR and expect to stay that way in the panel business.

Presently, many small and medium-sized companies are offering services similar to pharma companies. How healthy is this for your business? How do you plan to leverage the opportunities available in this arena?

The marketplace has a slot for everyone. Our ticket (project) sizes have grown from a few hundred thousand dollars to few million dollars. We are leveraging the market potential by focusing on becoming the ‘one stop shop’ for our customers. Offering concepts and solutions, projects and products aiming to get closer to the customer and fulfilling their needs. From air and container sterilisation equipment, integrated containment and process solutions to pharma infrastructure to clean room solutions and now Fabtech has also introduced automatic capsule fillers.

The company has launched three new products; namely sampling booth, mist shower and dedusting tunnels (With flame proof execution). Tell us about their USPs?

All our innovations stem out of our customers needs. All the above are critical for high potency product manufacturing process. These have to be equipped with online sampling booth and mist showers.

Tell us how Fabtech’s Sterling venture is performing?

Here too, our philosophy of bringing continuous innovations has helped us stay on the growth path, and ahead of the crowd. Plaswall and Plasmolite technologies help our customers to save time and get to commissioning quicker than traditional methods. The product has clicked in the regulated market more than the developing world.

Fabtech’s Plaswall and Plasmolite replaces costly and time consuming steel, aluminium, and plywood framework, tell us about their advantages to the pharma industry?

As mentioned, these materials help quick construction and commissioning of the factory. Also,facility expansion is lot cleaner enabling quicker cleaning and validation. Time is money, non tangible benefits compensate the cost hence it is cost effective.

The present government is encouraging ‘zero defect’, ‘zero effect’. What solutions are offered by your company to meet the PM’s vision?

The Indian industry has to move to perfection in order to gain the confidence of the west. However, the industry has to align it’s dominoes. Each and every bit of the manufacturing, supply chain has to run on zero defects. Entire industry has to rise. We are doing our bit. A big factor though is the users to realise the importance of this and be ready to support the allied industry by better prices, and payments terms. I m afraid the trend the domestic industry is showing( by making only the cost as criterion) it may take a long time to achieve this dream.

Update us on the company’s two prestigious, multi-million dollar biotech turnkey construction projects in Syria and Germany?

These projects in different geographies speak volumes on our project delivery capabilities. From under regulated to a highly regulated market. To gain trust of a European company is not easy. However this illustrates that given a cost anything can be delivered from India. If IT and BT can happen, why not projects outsourcing.

What is your company’s success mantra? And what are your business plans for the current fiscal?

Growing globally by building strategic alliances with international players — we do not reinvent the wheel. Our aim is to imbibe the best from the west so that our customers can get future-tech at affordable prices. With the turmoil in the international market I feel India offers good potential.

u.sharma@expressindia.com