January 30, 2015: Lumenpulse Technologies has been catering to the power industry for more than two decades now. Having established a strong foothold in the power sector, the company ventured into energy efficient LED lighting products in 2005. By implementing modern techniques in manufacturing LED lights, Lumenpulse Technologies has geared up its manufacturing capacity. With vast experience in making energy efficient products backed by continuous in-house R&D, the company has achieved new milestones in manufacturing LED products. Speaking to LED Bazaar, Abhay Shah, CEO, Lumenpulse Technologies, highlighted the core expertise of the company and its future goals.
LB: Since when have you been manufacturing LED products in India?
We had been in the power industry since 1992. Then gradually, after the successful launch of our energy efficient products at ELECRAMA in 1996, over a period of time, we decided to manufacture LED lights. With an in-house R&D team, we made a remarkable entry into LED manufacturing in 2005. Lumenpulse manufactures a range of energy efficient products that are very much in demand in multiple industries. During the initial stages, there were hardly any manufacturers in this domain. In Mumbai, Lumenpulse is one of the few entities that manufacture LEDs with customised specifications.
LB: How has your company grown in the last two years?
The number of power units saved till date, through the use of our products, will give the proper picture as to how significant the growth has been over the past two years. There are millions of power units that are being saved through the use of our various energy efficient products. In terms of percentages, we can say the company has witnessed growth of around 35 per cent on a yearly basis.
LB: What LED products do you offer? And what are the brands?
There’s an array of LED products that we manufacture. LED street lights, flood lights, high bay lights, LED panel lights, LED down lights, LED MR 16, LED CoB down lights, LED tri colour lights in backlit panels, LED flameproof fixtures, LED clean room lighting, LED cove lights, LED solar street lights, etc., are the major LED products offered by the company. In addition, Lumenpulse also offers OEM facilities wherein the focus is on manufacturing huge volumes of diversified customised LED products. We are also working for regional brands by supplying them with essential energy efficient LED lighting products.
LB: From which region/cities is there the most demand for your LED products?
We work on pan India orders that come from various regions. Since Lumenpulse manufactures customised LED products, it caters to multiple industries located in different regions. We also work for overseas clients.
LB: Has the demand increased in the last two years?
The concept of using eco-friendly lighting systems or ‘green’ lighting has led to dramatic changes in our day to day lives. Many companies and home owners have shifted from using traditional lights to LEDs. The use of LED street lights, LED high bay lights, LED flame proof lights and LED clean room lights has grown phenomenally in the engineering, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. An almost 20-25 per cent increase has been witnessed over the last couple of years. There has been tremendous demand for LED drivers, which are the key components in lighting systems.
LB: In what way are your LED products technologically advanced?
Our vast experience in making energy efficient products and our continuous in-house R&D have helped us to achieve the new milestones in manufacturing LED products. Our capability to manufacture LED products based on our customers’ specifications is something not every manufacturer can match. Lumenpulse, with its qualified engineering team, makes this tough task an easy one.
LB: What challenges do you face in the Indian LED business?
Due to stiff competition, manufacturing LED lights in an efficient manner is a tough task. New techniques need to be implemented as and when necessary, and this requires qualified engineering professionals who are involved in continuous research to come up with technological modifications and advances. Being a technology oriented product, there were many technological challenges that we as manufacturers had to overcome. Moulding lenses perfectly, as per the dies, was one of the toughest tasks we had to overcome. Currently, manufacturing economical LED lights and their drivers is what can be considered the biggest challenge for manufacturers. Also, making customised LED products with proper specifications adds to such challenges. However, with Lumenpulse’s strong R&D initiatives, we have overcome all the hurdles.
LB: Do any of the government policies help in boosting LED product manufacturing in India?
There is constant support offered by the government to boost the energy sector. There are special programmes to educate children in schools and colleges wherein the importance of energy conservation is highlighted. Even in rural areas a huge awareness towards power saving has been created by government organisations. The IMF has sanctioned special funds to promote smart cities that will have only LED lights as their secondary source of lighting, other than conventional wind and solar energy. Various state governments are coming up with projects supporting LED lights for their regular use. In some states, free LED bulbs are being offered by the government to households to give them the flavour of new technology. It’s clear that the government is trying to promote the LED industry in every possible way.
LB: Are you coming up with any new products this year?
Yes. Around three to four different types of LED products or application designs per month is the target set by Lumenpulse. Flame proof LED lights, LEDs for clean rooms, machine lamps, table lamps for specialised industry applications, linear lights, etc., are the series of products that are lined up. Improving the newly invented LED designs will be the focus area. Optics, heat management and electronics design are other important areas that we plan to cover. There are a few products like the tri-colour LED down light, which requires specialised techniques, that we will be manufacturing. Another important factor to be taken into consideration while manufacturing LEDs is the heat dissipation. Ensuring the maximum cooling effect that prevents heat emission is an important technique. This reduces AC temperature levels, thereby reducing the electricity bill. Smart touch phones are being used to change the luminosity of light in one of the products that we will be introducing shortly. Dimmable lights that can be remotely controlled is another technology that will be shortly made available in the market. A software based system that will control the lighting is also in the pipeline, and this will create a revolution in the energy sector. The next important development in the LED industry is to control lighting digitally.
LB: What are your growth plans this year? Are you looking for partners such as distributors and systems integrators?
Since Lumenpulse manufactures a variety of customised LED products and drivers, there is immense scope for expansion, which is what we are targeting. We will be appointing around 150 distributors pan India, who will cater to the needs of every individual customer, right from corporations and home owners to the government. We are set to tie up with at least 30 upcoming brands, for their manufacturing backup which Lumenpulse is quite confident of. Additionally, there will be OEM projects that we will undertake. Energy auditors, architects and interior designers will also be looked upon as partners in the growth of the organisation and to save precious energy.
In Mumbai, Lumenpulse is a leading manufacturer and supplier of a diversified range of LED products, but considering the importance of energy efficiency, saving millions of power units for our customers will be our primary aim. The government’s support in promoting the LED industry is an additional advantage for Lumenpulse, as it spreads its wings across India and globally.
LB: How would you contribute in developing the LED manufacturing set up in India?
Embedded techniques for lighting applications will be the key development in LED manufacturing in India. The different types of LED based lighting applications and their requirements vary widely. To enable the complex control functionality (e.g., specialised colour mixing, balancing and dimming, adaptive lighting control, remote connectivity and self-diagnostics) and consistent light quality required for more advanced lighting applications, simple fixed function LED drivers may become inadequate. Although fixed function LED drivers have many advantages like low cost, good power efficiency, no software programming and ease of use, and are appropriate for many lighting systems, their capabilities in intelligent lighting systems are limited. Significant cost reductions can be realised in design and purchasing when varying power and feature set requirements can be implemented without significant hardware modification. Lumenpulse will be introducing intelligent lighting systems in the market by February 2015.
