Ori Rosenbaum, Director & Systems Specialist, EscaTEQ Escalator Cleaning Tools
The world is looking at India as the next big market; at Clean India Journal, we have decided to show the world, and our fellow Indians, a mirror. What perspectives do global cleaning and hygiene equipment manufacturers have on India as a market? What is their attitude towards finding distribution partners, or even making in India? What makes this market unique?
The first in this series is an interview with Ori Rosenbaum, Director & Systems Specialist, EscaTEQ Escalator Cleaning Tools, who read our last issue and described Clean India Journal as “at the center of our industry and one of our key but yet untapped target markets”. Revealing that his company is just beginning to initiate some distribution relationships within the massive Indian market, he shared his views on the potential India holds for global cleaning solutions like his.
What is your analysis of India as a market for cleaning products?
EscaTEQ considers India as a massive market that is in the perfect position to become one of the top regions for our new technologies because India, like many other markets, needs inexpensive, but highly effective escalator cleaning tools to meet global expectations and initiatives, including Swachh Bharat.
How is it different compared to the US, Europe and other APAC markets?
We don’t believe that distribution in India is as well versed in introducing and pioneering new technologies like ours. Even though they provide a very cost effective and efficient solution to an age old problem (dirty escalators), our technology is so simple and effective that it often requires a demonstration to prove the value it delivers, but we often need to show it to make end users realize and even believe it!
What cleaning solutions does India need that it doesn’t already have?
Because India has such a huge number of escalators, but no way to easily, quickly and inexpensively clean them, it needs our solutions. The machines that currently exist in India are too expensive to purchase and very complicated to use. Our tools require little to no training, no power and can clean an entire escalator in as fast as five minutes, with just one person!
What is your take on entering into a joint venture with an Indian partner? What criteria would such a partner have to fulfill?
That would depend on too many variables to try to list or estimate, because if it was a distribution-only partner, I’m not certain what a joint venture structure would offer or improve over a distribution partner.
What sales model do you think would best suit the Indian market?
I would estimate either a large nationwide BSC that has access and is already doing business with most all markets across the country or a distributor that has the network to all of our key markets across the country and the ability to provide demonstrations and help service the end users.
