Switzerland based Buchi Labortechnik, a leading manufacturer of laboratory instruments for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, has taken a 10 percent stake in SMP Laboratory Instrument Services, Mumbai. With this acquisition the Indian company will be now known as Buchi SMP Services Pvt Ltd.
Immediate plan of Buchi SMP is to set up Sales and After-Sales facilities in all the major cities of India. The Indian laboratory equipment market is rated as an important market segment for Buchi's products.
Buchi manufactures rotavapors, vacuum pumps and controllers, sepacore preparative chromatography system, kjeldhal nitrogen and protein determination system, glass drying ovens, kugelrohr apparatus, automatic melting point apparatus, mini spray driers, chiller, syncore parallel synthesizer, near infrared spectrometer, and moisture analyser.
Dr. Reinhardt Buchi, president, Buchi Labortechnik AG, Switzerland, on his first visit to India at Hyderabad spoke to Pharmabiz.com about his company's plans in India.
Buchi's products are sold in 130 countries worldwide, and Europe, US, Asia are key potential markets. Japan, China and India are at prime focus of the company in the Asian region. With advancements in technology and increase in competition, Buchi desires to retain its customers with its quality products. The company has products that cater to the needs of pharmaceutical, chemical, and nutrition based industries. India ranks 8th in terms of its sales, and thus is a key market for the company. Buchi's clients include Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy's, Dabur, Aurobindo, Matrix, Nicholas Piramal, Sun Pharma, IICT and IITs all over India etc.
Buchi has entrusted a great responsibility on Buchi SMP in India to maintain and sustain development in the country's operations as in the past. Buchi has long-term interests in Indian markets and that is represented by its decision to make SMP a Group Sales Company with Buchi's stake.
Reinhardt expressed that Indian clients have been very loyal to Buchi's products, and many of them have been using Buchi's instruments since more than a decade or two. All the instruments including those used for research, discovery and quality control had been widely acclaimed.
Buchi is determined to produce products that are high in quality, state-of-the-art, and the latest in technology. Buchi always has designed its products to ensure its usefulness for the purpose and customers, robust, and have long life. Reinhardt recalled the company's slogan 'Quality in your hands', signifying Buchi's interest to offer products that are of great quality.
Though new products are not in the pipeline, Buchi is certainly planning to bring products by upgrading the technology. Reinhardt said that he is meeting Buchis customers in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi to get new ideas and to know customer reactions for improvement of products and for future strategies.
In the US, business was stable last year and hopes for improve in the next year. In Asian markets, Buchi's products have been growing at a rate of 15-20 per cent and Indian market has also been registering good progress. The company is aiming at increasing the business by 10 per cent every year, worldwide.
With a team of around 820 representatives, 120 exclusive distributors, and 280 employees, Buchi has been able to capture a share of world market for these products and hopes to expand its market with due emphasis on quality.
Madhu Chiplunkar, managing director of Buchi SMP, said that the Buchi Labortechnik has been to provide suitable products that meet the requirements of companies of different sizes. As Indian pharma companies are showing good progress, Buchi's products will have great demand in the coming years, he added.