A look at Wöhner in India

In this interview, Heinrich Münch, Key Account Manager and Business Head Middle East & India, describes the current developments in the Indian market, the core portfolio for our Indian customers and the local cultural conditions. Heinrich Münch's responsibilities at Wöhner include the development and strategic handling of the Indian market. With him, we take a look at Wöhner in India:


How is Wöhner currently present on the Indian market?

Heinrich Münch: At our location in the city of Bangalore, which with over 11 million inhabitants is the third largest city in India after Mumbai and Delhi, six employees work in the areas of sales, back office and technical support. In order to continue to offer our growing customer base the best possible service and to enable intensive consultation, we are currently investing in expanding the team.


What characterises the Indian market?

Heinrich Münch: Due to geopolitical developments in recent years, production facilities were relocated from China to India. Large companies such as Google, Apple and Tesla have made major investments here to counteract the shortage of skilled workers and optimise their manufacturing costs. India is a very price-sensitive market and this is the only way the products can be competitive. This production shift offers us great opportunities, for example in the areas of air conditioning technology, renewable energies and automotive. In general, the growth potential in India is very large.


What do Indian customers value about our Wöhner products?

Heinrich Münch: This is no different to what other customers around the world appreciate about Wöhner products. On the one hand, it is the simplicity of our systems in the sense of plug and play and the associated intuitive assembly and easy operation, but on the other hand it is also Wöhner's innovative strength. Robustness, longevity and reliability of the products are fundamentally valuable characteristics that our customers recognise as USPs.

Like in many other foreign markets, Made in Germany is a quality seal in India that helps us and at the same time strengthens trust in our products. But low susceptibility to dust and heat or monsoon are also advantages on the Indian market and properties that Wöhner products must fulfill.


For which areas of application do Indian customers use our products and which ones are part of the core portfolio?

Heinrich Münch: Our customers mostly request the 60Classic system for their projects, supplemented with adapters up to 2,500 A and special T and double-T profile rails, as well as CrossBoard solutions. IEC and UL certifications are common for the Indian market and are sufficient for the requirements for high safety standards.

Our product solutions are used in a wide variety of areas, be it in food processing, charging stations for electric vehicles, wind turbines, the textile industry, HVAC and the automotive industry. Customers everywhere rely on the proven quality of Wöhner products.


Which cultural conditions need to be taken into account in order to be successful in the long term?

Heinrich Münch: In India there is a motto – “Unity in Diversity”. With a population of 1.4 billion and two “umbrella languages”, Hindi and Urdu, there are several hundred different languages spoken throughout India. Due to this diversity of ethnicities, cultures and traditions, India is in many ways more open-minded and tolerant towards differences.

If you approach Indian business partners with a little patience and calmness, you can achieve a lot and quickly gain their trust. Sometimes it is enough to suggest a common path and explain the advantages on both sides.

We are very pleased to be able to work on the Indian market under the best conditions in the future, to win new customers and to support existing customers in their projects. A good network and local partners are essential for this. The course for this has been set.