Tucked away in the outer reaches of our metropolises are small enterprises that successfully hold their own against competition from large multinational companies. Bangalore-based Prok Devices, a manufacturer of power protection devices, is one such enterprise. indiamarkets spoke to one of the company's founder directors, HK Shivaram, about the company's past, present and plans for the future.

indiamarkets:  Could you tell us about the origin of Prok Devices?
HK Shivaram: The company was set up in 1991, and commenced commercial production in 1992. The name 'Prok' is derived from 'protection', since we are basically into manufacturing power protection devices. The company is headed by four directors, with a background in engineering. When we started the company, we had hardly enough money to pay the registration fees. Over time, we developed our own infrastructure, and built up a reputation as a quality manufacturer. Today, with nine years of experience behind us, we have a good standing in the market.

indiamarkets: What does Prok's range of products cover?
HKS: We started out with earth leakage relays as well as earth fault relays, and extended our range to under voltage relays, over voltage relays, under frequency relays, over frequency relays, power factor correction relays, and phase failure relays. Over time, we have increasingly moved into microcontroller based relays, from solid state. Our most recently launched product is a Numeric Over Current and Earth Fault Relay, which combines both hardware and software features, and offers superior protection to transformers and AC machines from phase and earth faults. The product has been tested by the Central Power Research Institute, and been certified as being in accordance with the IEC standards.

indiamarkets: Could you tell us about your customer profile?
HKS:  Since we are into the protection of power systems, our products find application across all industries, and also in the power generation, transmission and distribution sector. Our customers include GE, L&T, Siemens, and software companies such as Infosys. We also have a number of clients in the mining and steel sectors. Last year, we bagged a major order from the Grid Corporation of Orissa, in the face of considerable international competition. We are increasingly focusing on exports. About 20 per cent of our Rs 2 crore turnover comprises exports to countries such as Singapore, Bahrain, Malaysia and Dubai.

indiamarkets: What are the strengths which enable Prok to compete against global leaders?
HKS: If one is committed to quality and service, it is certainly possible to compete with international leaders. For example, consider our latest product, the Numeric Over Current and Earth Fault Relay, which I mentioned earlier. This is a highly sophisticated product, of which we are probably the only wholly indigenous manufacturers in the country today. So we have the necessary design and development strengths to support such a product. In addition we have an all India distributor network. We compete very favourably with our multinational competitors such as ABB, GE and AVK SEGC on quality, cost effectiveness and quick delivery schedules. In fact, we were approached by an industry giant for manufacturing products under their brand name, but we declined the offer, as we are more interested in developing our own brand.

Probably, the biggest hurdle we face as a small company is in raising finance for our initiatives. In a technology-intensive industry such as ours, a substantial investment needs to be made in Research & Development. About 15 to 20 per cent of our turnover goes into funding R&D. This can strain the working capital position, and impose a constraint on short term growth.

indiamarkets: What are Prok Devices' plans for the future?
HKS: We plan to focus on exports, as we perceive a good potential for our products in the international market. On the domestic front, we want to strengthen our position, particularly by developing a strong client base among the State Electricity Boards.