Mr. Siddharth Kumar
(Head of Sales)

Introduction

Hochiki Europe (UK) Ltd, is a Japanese Company, into the business of Fire Detection and Emergency Lighting products since 1918. For almost 100 years Hochiki has led the way in the design and manufacture of innovative life safety solutions. We have state of the art production facilities in Japan, the USA and Europe, which offer international quality products. Our fire detection products meet both local and global compliance regulations including; EN54 (LPCB, VdS), UL/FM, ATEX and SIL.

We also have some very innovative products/ solutions like the wireless Fire Alarm System, which is a Hybrid system and can be well used in areas where wiring is not possible or is difficult, such as heritage buildings, museums etc. Our lighting - LED based, extra low voltage, evacuation system (Firescape), ensures smooth evacuation of people, from a premise, in an emergency/ fire situation. Our Addressable Water Leak Detection System, could be readily installed at sensitive/ critical areas for detecting water leak and is a good solution for Data Centres, Research and Development area applications.

Q- What are some best practices you've used to develop excellent customer relationships?
Customer relationship has always been a priority for us, the entire team is aligned to the common objective of ensuring that quality products are delivered to our esteem customers, efficiently and seamlessly, for which we maintain material stock at strategic locations across India, to have an easy access and maintain minimum lead time. Our technical support is readily available for hand holding the customers in all technical aspects. Our regional Sales leads ensure that customer centric approach is adopted and adequate support is given to them, at all times.

Q- What are the latest marketing initiatives you have embarked upon?
To spread the awareness of the brand and showcase the quality of our products we constantly engage in effective marketing initiatives like - Seminars, Customer Webinar's, participating in credible exhibitions, engaging with the government for spreading fire safety awareness through various social programs. We have an internal mechanism to reach out to the existing and potential customers by means of articles and journals, published in the leading subject oriented magazines. White papers, on domain related subjects and latest technological advancements, are also shared with customers, it's for them to be aware and keep themselves updated. We also organize periodic dedicated seminars for target audience.

Q- Mention some successful sales project managed by you:
We in a short span have penetrated well in almost all sectors like Government, Defence, Industrial, Hospitality etc. It has been largely because of the quality of the products that we deliver. The durability, reliability and workmanship of the products is being realised and experienced by the

customers, across the sectors, which gives us the acceptance in the market. Just to name few of the of the accounts that we have worked in are Tata, Honda, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force, ISRO, ONGC, BPCL, etc.

Q- What strategies will you use to identify new sales opportunities?
We like to work closely with the end users, make them aware of the quality and durability of Hochiki products, we engage with them to educate on the varied fire protection solutions that Hochiki has, like the fire detection systems (Both EN & UL) - Conventional, addressable, wireless, LED based extra low voltage evacuation system, Addressable water leak systems - linear and point detection, Aspirators, SIL & ATEX approved products, Integrated fire and emergency lighting panels (Firescape+), which has both emergency light and fire sensors on the same loop and connected to the same panel. We then work also with our authorised system partners, who are closely working in the field and have their information base which we develop.

Q- Which are the key industry verticals and brand segments you are looking to target?
As I said, we are well positioned in almost all sectors like Government, Defence, Industrial, Hospitality etc. However, this year with new and more advance products, we will be looking to target large Infrastructure projects, Marine Sector - where we have a complete product portfolio with global approvals, Oil and Gas and the Indian Railways

Q- Do you think that listening skill is important for a sales role?
Certainly, customer needs to be heard and observed patiently to propose a suitable Technical solution. Listening is imperative for all successful business transactions.

Q- What techniques have you changed to increase sales? Describe the situation when you satisfied the customer with a problem?
I feel the approach to the market is more proactive, our presence has increased, and we are being at the right place at the right time. Our Sales team has been aggressively working in the field to gather information and responding to customer needs, proactively.

Q- How do you stay up-to-date with your customers and product?
Customer proximity is the key factor, their timely feedback and our internal research and development, keeps us up beat and much relevant. We have this year launched some of the most innovative products, the details of which are available on our website, keeping in mind the present trend and customer requirements.

Q- What are the most important programmes implemented this year and what are developmental aspects next year?
We have a host of new advance products launched this year - Fire Panel - Latitude series - 16 loop both EN and UL Listed, New Hochiki ACD-V Multi-Criteria Sensor, which is suited for detecting deadly levels of carbon monoxide (CO) and the ability to detect COHb, FIREscape+ system, which is an addressable panel that controls both the fire detection and emergency lighting units, an innovative system which combines emergency lighting, fire detection and way finding technology. We are expecting further new products next year, the details of which will be shared soon.

Q- What is your message and final thought that you would like to share with our readers?
I believe, we should be more aware of the fire hazards and its prevention. Fire prevention should be taken seriously and its awareness, to be spread. We must not compromise on the subject of life safety and be committed to do what it takes, to make our premises fire protected with the use of high quality, reliable and durable fire detection products. 

For more information visit:
www.hochiki.in