Alstone has been doing consistent expansion in manufacturing and innovation in products to remain a No 1 ACP brand in the India market. During One2one interaction with The Ply Reporter, Mr. Sumit Gupta, Managing Director of the company has explained his focus area, new products and future business to cater quality products market. He has recently launched many new products and is also going to commission Coil Coating lines to offer more customized colour options and faster deliveries. Edited Excerpts….
You say, Alstone is No 1 brand in ACP categories. How do you claim this?
Alstone started its journey in 2004 with the vision to lead the building cladding Industry and aimed at making Alstone as the most trusted and preferred brand in the Industry. Nothing comes overnight, a lot of effort and work has been done in the last 18 years to make Alstone as No 1 brand in its segment from the day of our inception. We work hard and inspire ourselves to create value for our customers and stakeholders. We have the best professionals in our team to manufacture the highest standards of façade solutions and constantly strived to match industry practices. Throughout the journey of the last 18 years, we always promote innovation and excellence by anticipating the future of Façade Industry.
We are the only company in the ACP industry, who has innovated and introduced many products like Wooden Finishes, Partition Panel, HPL, Fire rated ACP and many more products. We keep developing our infrastructure and enhance our capacity year to year to fulfil the market demand. We proudly say that we have delivered 40 crore Sqft ACP in the last 18 years. All these efforts, achievements and most importantly the trust & support of our channel partners and business associates took us to be considered as No.1 Brand of ACP in India.
There have been some changes reported in Alstone ACP Business management a year back, can you elaborate the present status?
Yes, there are some changes that took place in the management last year. Previously Alstone was in partnership with one more partner. Last year we both decided to go our own way and pursue our visions and diversification plans. In separation, I took over the Alstone complete ACP business with complete future trademark rights of ALSTONE. As of now, the 100% ownership of Alstone as a company and 100% ownership of Alstone as a Brand are vested with me only. The other partner who exited the business took Silicon Sealant and WPC division with limited rights of Alstone Trademark for these two products only.
We have recently started the manufacturing of Aluminium Honeycomb Panels. Aluminium Honeycomb Panels is a disruptive technology product. It has got several advantages over to ACP like light weight, Thermal Insulation, FR properties, Sound Insulation etc. The product is gradually taking place in the market and many projects in India where Aluminium Honeycomb Panels is a preferred choice of architect for Façade solution.
What is the present business infrastructure of Alstone ACP and revenue turnover (2020-21)?
In 2004, Alstone Group began a glorious journey with Aluminium Composite Panels which was followed by acclaimed projects and foray into Flat Glass, Mirror, Container Glass and overseas plant in Dubai for non-combustible Metal Composite Panel.
Emerge Glass India Pvt. Ltd (A group company of Alstone) manufactures high quality glass solutions in Flat Glass, Mirror and Frosted Glass. Powered by innovative capability and engineering expertise, the customized glass solutions have created value and superior benchmarks. With glasses exported to Dubai, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Netherlands, France, Nepal, Bangladesh and Turkey, the group takes immense pride as the only entity to produce 1mm thin flat glass in the country.
We have recently added AHPL in our basket and we are focusing on developing this market for the coming two years. Our mission is to get considerable market share for our AHPL (Alstone High Pressure Laminates).
Recently, Emerge Glass has ventured into the manufacturing of container glass in three categories Liquor, Beer, and Food Grade. The company has imported state of the art plant and machinery from Bucher Emhart Glass, Europe with the capacity of 210 TPD.
The Alstone group has also established a state of the art plant in Dubai, UAE to manufacture “Emerge UK” Non-Combustible (A2) and fire Retardant (FR) Metal Composite Panel. These products are tested in world’s most reputed laboratory Thomas bell wright and UL and also approved by UAE Civil Defence. The company has already exported its product to Lebanon, Egypt, Yemen, Oman, Jordan and many more.
Alstone ACP has state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dehradun, North India boasts of 6 production lines having capacity of 40 lakhs Sqft per month, having a strong and meticulous network of 14 warehouses cum offices and 300 dealers/distributors. The Group turnover stands Rs 500 Cr annually and Corporate office is located in Barakhamba Road, New Delhi.
What kind of changes and expansions have you made in the last one year, and how have these been helping your business?
Along with the manufacturing of ACP, we have recently started the manufacturing of Aluminium Honeycomb Panels. Aluminium Honeycomb Panels is a disruptive technology product. It has got several advantages over to ACP like light weight, Thermal Insulation, FR properties, Sound Insulation etc. The product is gradually taking place in the market and many projects in India where Aluminium Honeycomb Panels is a preferred choice of architect for Façade solution
Secondly, we are focusing our HPL (High Pressure Laminates) division as it has got a huge demand in the residential sectors and is becoming a favourite choice of architects. We have increased the team and product range of this division. Alstone HPL is the first aluminium based HPL in India and has several advantages over paper based HPL such as 90 degree Bend, convex concave shape and affordable Price.
What are the new features under Alstone ACP, which make your products special?
Innovative Ideas, New developments and continuous expansion is making Alstone Products special. In Alstone we are not just selling our products, instead we believe in providing the best of the solution to our customers for their unique requirements.
What are your plans for another two years for your ACP business? Do you think of a diversification plan in similar kinds of products?
We have recently added AHPL in our basket and we are focusing on developing this market for the coming two years. Our mission is to get considerable market share for our AHPL (Alstone High Pressure Laminates).
The ACP manufacturers have no other option but to increase the price of our finished goods. We have got acceptance of price hike by our dealers and customers which has given us little comfort during this hard time.
At Alstone, we firmly believe to supply the highest quality of products at reasonable price to our customer i.e. Corporate Clients, Building Contractors and Aluminium fabricators. We also believe in continuous innovation and providing the best choice for the architect to design the best building façade for their clients. Nothing is more important than human lives and to protect them Alstone has developed the Fire Rated ACP.
Apart from this, we are taking one significant step towards backward integration and soon, we will start our In-house unit of coil coating. This would help us to provide more customized colour options for our customer and faster deliveries. We would like to keep our focus on exterior cladding products only
Who does drive the ACP business and how?
For every market, the driving factors almost remain the same and in ACP business also nothing is much different. The key factors are Product Quality, Price, Innovation, Post Sale Service and the most important is Customer satisfaction.
At Alstone, we firmly believe to supply the highest quality of products at reasonable price to our customer i.e. Corporate Clients, Building Contractors and Aluminium fabricators. We also believe in continuous innovation and providing the best choice for the architect to design the best building façade for their clients. Nothing is more important than human lives and to protect them Alstone has developed the Fire Rated ACP.
All these factors lead us to the sustainable growth in the ACP business in recent years.
How do you see the growth of HPL business?
High pressure laminates is a type of decorative laminates used in exterior cladding. High pressure laminates have various benefits such as durability, versatility, scratch resistant, and easy to maintain. Due to the durability and supreme qualities possessed by HPL, it is extensively used in a range of applications such as residential and commercial sectors.
Considering the growth in the demand of HPL, Alstone introduced its Aluminium based HPL in the year 2016 and since then we have received favourable response from the market which in turn gave us the confidence to bring more innovation in our HPL product range.
How do you see the impact of the present rise in raw materials prices on the ACP industry?
In the past few months, the cost of Raw Material and Logistics has gone up drastically. The ACP manufacturers have no other option but to increase the price of our finished goods. We have got acceptance of price hike by our dealers and customers which has given us little comfort during this hard time.
Your message to your channel partners and business associates in present time.
I just want to thank all of them from the bottom of my heart for being a part of our Journey of 18 years. They are not just our channel partners or Business Associates but an extended family. Through PLY Reporter, I would take this opportunity to share my gratitude for the overwhelming response to Alstone, without it Alstone would not have reached where it is today. We are so thankful for all their support throughout our Journey and I request their support and love for Alstone in future as well.