FLUID CONTROLS PVT. LTD: SYMBOLIZING THE PHENOMENAL VISION OF EMPOWERING INDUSTRIES WITH IMPACTFUL INSTRUMENTATION SERVICES

FLUID CONTROLS PVT. LTD.

Our team is always on the hunt for some enticing stories of business leaders who have proved their mettle in redefining formulaic perceptions. This time our search stopped at the brand story of Fluid Controls- a brand dedicated to designing and engineering versatile instrumentation products. As amazing as the brand’s service portfolio is, our readers will find Dr. Tansen Chaudhari’s entrepreneurial saga immensely inspiring. Being the CEO, he has handheld the organization in its success journey. We seized the opportunity of sharing some words with the luminary and his credible vision left us in awe. Join us as we feature Dr. Tansen’s brand under the sparkling segment of “Innovative Company of the Year 2023” on our platform!

Prime Insights: Please give us a brief introduction about your company.

Dr. Tansen: Fluid Controls Private Limited was established in 1974 by Dr. Y.E. Moochhala, a Ph.D. from Northwestern University, the USA with a vision to deliver high-quality & high-performance products which delight customers. With over 45 years of experience in engineering connections, Fluid Controls offers customers across industries, end-to-end “Make in India” solutions for various applications – from design & engineering services to supply of high-performance products.
Fluid Controls offers a complete range of instrumentation products – connectors and adaptors for tubes and hoses, valves, manifolds, DIN pipe clamps, and SAE flanges. We also offer close coupled / prefabricated instrument hook-ups, high-pressure needle valves, gas valves for turbine applications, block and bleed valves, and O2 clean fittings for pharma and biotech applications. Our products ensure precision connections that are designed based on specific application requirements and perform to international standards.
Fluid Controls has recently introduced a range of services – including design & engineering services, testing services, on-site installation services, and pre-fabricated assemblies. The brand is a premier supplier to onshore and off-shore oil & gas installations, process and power plants, the defense industry, critical applications for nuclear plants, and brake piping applications for rail and metro. We are approved by all major Indian OEMs such as ONGC, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, NTPC, BHEL, NPCIL, and railway OEMs. Our international customers are located in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

Prime Insights: What inspired you to join Fluid Controls?

Dr. Tansen: From its inception in 1974, Fluid Controls has engaged in original R&D and also has an ethos of developing products that are indigenous replacements for imported products. Our founder, Dr. Y E Moochhala, left his career in the USA and laid the foundation of Fluid Controls because he was a strong believer in a self-reliant India. His idea was to develop high-quality, high-performance products to suit local climatic and performance expectations. This ethos resonated with me as my background is in original research. After joining Fluid Controls in the year 2011, we have developed more than 25+ new products. Product design and development with performance testing is in line with the Fluid Controls vision statement since inception.

Prime Insights: What were the initial challenges faced by you in this business?

Dr. Tansen: In the initial year or two, developing new products with existing people and other allied resources like software, testing machines, etc. was one of the challenges. As the turn-around in products and business happened, we were able to focus on building capabilities – the right people along with robust processes. So, in essence, Fluid Controls went through the People-Process-Product cycle to achieve growth. And we did this with passion. We also faced some issues with customer acceptance as we offer a local product whereas many companies prefer to purchase imported legacy brands.

Prime Insights: How is your brand-defining “trust” in the market? What stands behind its uniqueness?

Dr. Tansen: Fluid Controls products and services are equated with high performance and high standards of service. Customers know that our products are “Fit and Forget”. Fluid Controls is also known for its transparency in all processes. Our core values are Integrity, Innovation, and Reliability (I2R), and we apply these values not only to our products but also to our people.

Prime Insights: What are the offerings (services/solutions)?

Dr. Tansen: With over 45 years of experience in engineering connections, Fluid Controls offers customers across industries end-to-end “Make in India” solutions for various applications – from design & engineering services to the supply of high-performance products. We offer customers a complete range of instrumentation products – connectors and adaptors for tubes and hoses, valves, manifolds, DIN pipe clamps, and SAE flanges. We also offer pre-fabricated instrument hook-ups, high-pressure needle valves, gas valves for turbine applications, block and bleed valves, and O2 clean fittings for pharma and biotech applications. Our products ensure precision connections that are designed based on specific application requirements and perform to international standards.
Fluid Controls is a premier supplier to onshore and off-shore oil & gas installations, process and power plants, the defense industry, critical applications for nuclear plants, and brake piping applications for rail and metro. We are approved by all major Indian OEMs such as ONGC, IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, NTPC, BHEL, NPCIL, and railway OEMs. Our international customers have been located in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

Prime Insights: How are Research and Development important for your services?

Dr. Tansen: Since its inception in 1974, Fluid Controls has engaged in original R&D and also has an ethos of developing products that are indigenous replacements for imported products. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, our R&D, and our test laboratories have ensured we exceed customer expectations. Fluid Controls is approved as an “In-House R&D unit” by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR), Government of India. Our state-of-the-art R&D Center is located at Chakan, Pune. We offer design services and conversion engineering, including 3D modeling, FEA, and prototyping via SolidWORKS and Ansys. Our engineers work closely with customers to understand their requirements.

 

Our Testing Facility:

The Fluid Controls R&D Center has in-house NABL Certified (ISO17025) Performance Testing and Metrology Laboratories for all pressure, vibration, and reliability tests. We also conduct in-house Spectro, PMI, and UT testing. Our laboratory was used by the defense department to conduct pressure and burst tests for HARD Bombshells. We are certified for AS9100 and NADCAP (Fluid Distribution Systems in Aerospace applications) and, at our laboratory which has advanced NABL certification (ISO/IEC/17025 2017), we offer a range of testing services for aerospace components.

 

Prime Insights: In an age of mistrust, are you seeing an evolution in how consumers trust brands or are they still for the most part doubtful?

Dr. Tansen: I believe that most of our customers want demonstrated performance, which is the basis on which they start to trust us. Because integrity is a key value for us, customers do trust us – but building trust is a process and we have to work with them to demonstrate our capabilities. I think that our transparency with employees and with customers has helped make Fluid Controls a brand trusted by all. And with digitization, any customer can monitor and see in-situ conditions. Building a brand is a two-way process – and Fluid Controls has walked the talk!

Prime Insights: How well are the clients connected with your brand?

Dr. Tansen: Our connections with customers start with the delivery of superior products and services. The connection is then enhanced by customer outreach programs, which include the simplest season greeting messages, active social media engagement, and special initiatives. Each of our employees is a brand ambassador for Fluid Controls and conducts themselves accordingly. Also, having a global customer base, we are 24X7 connected with the customers. In many instances, our customers recommend our brand to other prospective customers.

Prime Insights: How did you make your mark in the industry and the heart of the customers?

Dr. Tansen: Integrity, Innovation, and Reliability (I2R) are the core values of Fluid Controls. These values are instilled in our people, and hence in our products. The team at Fluid Controls has challenged themselves with every product they develop and offer. Our unique model of operations along with Research & Development has kept us ahead of the competition. Our state-of-art manufacturing facility and Test Lab have helped us exceed customer expectations. The vision of our founder, Dr. Y E Moochhala, and present team leaders have played a key role in keeping us ahead in our segment and making a mark in the customers’ hearts!

Prime Insights: What achievements does the company boast of?

Dr. Tansen: We have managed to establish a qualified, high-caliber team at the core of the company, and a recognized brand within and outside India, through coordinated marketing, branding, and customer outreach activities. The sole credit for these achievements goes to the cohesive team efforts made in the direction to symbolize the company’s vision and mission on a broader canvas.

• Fluid Controls is the recipient of the “CII Industrial Innovation Award” for Medium-Scale Manufacturing Organizations 2019.
• Our brand has been recognized as one of the “Top 50 Innovative Companies of the Year 2022”.
• “Performance Excellence Award 2022” by the Indian Institute of Industrial Engineering
• The award for “Most Innovative Product” at BW Emerging Enterprises Awards 2022.
• NABL Certification (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) for in-house Performance Testing and Metrology Laboratories for all pressure, vibration, and reliability tests.
• System Certification for International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) for Rail Application (ISO/TS 22163:2017) for Rail & Metro Business.
• The brand has also been recognized by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research as an “In-house R&D Unit”.
• The company has registered two global patents including the USA along with many reputed journal publications and two Indian patents as well.
• The brand functions with a colossal facility spread over 2.5 acres with an in-house laboratory. With our dedicated endeavors, the company has witnessed continuous revenue and financial growth over these years.

Prime Insights: Have you measured how much trust consumers have in your brand?

Dr. Tansen: Informally, we have tried evaluating the trust factor by using the Net Promoter Score methodology. Many of our customers recommend our brand to others. This has resulted in our growth and implies a positive Net Promoter Score.

Prime Insights: What is the brand’s future prospectus?

Dr. Tansen: Over the years, Fluid Controls has built comprehensive expertise for manufacturing, by identifying the right materials and ensuring “fit and forget” assembly. Our plans rest on three pillars.

• Firstly, continue to develop new products and services.
• Secondly, germinate our strength in the rail and metro business, tap into the brake piping business for emerging high-speed train operations, and global supplies to Europe, North America, and SE Asia.
• Thirdly, build our global business, especially in the Middle East and Saudi Arabia.

Prime Insights: What are the most effective marketing initiatives or programs you have used to promote your initiatives/offerings/services?

Dr. Tansen: Customer recommendations are of course a very powerful tool that has benefited Fluid Controls. Unlike most of our competition, we have a very active marketing program. This program is a mix of various activities such as conferences, participation in local and global trade shows and exhibitions, corporate gifting, and continuous engagement via social media, mailers, and advertisements in trade magazines and digital platforms. We also engage in industry outreach like publishing many national/international articles and sponsoring projects for Engineers and B-school Graduates. I am on the Advisory Board of many Engineering Colleges and B-Schools. This facilitates our industry-institution interactions. We also promote our employees to pursue higher studies at all levels.

Prime Insights: : How has been your journey as the Chief Executive Officer of Fluid Controls?

Dr. Tansen: I joined Fluid Controls as an employee in the year 2011, and now I am a shareholder in the company as well. This clearly shows the professionalism and trust of the Board of Directors of the company. Along with our Winning Team, we have grown Fluid Controls 10 times in the last 11 years! Having learned many lessons Globally in General Electric (GE), my role at Fluid Controls helped me implement my business acumen. Indeed, this journey of mine clearly shows that with commitment, one can make a drop into an ocean!

Prime Insights: What do you hope to accomplish within the next year from a personal as well as professional point of view?

Dr. Tansen: I believe “low aim is a crime” for professional growth. I would like to expand the Fluid Controls footprint globally. Currently, we have a manufacturing tie-up in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and I would like to have one or two more such tie-ups geographically. I would also like to tie up with one or two global universities and fund a research project for Fluid Controls.

Prime Insights: What is your one piece of advice for young and budding entrepreneurs?

Dr. Tansen: What gets measured is done! So be focused. Keep faith in yourself. Hard work is the only key to success. Do not opt for shortcuts. Effort and luck have to be together to be successful – we do not control luck, so we must control our efforts! Spirituality helps us to bind to the floor. Stay connected to everyone, networking is the key. Neither under-estimate nor overestimate yourself! Integrity is everything!