Give us a brief introduction to Oilmax Systems and its offerings for the industry.
Oilmax Systems, based in Pune, has been providing very unique and innovative products for oil and coolant conservation for more than 25 years. We are manufacturers and exporters of industrial equipment, including hydraulic oil cleaning systems, vacuum-operated sump cleaners, floating/tramp oil separators, etc.

The marine, mining, and automotive industries are just a few that use these items. With our products, there are no filter elements or consumer costs because they operate on centrifugal separations. The smallest of the contaminants is separated from the oil using centrifugal force, extending the life of the oil, filter, and machinery. These goods are entirely produced in India.

Which are your stronger markets in India?
Industrial processes like quenching, grinding, etc. are currently our primary market. Although oil is utilised practically everywhere and for a variety of purposes, our attention is on industrial uses. Exports make up about 40 per cent of our total output.

In India, the engineering sector is primarily found in regions with larger markets. It is NCR, Gurugram, and Punjab in North India. Gujarat and Maharashtra in West India, and Tamil Nadu and Karnataka in South India. Our business comes from the engineering sector to over 65 per cent. Our product has many uses in mining, but it is challenging to do business due to the remote locations of mining sites.

What are the various challenges faced by the company? How did you overcome those?
Ours is a concept selling product. We must demonstrate our product in order to verify its viability. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the product, we must perform physical demonstrations.

The country's huge geographic expanse presents another difficulty. We need a large sales force if we have to cover all of India. It can be difficult to find a qualified sales engineer who can work hard in the field.

We place greater emphasis on marketing and contract out all of our manufacturing work. Outsourcing is used for fabrication and machine building. When there is little value added, we don't spend time on those things. We pay more attention to consumer outreach, marketing, and product development. We have devised a business model wherein 40 per cent of our manpower is in sales and marketing.

The acceptance of new technology is improving in the last few years. Customers are open to new products. Maybe five years or back, this was not the case. We have a good design team, who are continuously looking to develop new custom-built products.

How was the year 2022 for the company in terms of performance? What are your plans for 2023?
The company had a very successful year in 2022 in terms of performance. Our revenues did decline by 20 to 25 per cent during Covid, but we quickly recovered with an increase of 50 percent. We anticipate growth of 30 to 40 per cent this year as well.