Watertec India: Health, Hygiene And Orginality (H2O) Promise

Watertec (India) Private Limited has been revolutionising bath spaces since its establishment in 1997 by replacing low-quality metal fittings and accessories with Superior Virgin Grade Engineering Polymer products that focuses on clean and fresh water. Keeping in mind the importance of water conservation, it has also been focusing on manufacturing leak free products. 

Headquartered in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, over the last 25 years the company has established itself as a total bathroom & plumbing solutions provider in India and overseas. With a 1700-strong workforce, a 340-strong on-field sales force and a pan-India distribution network, Watertec is a market leader in the polymer-based bath fittings space, and also one of India’s fastest-growing end-to-end bathroom solutions providers which has diversified into chrome and high-end luxury products.

Mr. Bantwal Ramesh Baliga
Chief Executive Officer, Watertec India P Ltd.

Watertec’s product portfolio shines with a unique ‘H2O promise’ of Health, Hygiene and Originality. Every product bearing the Watertec logo denotes international quality, latest technology & exquisite beauty. This includes an exclusive range of lifestyle products spanning across bath fittings, sanitaryware, water management systems, rain showers, bathroom accessories, stainless steel products, pipes & fittings that are ideal for homes, hotels, spas, health clubs and commercial spaces. Watertec has become one of the biggest manufacturers in India, churning out over 32 million units of bath fittings annually.

3-PRONGED PRODUCT PORTFOLIO

Watertec’s bouquet of products has been designed to deliver 360-degree hygiene and sustainability in bathrooms across India.

Watertec’s 3-pronged product portfolio includes:

Behind the wall: Products like Pipes & Fittings are not visible to play an important behind-the-scenes role. Watertec’s Pipes & Fittings are 100% leakproof, have slip-free joints, and are made using anti-fungal and antibacterial materials.

Inside the wall: Vital to the functioning of bathrooms are products like Cisterns – both Dual Flush and Concealed Cistern variants. Watertec’s Cisterns are easy-to-install, designed to save water, operate smoothly and last longer too.

Outside the wall: Enhancing the aesthetics of your bathroom with elegant, classy designs, are Watertec’s bathroom fittings, accessories and sanitaryware across Polymer, Chrome-Plated, and Affordable Luxury Categories are eco-friendly and easy to maintain.

How has the company contributed to the National building?

Our entire business concept revolves around ‘QUALITY IS OUR BUSINESS PLAN’. We have adopted the slogan - ATMA NIRBHAR BHARATH, SWATCH BHARATH. We create job opportunities for economically weak rural people by training them under the Skill India initiative. We also conduct plumbing training programmes in rural areas and tier 4 cities. We have our own skill training institute for training our mould makers and plumbers. So far we have trained more than 2000 people and made them job ready.

In tandem with the plan of providing housing for everyone by 2024, we work in the affordable housing segment. The Northeast is another area of our focus as such we have developed a strong products portfolio at affordable rates for this region. To expand our market, we are also targeting the metros with highly hygiene-oriented products.

What do you see as the major achievements of the company that has directly or indirectly contributed to the country’s development?

The idea behind the manufacture of polymer products 25 years ago was to provide a clean, neat and hygienic product to the customer, which is lead-free, water saving & leak free. Our vision was clear since inception -- to create a product line which would help the customer to be focussed on hygiene. Our second objective was job creation. To this end, we have been increasing our workforce by 20% annually.

Which are the areas where your company has proved to be trend setters?

What sets us apart from the rest of the competition is our unique three years programme to train mould makers in our own institute, creating talent and self-reliance. Today, we can meet all our polymer requirement from our own manufacturing units. Earlier we were dependent on China. This ‘Make in India’ initiative has helped us to offer better quality products and win consumer confidence and trust. This initiative has created more job opportunities, over 90 per cent of it has been created in the rural areas.

What has been the company’s contribution to the development of skilled human resources in the areas of your operations?

The problem in India is not about the availability of skilled human resource. We have been able to put together a very good trained human capital, which has played a critical role in our successes. With the technological advancement the need to keep your workforce trained and skilled to meet the challenges of our training times have remained of utmost importance to the companies. Our on-site skill development training centres, on-site training programmes geared up our employees to the current and future needs. Besides our own skill training institute in Coimbatore, we have also developed two plumbing skill technology centres in partnership. One centre is in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, and the second is in Moga, Punjab.
The opportunity for on-site training has incentivised our staff as the average stay in our organisation is 8-10 years. Pan India, we have so far trained over 30,000 plumbers on the usage of our products. We have recruited more than 60 trained people from the tribal background. As part of our CSR activities also we train people in our own mould rooms and provide them job opportunities in our company.

Manufacturing facilities spread across 3 units

We presently have more than 2000 people directly working for the company and more than 20,000 dealers /channel partners pan India.

How has the company been contributing to major growth indicators - GDP growth, Happiness, Employment, Education, Social Upliftment, R&D, etc.

Job opportunities: skill development of our employees

Employment: increasing by 20% every year with more rural focus.

R&D: have developed affordable hygiene products, some of them are unique in nature and will help to substantially conserve water.

Happiness: work life balance module developed in the company is creating happiness among employees. This includes better salaries and facilities provided on time, recreational facilities, mentoring for professional growth, etc.

Social upliftment:  We educate, train and provide employment opportunities to Tribal people; 100% of our service team deployed across the country are from tribal background.

What are the companies’ future plans?

We will shortly commence operation of three new plants. We are also starting our operations in all the SAARC countries, MENA and South Asian countries which will help to put India among the major polymer manufacturing countries in the world. Presently these products are entering the global market mainly through China. As most of our products are approved by the international agencies like ESMA (UAE) IAPMO (USA), ASTM, BIS, NSF, etc. it will help boost our exports.

Ours is a true ATMANIRBHAR Bharath company, focusing on Swatch Bharath and affordable housing segment.