Elscint has been in the business of manufacturing special purpose feeding systems from the year 1983. However, since inception, it was catering only to customers in India with a negligible presence on the export front. The reasons for this were the scepticsism of most European / American customers about products from India as well perceptions about the quality and service of Indian products. However, from the year 2002, Elscint decided to specifically concentrate on exports and today exports constitute more than 30% of its turnover. Uptill now Elscint has exported to more than 60 countries, including most of the European Union and the USA, even some South American countries. Exports have grown steadily over the years. The major contributing factors for continuous increase in exports have been –

1.  Giving manufacturing priority to exports in order to adhere to the committed delivery time
2. Creating a separate team to work on export projects, consisting of the most skilled workforce
3. Giving extra emphasis on aesthetics
4. Using only high quality standard components of reputed foreign brands, starting from cables and even sockets
5. In case of any defect observed in any part of the equipment, at any stage of manufacturing, replacing the same, instead of trying to rework on the same.
6. Rigorously testing the equipment after completion continuously for at least 3 to 4 days.
7. Taking extra care for packing the equipment so that there are no damages in transit. Using export packing services of reputed firms in the market.
8. Providing some spares free of cost to the customer along with the equipment to increase his confidence level.
9. In case of any problem with the equipment, supply the problematic part / complete equipment free of cost as replacement without any questions.

The challenges faced by Elscint during this time have been firstly to change the perception of the customer and make them believe that Indian products are consistent and aesthetically and performance wise equivalent to European products. Secondly, to provide service and spares immediately, in case of requirement. There have been cases were we have gone out of the way and provided free replacement of the complete equipment to the customer for a minor defect! Thirdly, meeting major customers on a regular basis to improve their confidence level.

All this requires extra cost, but the same can be offset by charging more prices for overseas sales. However, all this requires a mindset change and just completing a one off export order does not help. Once, special emphasis is given on export quality, the quality of the domestic supply too improves.