Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 07 May 2024. In the era of Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat, it is always a matter of pride to see a company which is purely Indian, making it not only to the international arena but also creating a trailblazer march for India, in it’s defence export stride. The name needs no introduction and nor does the brand. Aviation & Defence Universe (ADU) is at DSA 2024 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and the chat is with the leader of team MKU – Adhiraj Sood, Regional Sales Head – International Sales.
In an exclusive talk with Editor Sangeeta Saxena, Sood positively stated that international business is MKU’s USP and technology to back this expanding business has its roots in Germany. Modern ballistic testing equipment is available at MKU GmbH’s Sittensen, Germany. It can be used to test helmets, soft armour, hard armour, and a variety of plates, including platform armoring solutions.
“The ballistic testing facility employs a group of highly skilled gunsmiths with many years of combined experience. Every employee in our lab is authorised to handle and reload ammunition. In order to promote the global development of advanced armoring solutions, MKU makes this armour testing facility available for commercial use. In the phases of research and development, prototyping, and solution development, our lab can offer the chance to thoroughly test the product’s construction and ballistic features and obtain comprehensive results for additional understanding,” he added.
Elaborating on MKU’s presence at the DSA this year Adhiraj informed, “ we are basically showcasing all our products. So, typically if you look at MKU, three different lines of businesses will be visible. One is of course the latest one which is electro-optics, where we have electro-optics with all the technologies that are available in the world, be it tubes, be it thermal weapon sites like using bolometers, be it the laser door, be it the day optics. But something that we’ve got specifically for Malaysia is our 40mm grenade launcher optics. So, what we do is we’ve developed a system where we’ve replaced the iron sight of a 40mm grenade launcher with our own optics which can work both in the day and night.”
MKU is also showcasing it’s personal protection gear which is helmets, body armor and of course the vehicle protection gear. “Second thing that we’ve brought for this show, which is very specific is our rifle-rated helmet. Now, this is a level 3 helmet. It can stop an AK-47 round, which is 7.62x39mm, mild steel core. We’re trying to tell the Malaysian end-users that this is the sort of helmet that they should now move to, because it is a better generation helmet. So, that’s our main agenda, he stated .”
On being questioned whether Malaysia is already a market with MKU or is it a new market the company is trying to develop, he explained , “ in the past, we’ve sold through connections in Malaysia but it’s not a market like a regular business market. So, we’re trying to break into this market in a big way because we see this as a huge potential and so we’re working really hard to break into a big way right now. So, in the region around, we’re very, very strong in Singapore. We’re the whole and sole supplier of helmets in Singapore. We’re very strong in Philippines. We want to break into Malaysia and Indonesia together. There is a Jakarta show in November and we will be coming for that also. This is where we want to enter and make it a prime market for us.”
Sood also envisages the markets of Africa and Latin America as high growth regions. He directly looks after the whole of North and South America, the Africa and the Asia market and feels that every business, if one looks at internationally, is growing because of the Ukraine and Israel conflicts. “ If you look at the procurement budgets they have increased for most of the countries and for Japan and Australia, they’ve picked up really, really well. So, similarly, the impact in the Latin side has been good too. The tenders have come out well and we’ve won a lot of work there. We’re supplying in Latin America really well. In the northern part of Africa, we’re doing brilliantly. Now, we’re trying to enter the sub-Saharan market through our own networks and through the government’s channels also. So, our focus in Latin America is a closed market for us. We hold that market. We hold the northern African market also. Now, we’re trying to make sure that we have good footprint in the sub-Saharan African market ,” he expands excitedly.
As an international sales expert Adhiraj shifted focus to the most volatile region. “ With the changing geopolitical situation, we now have a very important region which is Indo-Pacific. We’ve been constantly supplying to Japan and Korea. But we would like to grow our business in these nations and Taiwan too. In the last few days, in this show specifically, I have seen so many Taiwanese companies coming in and approaching us because I believe that the biggest threat for the whole China, even before India, is the Taiwan island. And everybody wants a piece of that island. China wants it. America wants it. Taiwanese want that island only for themselves. So right before you just walked in, there were Taiwanese sitting with me for the last one hour, discussing how I can sell it to them and how we can grow this business together. This is B2B right now. What I’ve seen in the Taiwanese market, what I’ve noticed right now is that they’re so specific, that they tell us that the product shouldn’t be Chinese at all. Like, it can’t be anything Chinese. So, is that a very difficult proposition for an Indian company? Not to have China at all in its products? Not for us at least. I would not want to comment on other companies which are working in the same space as us, but not for us as of today We have suppliers from Europe, we have suppliers from the US. So, for us it’s not a problem at all. But for the other companies in India who are in the same space, maybe it will be a problem to enter Taiwan ,” he exhorted with confidence.
Responding to the question on need for transfer of technology to the different countries, Adhiraj said, “ in body armour and helmets, it’s a give-and-take relationship. These countries and these end-users have helped us, MKU, to grow, so MKU also wants to empower them. The plan is to go there and help their economies as well. Not in the electro-optics, because it’s too complicated a product for transfer of technology right now, but in the personal protection space, yes we can and we are helping them. So, there are a few countries which we are talking to, who have requested that we help in growing the business, but then it is not going to happen in a year’s time. It’s a three-stage plan which goes from five to ten years.”
To close the interaction was the last question – And does that also mean that you have, you know, a series of joint ventures with various companies in various countries or some governmental bodies planned he answered, “ So, we’ve done all the three, we’ve looked at all the three options. In some countries, we’re looking for a joint venture where it’s a local company with us. Both of us have invested our pie and then we’re doing business. In some countries where the government is very strong, they ask their DPSUs. They ask their government factories to work with us. And in some countries, they’ve told us that we don’t want anybody else. You just make, like we have an MKU GMVH, as you’re aware. They wanted MKU Indonesia, for example. Just 100% owned. 100% owned by MKU.”
It is Day 2 at DSA 2024 and Adhiraj is positive about the footfall.” We had a lot of delegations visiting us on the first day of the exhibition. And today on the second day, we are actually meeting a lot of partners who will help us work with their governments. So, overall, it’s been a fruitful experience for us. The money wasn’t wasted. The money was well invested.” So the conversation started with a bang and ended with one too.
As told to Sangeeta Saxena
