Made-in-India hardware

An indigenous manufacturer, MRO-TEK, has come a long way in the access networking domain. With a focus on R&D and imbibing customer feedback to improve existing and devise new products the company is looking to address the needs of the future as well

At the company’s manufacturing unit located at Electronics City in Bangalore

While most IT entrepreneurs in the country have been riding the software bandwagon, right from its inception for the past 25 years, MRO-TEK has been involved in hardware and local manufacturing.

MRO-TEK’s products are well positioned in the market considering its understanding of indigenous customers’ requirements.

The company claims to be a market leader in access networks offering cutting edge technology products in both Ethernet and TDM access. The TDM access products include managed modems, cross connects as well as EoPDH and EoSDH products that enable telecom service providers in building robust and cost-effective networks.

In Ethernet access, products like iRIS (Managed CWDM products), MOGRA (Ethernet aggregator with features like Multi-cast and OAM) support the Ethernet service providers to roll out cost-effective and absolute rate controllable Ethernet last mile networks.

MRO-TEK’s manufacturing facility is located in Electronics City, Bangalore. The facility produces access networking products meeting stringent industry standards. The ISO-9001:2008 certified facility has an annual capacity of over 150,000 units.

The focus has been on the R& D side primarily as it’s aptly aligned with the company’s growth strategy. What the company wants to do through its R&D is produce cost-effective, reliable and innovative access products customized to meet specific user needs. In recent times, MRO-TEK’s R&D Center has scored important successes with innovative products and solutions developed for Managed Ethernet and TDM Network Access. Currently its R&D efforts are focused on Bandwidth Management / Traffic Engineering, first-mile Ethernet and long-reach Ethernet broadband technologies.

S. Narayanan Chairman and MD and M. Madhava, VP-Technology at a MRO-TEK product launch

Products undergo rigorous testing before they are shipped out

The newer technology innovations are happening in the company’s R&D lab with products for 3G and LTE backhaul. These products are used between NodeB and RNC E1 and Ethernet radios with unique interference mitigation features.

Some of these products are slated to go to market by the end of this year.

The thrust on providing thorough support has also been a driving factor behind the company’s growth.

S. Narayanan, Chairman and Managing Director, MRO-TEK, said, “Proper understanding of customer requirements and offering unique, price-effective solutions which address concern areas along with country-wide, on-field 24x7x365 support have helped us stay ahead of the competition.”

Proper analysis of customer feedback and engaging with the customer at all degrees are other considerations.

Narayanan added, “Customer feedback is regularly taken and the feedback points usually appear as new features in existing products or, sometimes, as brand new products. Engaging with the customer at all levels and regular customer training are also vital for our growth.”

On the competition front, MRO-TEK, being an indigenous player, claims to be different when it comes to its core strategies.

The company understands the requirements and the concern areas of the Indian customer better due to its long standing relationship with its customers. With innovative products developed through R&D, state-of-the-art manufacturing and marketing combined with a trained support team, MRO-TEK is gearing up to consolidate its position in last mile technologies.

Narayanan said, “We are proud to build products at our R&D center which have been recognized by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. We have invested approx 7.5-10% of our revenue in R&D and we have close to 70 people working in this department. Our state-of-the-art manufacturing unit ensures the quality of the products that we deliver. Every product we create for last mile access has been built with management capabilities. We are quick to adapt to new technologies. Apart from the above, our deliverables and support (pre- and post-sales) makes us unique compared to the competition.”

Last year, MRO-TEK parted ways with Israeli networking vendor, RAD. MRO-TEK had a partnership with RAD that lasted for 18 years. RAD and MRO-TEK even had a joint manufacturing set-up. Nevertheless, it still continues to support the customers of the erstwhile joint venture.

MRO-TEK continues to distribute Brocade’s Layer 3 switches as a product line that complements its own portfolio.

The slowdown has hit MRO-TEK to some extent. Johnson J., Vice President (Marketing, said, “As no industry was immune to the downturn, it affected us as well. However, we are back on the growth track.”

Johnson continued, “The telecom sector isn’t doing as well as it used to due to lowering tariffs and tariff wars. This would affect us as most of the telecom service providers are our clients.”