The Journal interviewed Guilherme Almeida, Marketing and Strategic Planning Director, Embraco on the sidelines of ACREX 2019 in Mumbai. Here are some excerpts.

Journal: What is the core competence of Embraco?
Guilherme Almeida: Embraco is a global refrigeration company which, throughout its 48-year journey, has invested in developing innovative solutions with the aim of providing a better quality of life. The company is recognized for delivering products and services that diff erentiate themselves for innovation, energy efficiency, quality and high performance. The patent activities at Embraco started in 1982, and currently it is among the private companies with the largest number of patents in force in Brazil and the United States, with 1,200 patents granted globally. The company established its Research and Development a year later, in 1983, and currently invests 3% to 4%
of its net revenues in R&D.
With a production capacity of 37 million compressors per year, the company directly employs approximately 10 thousand people, has 11 business units (among factories, sales offices and a global business shared services) located in Brazil, China, Italy, Mexico, Slovakia, USA and Russia, and is present commercially in more than 80 countries.

J: Could you elaborate what you are off ering to the Indian market? And at ACREX, are you displaying any new product?
GA: In India, we have been offering solutions that are differentiated by natural refrigerant usage, low energy consumption and wide voltage range (stabilizer free), for household and commercial segments. Embraco has been positioning itself as a global specialist in the segments it addresses, while presenting its new business approach – shifting from product- to solutionoriented.
At ACREX, we are showcasing an extended portfolio for households, merchandisers, food service and food retail markets. Based on the worldwide need to reduce energy consumption, Embraco has developed variable speed solutions with what we call Fullmotion technology, which has revolutionized the refrigeration industry with greater energy savings. For household refrigerators, we have showcased FMX compressors co-branded with Whirlpool, which have a longer life span (with 25-year lifetime) approved by VDE Institute; it is a bugless solution, a very relevant feature in India.

Supermarkets and convenience stores are looking for higher energy efficiency and they need large capacities, so Embraco is off ering solutions such as the most recent launch – FMFD, from FMF line-up – that has the potential to reduce energy consumption by up to 30 percent compared to traditional solutions and is ideal for light commercial applications. Being bivolt serves different regions in the world, even in situations of electric grid instability. For merchandisers, Embraco off ers solutions that deliver reliability to showcase and sell their products. FFU is a robust solution ready for wide voltage fluctuations.
Food service equipment needs temperature stability, so Embraco has introduced its new 2HP+ solution NJX, with a compact design and low energy consumption, robustness and high reliability while being suitable for a full range of applications.

J: What are the main strategies and drivers for Embraco?
GA: Customer experience will drive the industry towards differentiation, and this opens new opportunities in refrigeration. Because of this, Embraco is more focused on providing a complete platform that combines services and solutions of high quality and performance.
Embraco’s strategy for the future is based on energy efficiency, natural refrigerants, low noise, sustainability, competitiveness and quality in food preservation.

J: How has Embraco increased its market in India?
GA: Embraco was able to reinforce its positioning as a preferred cooling solutions provider, growing its relevance in this selective market. We have been focused on new hydrocarbon solutions, in order to keep a strong presence in the market and to continuously evolve, as the demand for sustainable, easy and serviceable solutions increases. We have also been increasing our efforts, mainly in the household and commercial segments, in order to align our portfolio to Indian customers’ needs. As a result, we have been achieving high growth, addressing local needs and developing new customers.
Nowadays, one of every five hermetic compressors sold in the world carries the Embraco brand. We understand that we can boost our presence with our efforts in India, since it has a huge refrigeration market potential, growing at 13% annually. To achieve our goals and win over the market, we have reinforced our business through a local technical support and sales team, partnerships with local laboratories and training to customers about our innovations.