Carrier Grand Opening

Arun Bhatia, managing director, CCS India
Farokh Madan, director, marketing and strategy, CCS India 

Q. Carrier was already selling its products in Sri Lanka. Why did you decide to set up an entity and office in Sri Lanka?

A. Carrier is a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions. Leveraging Carrier’s global expertise and extensive portfolio, this newly formed entity will increase the accessibility of Carrier staff and services and the availability of our end to end air-conditioning solutions in Sri Lanka. Being locally present will enable us to offer shorter lead times and better customer service.

Q. What can the customers in Sri Lanka expect with this new setup?

A. Carrier has been focused on Sri Lanka for some time. We are now investing locally by launching full-fledged operations to serve our customer in Sri Lanka. Carrier’s philosophy over the years has been to offer the right HVAC solutions for the right applications, which ensures that our customers benefit over the complete life cycle of our products.

Q. What is going to be the strength of the office in Sri Lanka?

A. We will be launching top-of-the-line, superior quality products from two brands, Carrier and Toshiba, which operates through a joint venture. All products will be fit for local use in Sri Lanka, while we bring our global expertise in offering high energy efficiency and advanced technological features for modern buildings.

How are you going to provide services to existing and new customers?

A. Customer care is one of the core values of Carrier and will remain a focus in Sri Lanka as well. With the opening of a new branch, we will provide local customers with best-in-class products, installation and after sales services. In particular, we will bring the latest technologies in connected services, where HVAC equipment is connected to command centre. In addition, with the use of data analytics, we will offer enhanced services, including prognostics, to deliver higher up time and energy optimization.

Q. What is the Carrier and Toshiba brand association about?

A. Carrier and Toshiba operate through Toshiba-Carrier Corporation (TCC), a joint venture established in 1999 between United Technologies and Toshiba Corporation that has since developed an extensive global footprint to offer new, innovative and customized solutions and products to customers. The alliance combines Carrier’s and Toshiba’s complementary product offerings and capabilities in technology innovation, manufacturing, quality assurance, and sales and marketing.

Q. How are the brands different?

A. In Sri Lanka, Carrier will offer air conditioning products from two brands: Carrier and Toshiba. Carrier is known as the inventor of modern air conditioning and will bring world-class products to Sri Lanka. Toshiba, the inventor of inverter air-conditioning technology, will offer top-of-the-line, high-quality products with Japanese technology. The product and service offerings from both brands are differentiated based on the customer segments and their needs.

Q. What products will Carrier and Toshiba offer in Sri Lanka?

A. Carrier will offer a complete range of air conditioning solutions from residential to light commercial and commercial products and services. The offerings will cater to all customer segments and applications including commercial buildings, hotels, hospitals, residential projects, small offices, banks and retail shops.

Q. What will be your marketing strategy in Sri Lanka including investments on promotion of both the brands?

A. Carrier is a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions and has a legacy of more than 115 years. Toshiba has a long history with air conditioning and pioneering innovative technologies. As global brands, we shall continue to invest in both the products as well as brand promotion in Sri Lanka to ensure we provide right solutions to our customers.

Q. From where will the products be sourced?

A. Carrier has world-class manufacturing facilities around the world. For our Sri Lankan customers, products will be sourced from our excellent factories in India and China. Toshiba has factories in Thailand and Japan. The customer requirements shall be fulfilled through these factories, depending on the type and mix of products being ordered.

Q. What are your future plans for Sri Lanka? Do you plan to establish a factory in the near future?

A. Sri Lanka is certainly a focus for Carrier and that’s one of the reasons we have established a dedicated office here. We are very optimistic about our new entity and believe, our customers will appreciate the benefits our local presence has to offer. At this point, we have existing world-class factories which shall fulfill Sri Lanka requirements.

Q. How do you differentiate yourself from brands which are already selling and providing services in Sri Lanka?

A. We are proud to state that with both Carrier and Toshiba, we have an extensive range of product solutions and services to offer. From residential products including hi-walls, to light commercial products, including cassettes, ducted and variable refrigerant flow (VRF), to commercial applied products, including chillers and airside, we have all the product ranges covered. Apart from that, customer care will remain a focus for us. We will strive to provide to local customers best-in-class installation and after sales services. In particular, we will bring the latest technologies on connected services, where the HVAC equipment is connected to command centre. In addition, with the use of data analytics, we will offer enhanced services, including prognostics, to deliver higher up time and energy optimization.

Q. Do you have any channel network in Sri Lanka?

A. Yes, we already have a good network of channel partners in Sri Lanka who are helping us to build our presence in Sri Lanka by selling, installing and servicing both Carrier and Toshiba air conditioning products.

Q. What are the trends which you see in the air conditioning industry in Sri Lanka?

A. The HVAC segment in Sri Lanka is growing at a fast pace primarily owing to the rise in commercial construction activity. This segment is driven by products like ducted, cassette, VRF, chillers and air handling units (AHUs). The popularity is due to product durability and a shift in the industry toward more sustainable solutions. Apart from this B2B segment, Sri Lanka is also seeing rapid residential growth. Customers are emphasizing energy efficiency to lower costs.

Q. What are USP’s of your product offerings?

A. The air conditioning industry plays a significant role in energy conservation, given that buildings consume 40% of the world’s energy and, within a building, the HVAC system contributes approximately 40% to the total energy consumed.

At Carrier, sustainability is one of our top strategic priorities. We focus on two aspects – developing innovative and energy-efficient HVAC solutions to reduce energy consumption for customers, and making products that utilize lower GWP refrigerants. Our range of air conditioners under the Carrier and Toshiba brands address both these.

Q. How many expatriate employees will you have?

A. Our country manager for Sri Lanka, Aditya Bhardwaj, is from India and we intend to build our team locally.

Q. To date, what has been the market share been in Sri Lanka – both for Carrier as well as Toshiba?

A. Carrier has been growing consistently over the past few years in Sri Lanka while mainly focusing on the chiller segment. With our local office opening and channel network established, we hope to expand into other segments of air-conditioning, namely room air-conditioners, light commercial and VRF. We will continue to invest to further build the trust of our customers in Sri Lanka over the coming years.

Q. What is the market share regionally as well as globally – both for Carrier as well as Toshiba?

A. Carrier is a world leader in high-technology heating, air-conditioning and refrigeration solutions.

Q. Will Carrier and Toshiba introduce any new products for Sri Lanka?

A. The company will offer a complete range of air conditioning solutions from residential to light commercial and commercial products and services. We will introduce some of the latest products, which have recently been launched in the Asia region. These world-class products will be sourced from factories including in India, China, Thailand and Japan, and will fulfill Sri Lankan customer requirements.

Q. What is the starting price for Carrier and Toshiba air conditioners?

A. Our range of products from both Carrier and Toshiba complement each other and cater to diverse customer requirements. Toshiba air conditioners, including hi-walls, cassettes and VRF, are primarily based on inverter technology and are positioned in the premium segment. Carrier has a complete range of air conditioning solutions from cassette, ducted, VRF, chillers and airside, and the pricing depends on the overall customer requirement and solution being sought. Both brands will be competitively priced for their respective tiers.