Speed masters
Altruism rarely inspires big buck investments from venture capitalists. But Tribi Embedded Technologies, a Bangalore-based digital power electronics company, started by two former Infosys engineers and an ex-Siemens engineer, is among the exceptions. With engineering degrees and over 17 years of work experience, Prashanth Alva, Jitendra Veer Singh, Sundar Doraiswamy and Shrikant Pandit ventured to make energy efficient motors in 2002. They were prompted by a keen business sense, not eco-consciousness. They figured that intelligent, economical technologies to reduce energy usage and the costs from motors, while maintaining performances, would have a big market in a country like India where 35 per cent of power is used by water pumps and where energy efficient air-conditioning and refrigeration needs were growing.
After four years of research, Tribi’s first fully developed product, a family of speed drives that intelligently vary the speed of motor pumps by gauging the height to be pumped to and the discharge required, has been patented and is set to be launched along with Crompton Greaves pump sets. Field trials have shown the variable speed drives will save up to 30 per cent energy for pump users, says the company’s vice-president Alva. Tribi is looking to sell 15,000 intelligent pump drives by the end of this year, another 130,000 next year and 500,000 by 2011. In terms of revenue, the company is looking at Rs 5 crore by the end of the next financial year, Rs 50 crore by the end of the 2009 financial year and Rs 230 crore by 2011.
-Johnson TA

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