Insight

With a focus on quality, reliability, and customer satisfaction, KOVA Fasteners has carved a niche for itself as an Indian fastener manufacturer – achieving significant milestones and garnering recognition for its achievements.

Located in Ludhiana, Punjab, and operating from a 70,000 square foot (6,500m²) facility, KOVA offers a wide range of products, including hex head bolts, socket head cap screws, agricultural fasteners, structural bolting, hardened washers, load indicator washers, wedge anchors, nuts and washers – supported by fast delivery and a global presence. 

The company is able to provide this vast portfolio as its production facility includes an in-house cold forming section and thread rolling machines, as well as processes including heat treatment, coatings, plating, final inspection, as well as packing and logistics. “As a business we have always invested in buying the best technology to make high-quality fasteners,” states Rishi Gupta, managing director at KOVA Fasteners Pvt Ltd. “Thanks to this policy we have state of the art boltmakers and nut formers within our machinery portfolio, which have been imported from the best brands around the world. The same goes for heat treatment lines and also plating lines.”

KOVA has also recently bought land for a new facility, which it says will be 10 times bigger than the current facility. “The new plant will be a second unit and will help us service customer requirements faster and at more competitive prices,” points out Rishi. “We are already planning to start construction of ‘Plant 2’ and by early 2025 it will be fully operational.”

In addition to the new plant, KOVA will also continue to invest in more high-speed lines to improve product quality and also cost efficiency. “Quality is a very important factor in fasteners and being an industry leader means we always have to maintain all the checks and balances required to ensure that all fasteners made at KOVA pass the necessary customer testing, especially in product applications,” mentions Rishi.

Investing in people

The true strength of KOVA lies in its highly skilled and dedicated workforce, which constantly strives for excellence. “The most unique reason for our success and our products is not only the machines, but the people who are running those machines,” asserts Rishi. “Each and every employee who works at KOVA is trained again and again to deliver the best product quality at each and every stage of manufacturing.”

Rishi adds: “Since the beginning of production at KOVA, most of the employees who joined the company from the start are still working with us. They have pledged to dedicate their lives to KOVA and make it a world-renowned brand. Each and every day they come to the factory with great motivation, positivity, faith and dedication to work for a better future for KOVA and all its team members.”

In addition to its employees, KOVA is also committed to forming strong relations with its customers, suppliers and even competitors. “At every stage, we try to improve our commitment to all stakeholders at KOVA. We try to become better than yesterday and I hope in this way we will keep on improving ourselves to deliver the best product and the best company to our employees and also to our customers,” states Rishi. 

Global reach

KOVA is predominantly involved in the export of standard fasteners all over Europe and the USA – with customers in more than 40 countries worldwide. “This accounts for around 75% of our business share; the rest goes to Indian customers in the farm sector and industrial hardware segment,” mentions Rishi. “As a company we have a strategy in place that targets almost equal share of turnover in each of these big markets. Each market is growing very rapidly and we believe there is an opportunity for us as a business – due to geopolitical reasons creating a shift towards India for global companies who buy large volume of fasteners. I believe that in the next five to ten years there is a real opportunity for Indian fastener manufacturers to become truly global players within the fastener industry and that India can take the lead as Asia’s ‘go to’ destination for fastener manufacturing capabilities.”

Pioneering future

As the automotive industry undergoes a shift towards Electric Vehicles (EVs), KOVA also recognises the potential business opportunities in this emerging market. While acknowledging that the complete transition to EVs may take the next seven to ten years, at least, Rishi believes there is strong potential within the EV market. “It’s too early to say if the EV sector is causing any disruption in the traditional technology at the moment. However, in the long run, surely EV will pick up. At the moment, the EV industry still has to standardise the products and do a lot of engineering, particularly in the field of fasteners.” 

Rishi continues: “Most of the two-wheeler EVs are a complete kit that is imported from China, with all the fasteners too. I believe it is going to change very soon as those fasteners are not standardised and might cause a lot of challenges in the field trials and post failures. I feel there will be a lot of design improvements in fasteners for EVs, especially in the two-wheeler segment.”

Other key topics KOVA will continue to focus on include the company’s commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement – reflecting its determination to remain relevant in a rapidly changing industry. “Fasteners are a product that will be in high demand in the coming years and more and more engineering activities around the world are now taking place in India. This makes the fastener business more sustainable and opportunities for growth are surely there for top fastener brands like KOVA,” emphasises Rishi. “Our aim is to continue at the forefront of the industry, driven by our commitment to quality, customer satisfaction and continual innovation. We envision sustained growth and broader horizons and aim to reach a turnover of US$50 million (€46.3 million) within the next three to four years, indicating an ambitious goal of more than doubling the current turnover of US$15 million for the financial year 2023. We shall not rest on our laurels, but instead will continue to lead the way and aim to shape the future of the industry.”