Rafeek Abdullah, director, Wilmax India, talks about the company’s plans for India and the tableware trends in the country. By Steena Joy
What new product areas is Wilmax looking at internationally?
Wilmax England is based out of London and Hong Kong. We have introduced 100+ new shapes and designs last year in fine porcelain crockery. We will continue the momentum and create many new models in 2015. We will also introduce new lines of patterned crockery and designerware this year. Our ‘Julia Collection’ is one such. This year Wilmax will also be foraying into crystalline glassware and stainless steel cutlery. Crystalline wine glasses are big in size and specially shaped to enhance and open up the aroma of the wine. For champagne, we’ve created narrow flutes that retain carbonation.
We are making cutlery for the first time, and the range draws heavily from inputs by industry experts and extensive market research. The focus is on precision and usability where we conform to international standards and yet bring innovations in design.
What are the products Wilmax plans to launch in India?
The same lines we are bringing out internationally. Hopefully we will live up to the expectations of our partners and patrons who were demanding the rollout of these categories for some time.
How does porcelain compare vis-a-vis bone china?
That’s one question with many answers! The differences are in the raw materials and firing process. Bone china is made from a combination of kaolin clay and feldspar which is then mixed with bone ash to make slim shapes. It goes through two firing processes namely Biscuit and Glost where temperatures are at 1300° Celsius and 1000° Celsius respectively.
On the other hand, porcelain is made from kaolin clay and pegmatite rock. Porcelain contains no bone ash. It too goes through two firing processes where the second one is done at 1455° Celsius. Porcelain is more durable and has better impact resistance.
Wilmax England tableware is made of fine porcelain. The difference is that other than kaolin it contains metallic oxides derived from clays and stones which give the porcelain easy moldability, finesse, translucence and the ability to make it thin while retaining the impact resistance attribute.
Impact resistance and chip resistance to minor collisions and rough handling are two factors among many others that restaurateurs like in our product range.
Which of these two are Indian hotels opting for?
There are a good number of international and local brands of tableware available in the Indian hospitality market in both, bone china and porcelain. Each segment has their own customer following and they time and again swing from one to the other. Since India has a number of local manufacturers producing bone china, there’s a reasonable trend among industry buyers to look for fine porcelain while opting for international brands.
With a lot of fine dining restaurants opening in India, how do you see the demand for Wilmax’s products in the country?
It’s really happening times out there! More people are eating out, thanks to rampant urbanisation and influence of lifestyles and cuisines from the West and the Far East. And one of Wilmax England’s key USPs is our very wide product range that enables our clinets to present any recipe and cuisine from any part of the world in matching tableware.
Our research team works continuously to find out the traditional platters, plates and bowls in which a particular cuisine is presented in its country of origin and then designs crockery inspired by them. So there are lines dedicated to Japanese, French, Italian, Mexican dishes and many more. Same goes with the incredible variety of food within India from East to West and North to South. Our designers also let their imagination run wild to come up with many first-of-its-kind shapes and forms of crockery that go with contemporary settings. So the restaurant revolution suits us perfectly and we are seeing exponential demand for our products across India.
Apart from India in which other Asian countries does Wilmax have a presence?
Wilmax England is now supplying to 60 countries across the world. We have a strong presence in England, Germany and Spain in Western Europe and Russia and Ukraine in Eastern Europe. In Asia we have a good presence in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam. In 2014 we entered the markets of Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mongolia, Singapore and Malaysia.
Is Wilmax looking at setting up a manufacturing plant in India?
We have had discussions with the Wilmax London and Hong Kong teams on this topic. Nothing solid has come of it yet, but you never know what future holds. After all, ‘Make in India’ is the way forward, isn’t it?