Rapidly developing countries in the South-West Asia are prepared to invest in high tech and can become a springboard for Lithuanian entrepreneurs to start innovative businesses. Energy Advice Company owned by Vytautas and Gintarė Šiožiniai and established in Kaunas Science and Technology Park launched the export of electrical engineering technology software abroad and founded a company in India. Following the incorporation process, which took a year, enterpreneurs appreciate the recognition they have achieved.
Demand is defined by growing economy
Energy Advice India Pvt Ltd, which was founded a month ago, will distribute software, provide training services and render power system modelling and grid fault analysis services. According to the entrepreneurs, India’s power distribution and transmission grids are much larger and much more complex that in Lithuania; therefore, contractor companies are aware of the fact that they can be a few times quicker and achieve better quality if they use software than the companies which make manual calculations or use DYI software.
According to Dr Vytautas Šiožinys, “We have chosen India’s market for its potential as the country is amongst the most rapidly developing countries worldwide. The growth of economy leads to the increase of power demand. The state gives considerable funding and promotes investment into the sector of renewable power sources. Indian companies are in the position to invest in the training of their engineers”, – notes Vytautas.
Developed engineering software
The EA-PSM software is intended for power grid engineers willing to make high-quality calculations, simulate potential situations on the power grid and choose the optimal software for the customer. EA-PSM meets the international electrotechnical IEEE, IEC and GOST standards; hence, the software may be used by engineers in a multitude of countries.
“When making calculations using the software, designers can increase work efficiency by up to 40 per cent quickly within a click of a few buttons. The customer saves software installation and running costs, whereas software operational efficiency and reliability increase”, – Dr V. Šiožinys lists the advantages of the software.
Seek to double the revenue
The biggest challenge the company faces is the legal registration of the company and drafting documents because any procedures in connection with state authorities could take very long. Owing to intricate customs system and high taxes, the locals are more prone to buy products and services from local companies than to import from abroad. Cultural differences also have some effect.
“First of all, Indians are inclined to listen and understand, they avoid conflicts, and this in particular sometimes makes the communication difficult because you never know what your companion is thinking about. On the other hand, they share many characteristics with European businessmen, i.e. they are focused on a long-term perspective as opposed to short-term gain, whereas trust, references and personal contact are important to them. Without any local partners it would be extremely hard to launch business in India”, – says Dr. V. Šiožinys who works with one of the partners Mr Vikas Jaywant, former Vice President of Shneider Electric India.
The manager has noticed that the company’s branch in India currently has 4 employees. Additional investment will be requirement for the development of the company in the future because the key goal of Energy Advice India Pvt Ltd this year is to create a network of qualified engineering companies in India which will help carry out sales via it. The businessmen expect that the development in the first year will help double the revenue of the Lithuanian company.
Recognition by major companies in Lithuania
Energy Advice is developing software since 2013. The company also performs audits of power consumption by industrial plant and technological processes as well as provides advice and training services to engineers across Lithuania. The company managers note the focus on high-quality services and products helped gain recognition amongst major industrial market players in Lithuania.
The clients of Energy Advice are AB “ORLEN Lietuva”, AB "Achema", AB "Lifosa", UAB "Fazer Lietuva", UAB "Vilniaus energija", AB "Kauno energija", UAB "Fortum Klaipėda", AB "Energijos skirstymo operatorius", UAB "FIMA", AB "Dolomitas", UAB "Mars Lietuva", "Eprosys Engineering Consultants India" Pvt Ltd, "Azerishig" JSC and others.