The Nisiki story with Vittal Belandor, Managing Director of Nisiki Technologies

‍Interviewer: My first question — can you give us a brief introduction to Nisiki Technologies and its journey? I understand it began around 1997.

Mr. Vittal Belandor: In 1997, the situation was entirely different. At that time, mobile phones had just come into the market, and email was the only modern means of communication. There was no WhatsApp or similar messaging services. Communication—especially with other countries—was very difficult. That challenge became an opportunity for us.

I was around 36 years old then. Communication between India and China was nearly impossible, as China was still a closed country. But they were very good at manufacturing. In India, there was a demand for components, and I realized the importance of global trade.

If you look at world history, those who traveled—like Columbus—brought fortune to their countries. In 1997, the same applied: those who traveled more succeeded in trading. I couldn't travel to China directly, so I traveled to Singapore, which acted as a gateway to China. I would go to Singapore, share my requirements for bearings and other components, and they would forward those to their contacts in China. After some back-and-forth via fax, the products would be sourced. We made good profits that way—sometimes 100% to 200% margins.

‍

Interviewer: What are the main products and solutions offered by Nisiki Tech today?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: Today, we consider ourselves a solution engineering company. This means we don’t just sell products—we provide application engineering support. We help customers understand how to use our products effectively to get maximum value.

We have a team of sales engineers. But being a sales engineer isn’t just about talking or giving presentations. It’s about sincerity, commitment, and technical knowledge. If a customer is buying something for ₹25 and we offer it for ₹24 or ₹15, that doesn’t guarantee a sale. You need to convince the customer to change their buying behavior.

Many people think sales is just about speaking well, but it's really about follow-through, building rapport, and problem-solving. You need to keep customers happy, and that can vary—some customers want timely delivery, some want technical support, and others want cost benefits. The one who understands and addresses this is a good salesperson.

When something goes wrong, it's our responsibility to work with the customer to find the root cause and fix it together. That’s what “solution” means to us: a good product, good application engineering, and strong customer support.

‍

Interviewer: Who are your customers, and what industries do they serve?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: We mainly serve the motor industry. Since I come from a bearings background, I have spent over a decade in bearings technology and application engineering. I also trained in Holland at SKF's College ofEngineering.

So we started with bearings and then moved to commutators—components in electric motors. Basically, we are in the REMC space: Rotating Electrical Machines Components.

‍

Interviewer: What makes Nisiki products stand out in the market?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: It’s always about quality and support.

Quality is subjective. For example, a Japanese manufacturer will say, “This product costs ₹25, I can’t make it for ₹12 without compromising quality.” But a Chinese supplier may say, “I’ll give you a ₹50 product for ₹25,” and deliver something cheaper.

Customers sometimes don’t want top-quality—they want what works for their budget. Later, when the cheaper products fail, they come back and ask for better solutions.

Over time, the market has evolved to demand lower prices year after year—2%,5%, now maybe 3% reduction annually. So we focus on value engineering—how we can offer the best performance at the best price.

Interviewer: How does Nisiki ensure quality and reliability across its product range?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: For us, quality is not optional—it’s a habit. We don’t sell bad products. Our products meet the required standards for each application.

Of course, we don’t have zero rejections—sometimes there are production issues—but we attend to those immediately. We’ve established quality levels and we stick to them. It’s part of our DNA.

There’s no scenario where we say, “This product is ₹25, but here’s another for ₹15—take your pick.” No—we deliver what the application demands, and we standby that.

‍

Interviewer: Can you share with us any significant milestones or proud moments in your company's history?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: Reaching this stage has not happened overnight—it’s like climbing a ladder with 20 or 25 steps. One thing we take pride in is that since inception, the company has consistently grown every year—by 15%, 18%, or 12%, except during the COVID-19 pandemic. We started in 1997 with zero sales and reached ₹106 crores, all built organically, without external funding. Even banks provide loans based on assets, and we built those assets from our own earnings—factories, machines, inventory, reserves, everything.

We've followed four core values in our company:
1. Loyalty to the government – always complying with regulations.
2. Loyalty to our customers – we never force them to accept subpar quality.
3. Loyalty to our suppliers – our consistent payments earned us an A+ Sinosureranking in China.
4. Loyalty to our employees – we take care of our team like family.

Our Milestones include:

1. 2004: We signed a joint venture with a Japanese trading company (NYL), a major milestone. The venture helped us build a factory in another state.However, around 2009, the economy declined, and we faced severe financial trouble. The venture failed, but we learned valuable lessons.
2. Electric Scooter Venture: This was a personal passion project. I spent fouryears on research and development. We got our certifications during COVID andlaunched the product with the support of the Chief Minister. However, theproject faced many challenges—incidents of EVs catching fires ( not our EVs),new regulations, expensive advertising, and being new to B2C operations. We even hired the actress from "Kaantaara" as our brand ambassador. Eventually, I had to accept that the losses were too much and pivoted back to our core strengths.
3. Return to Core Product – Commutators: Post-electric scooter venture, I decided to refocus on commutators. The world is looking at India as ana lternative to China for this product. Today, we are developing seven new types of commutators, and we are receiving increasing inquiries, even for export.Only China and India make this product at scale.

‍

Interviewer: What are the company’s plans for future growth or expansion?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: Our expansion plans include:

1. Manufacturing motors ourselves.
2. Becoming globally competitive in commutator manufacturing.
3. Exploring specialty commutators like carbon commutators.
4. Reconsidering my old dream of starting a bearing manufacturing plant.

‍

Interviewer: Why did you choose commutators as your core product?

Mr. Vittal Belandor: Actually, I didn’t choose commutators—it was a path that found me. I’m originally from the bearing industry. After my B.Tech, I worked at SKFBearings. I loved bearings—they were my life. Then, while selling bearings to Suzuki Motors, I met a gentleman named Mr. Gopalakrishna (K.G. Bhat), who was from my same college. He suggested I enter the commutator business and personally taught me everything about it—from 2000 until he passed away in 2016. We traveled together, including to China, and he mentored me deeply, both in business and in life.

Today, only two companies in India manufacture commutators at scale—and ours is one of them. Others may do it in small numbers, but not with the technology and machinery we use.