Mallcom, The Outperforming PPE Brand

Mr Ajay Kumar Mall, Founder and Managing Director, Mallcom, with his vast experience in the field of PPE industry, has piloted the company to soaring heights. Mr. Mall’s creative and inventive mind have projected the company on the global map. During the COVID crisis in the country, Mallcom has played a stellar role in protecting the frontline warriors by supplying scarce equipment like PPEs, masks etc. In a freewheeling interview with Outlook, Ajay Mall shares his views, vision and perspective.

How has the personal protective equipment industry grown in the past decades, and what has been Mallcom’s performance?

The personal protective equipment (PPE) industry has grown at a higher rate in the last decade. COVID-19 induced demand positioned PPE industry in focus due to high quality certified PPEs. While North America and Europe still account for 2/3rd of the market, Asia is turning to become the world’s leading producer.

Over the past four decades, Mallcom has established a significant value and network in the ecosystem. Mallcom delivered its best results in FY 2021-22, due to the quality products and their acceptance across the globe. With a workforce of over 2,500 across 12 units in India, Mallcom is the largest integrated PPE provider in India.

What are the challenges that Mallcom overcame to reach its current position in the industry?

One of the biggest challenges was the promotion of certified products and their acceptance against stiff competition against low priced products. Secondly, the establishment of a strong dealer network across the Indian sub-continent ensuring effective last-mile connectivity with the consumers was a tough challenge. Present-day challenges are against cheap imports, fake products and promoting consumer education and awareness towards certified PPE products.

The biggest challenge was during the pandemic that compelled us to reinvent new ways of business communication amongst employees either through video conferencing or audio calls. We also had to cancel marketing trade shows, events and expositions and had to conduct virtual events using social networking sites for product launches and promotions.

What has been the biggest contribution of your company to the personal protective equipment industry in India and globally during the COVID-19 pandemic?

It is comforting to us that production for PPEs and face masks for the medical caregivers were of utmost importance and we could help in those hours of need. We are now geared up to meet the shortages of medical PPE around the world. Being the leader in industrial personal protective equipment (PPE) space we adapted to the needs of the pandemic period when the desperate time came.

Our brave employees – about 100 of them – fought the deadly virus to deliver essential products like PPE and masks to the frontline warriors during the lockdown. With additional investments, we have quadrupled our face mask production, avoiding the crisis for essential items for our frontline warriors of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), West Bengal.

Describe the journey of Mallcom under your guidance.

Starting a business in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in 1983 in India was a borderline crazy idea. It was nearly impossible for foreign importers to believe that India has moved from a simple agrarian economy to a manufacturing economy that too producing goods for the safety of international workers. However, our strategy was clear and concise – we are in it for the long term.

Mallcom has always been bullish on Bharat and hence have set up 12 fully integrated manufacturing facilities along with in-house laboratories with equipment meeting all international standards.

Have events and efforts like Safety Week improved the adoption of personal protective equipment use? What more needs to be done?

The cost of workplace injuries, illnesses and deaths are greater than the cost of workers’ compensation insurance. Safety Week Events has helped us in decreasing work injuries and illnesses. Safety training has lowered the injury/illness costs. In India, the government and people need to start valuing workers life’s more and therefore introduce stricter regulations towards uncertified products.

Was the availability of personal protective equipment an issue during the pandemic? How has Mallcom ensured that the equipment is delivered on time?

Initially, frontline professionals experienced both supply shortages and a lack of knowledge about the products. Mallcom not only increased the supplies but also launched a COVID-19 preparedness manual for awareness.

With an investment of over INR 3.5 crores, Mallcom ensured that it imported best in class machinery to ramp up production within 90 days. Mallcom was one of the few certified mask manufacturers to not jack its prices during pandemic on moral grounds.

We have also extended our helping hands by taking initiatives like: