A.T.E. - Aiming high on green technology For more information log on to www.ategroup.com

1. Mr. Anuj Bhagwati, Managing Director,
A.T.E. Enterprises Pvt. Ltd
A.T.E. has built competence in diverse industries over
the years. Our business model too is diverse – we cover
sales and service for many world class companies as
a representative, as well as develop and manufacture
products with our own cutting-edge technology.
A.T.E. - Aiming high on green technology
Q. A.T.E. is now in its 75th year. This is a major
milestone for any company. Can you please tell us
about A.T.E. in brief?
Yes, 75 years is a major milestone! It motivates us to
aim higher – but be responsible so we make it through
the next 75 years!
A.T.E. has built competence in diverse industries
over the years. Our business model too is diverse
– we cover sales and service for many world class
companies as a representative, as well as develop and
manufacture products with our own cutting-edge
technology.
A.T.E. started its business in 1939 as a trading
company in textile engineering and has acquired a
leadership position in this field over the years. We
have also diversified into the areas of flow products
and print and packaging products in the 80s and have
established a sound base in these sectors.
In 2007 we took a plunge into the field of clean
technology, and have built up a range of solutions in
the areas of air, water and energy – the three critical
components of sustainability.
Q. It’s interesting that A.T.E. has entered into
clean tech space and is aiming to be a leading
player. What has been the motivation for A.T.E.
to enter clean technology and how do you foresee
this business evolving?
There are many factors that led to our entry into
cleantech. First, the shareholders of A.T.E. have always
beensociallydriven.Wethinkitisagoodideatoachieve
societal goals through business. Secondly, A.T.E. has
also always been environmentally conscious. Even
in the 1970s we built effluent treatment plants for
our own facilities without regulatory needs. Thirdly,
I have always been passionate about sustainability
and wanted to get involved in socially useful business,
particularly as I am deeply concerned that India is
vulnerable to the effects of climate change. Fourthly,
we also saw a business opportunity in cleantech that
would also mesh well with our existing businesses.
We searched among many options and came up
with a lot of exciting opportunities. One was the idea
of effluent treatment plants for our existing customers.
Second, we realized that for machine manufacturers
with a large installed base, remote monitoring could
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2. develop our own products and processes. Today, we have
our own IP including several patents.
For example, at the heart of our comfort air
conditioning products is our patented dry air moist air
(DAMA) heat exchanger technology, which is now well
proven with over 19 million CFM installations covering
more than 3.7 million
sq. ft. all over India. This
works on 100% fresh
air and provides better
conditions and indoor
air quality for people
comfort, and processes.
In wastewater treat-
ment we have a knowl-
edge base of over 200
successful installations
in India and abroad.
We have developed the
highly successful “AAA”
process that enhances
biological treatment efficiency
and minimizes sludge generation,
as well as the AVR (Anaerobic Ven-
turi Reactor) based biomethana-
tion plants and can handle difficult
to treat effluents. We also partner
with Huber of Germany for special
wastewater treatment projects.
Our M2M framework allows us to
deploy customized solutions to
increase the OEE (Overall Equip-
ment Efficiency) of boilers, chill-
ers, compressors, power plants,
sugar mills, water and wastewater
treatment plants, printing presses,
etc.
be a fantastic route to energy and
performance optimization. Third, we
thought that if we could offer comfort
air conditioning at an affordable
lifecycle cost, we could bring comfort to
millions of people working in factories
and offices, which will also boost
productivity – but without the heavy
power use of air conditioners. Fourth,
we have developed in-house static
control, air cleaning, ink handling and
heat exchange products that enhance
the efficiency of a variety of processes.
Finally, we’ve been exploring solar
thermal technologies, in which we
are piloting our products. In each case we have seen we
can build cases for green solutions that also can help the
bottom line!
Our cleantech business is growing quickly. More
and more people are willing to invest in technologies
that are environment friendly.
Government is also playing
an important role by stricter
enforcement of environmental
laws.
Q. How A.T.E. is different from
a host of other players oper-
ating in various segments un-
der clean technology?
At A.T.E. our endeavor has been
toprovideoriginaltechnologies.
We have set-up our own RD to
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