Stabilizer Brand V-Guard Now Has a Smart Fan in its Product Lineup

The Kerala born company boasts a network of over 500 distributors, 3,000 direct dealers, more than 20,000 retailers and service centres spread across 29 states

The small suburb of Vennala in Kochi Kerala, saw some rare activity in the early months of 1967. A ‘son of the soil’, Kochouseph Chittilappilly, decided to cash in on a then chronic nuisance in the state, poor voltage on the electric grid which caused frequent burnouts of appliances like refrigerators.

What Kerala needed was sturdy voltage stabilizers, he decided and started manufacturing the V-Guard brand literally in his backyard. With two helpers and a capital of Rs one lakh, Chittilappilly was certain about what he was doing. With the coming of TVs in market, V-Guard extended its range of stabilizers, while addressing frequent power cuts in the 1980s with domestic inverters.

The company quickly established a reputation for quality, even as it branched into pumps, water heaters, switch boards, rice cookers, gas stoves and solar back ups. Now in its fourth decade, the Kerala-based company, re-brands and embraces IoT in new all-India thrust.

Life begins at 40

As V-guard entered its fourth decade, stewarded by Kochouseph’s son and MD, Mithun Chittilappilly, felt the need for a fresh direction and new innovation. That, the company felt, lay in Internet of Things (IoT) and the new thrust on smart devices. Boring but useful appliances like ceiling fans and water heaters could be given a new lease of life with smart control and mobile apps .

The Kerala born company boasts a network of over 500 distributors, 3,000 direct dealers, more than 20,000 retailers and service centres spread across 29 states

New-age appliances

So came a new range of V-Guard products starting in 2018

The smart water heater named Verano, a first-of-its-kind product that can be switched off or on using a mobile phone, from anywhere. It is also equipped with an intelligent scheduler while the temperature alert sends notification to your connected smartphone on reaching the set temperature. It sends energy consumption notifications to the customer apart from alerting the customer if the water heater is running dry and cuts off power supply immediately.

Imagina, a smart fan with LED lamps in multiple combinations and equipped with a unique breeze mode that transforms your living room to a seashore like experience.

Kangaroo concept

Simultaneously Mithun steered V-Guard into a new branding identity. The company chose a kangaroo as its logo and mascot, symbolizing a leap into a new connected era. And its advertising sweep targeted upmarket areas like airports.

Mithun Chittilappilly explained, “They say life begins at 40 and at V-Guard it certainly does. And to live that, we have decided to re-invent ourselves completely. We are not just thinking up the next innovation. We are constantly seeking to understand human life and its relationship with tools and appliances. And then to evolve a seamless experience with thoughtfully engineered products in our quest to enriching consumer lives. “

He added, “We took a conscious call to go beyond not just being a trustworthy, reliable, honest brand but to also evolve into a thoughtful, inspiring and dynamic trendsetter.”

This story is submitted by Anand Parthasarathy. His rich experience, reporting ACE (Appliances and Consumer Electronics) stories encompasses working 15 years with The Hindu as its IT Consulting Editor. He is a qualified instrumentation systems engineer who has worked for 20 years as a scientist on numerous defence R&D projects, and as a project manager for surface-to-air missiles at DRDO.