K-Lite Industries Private Limited’s Director, Sharmila Kumbhat, played an important role in the company’s growth into a leading luminaire manufacturer. With a rich history of innovation dating back to 1977, K-LITE was founded under the leadership of Dilip Kumbhat, whose engineering expertise and passion for excellence laid the groundwork for the company’s growth. Sharmila’s personal and professional journey reflects her strong dedication to both her family’s legacy and her vision for K-LITE’s global expansion.
Sharmila began her career at the age of sixteen and has since been an award-winning entrepreneur and driving force behind K-LITE’s business expansion. Since joining the company in 2011 as Director of Business Development, she has led the company’s expansion into international markets, guided its technological transformation, and fostered an innovative and sustainable culture. Under her leadership, K-LITE has embraced digital transformations, prioritized environmental sustainability, and grown its global presence while adhering to its “Make in India” ethos.
Sharmila has a forward-thinking vision of making K-LITE an internationally recognized brand. She continues to lead the company to new heights of success by balancing operational excellence with a commitment to quality, innovation, and long-term growth.
The Journey of a Pioneer
Sharmila shared that K-LITE’s journey of innovation in lighting began over 47 years ago, with the visionary Dilip, her father, launching it. With his background as an electrical trader and his expertise as a mechanical engineer, combined with his passion for excellence, K-LITE has consistently pursued the dream of perfecting light.
She emphasized that light not only enhances our surroundings but also influences our quality of life. According to her, lighting should blend both technique and emotion, creating new values, meanings, and comfort beyond the simple contrast of light and dark. K-LITE’s innovative approach has led to the development of a wide array of cutting-edge products, with a special focus on energy-saving and environmentally friendly “green” LED lighting. These innovations cover various sectors, including retail, office, industrial, architectural, and street lighting, highlighting the company’s commitment to sustainable and efficient solutions.
Inspirational Dynamics
Sharmila reflected on the start of her professional journey at the young age of sixteen, when she worked in the family’s grill manufacturing unit, “Metal Craft,” alongside her father. At nineteen, she received the “Best Female Entrepreneur Award” from the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, a moment that marked a significant milestone in her early career.
Her passion for design led her to pursue further studies at the Parsons School of Design in New York. Having travelled extensively across the globe, Sharmila also started and successfully ran two export-oriented businesses while living in the United States.
However, driven by her desire to contribute more directly to her homeland and to raise her children in India, she joined K-LITE in 2011 as the Director of Business Development. Since then, under her guidance, K-LITE has made significant strides in breaking into international markets, resulting in tremendous growth and a substantial increase in the company’s turnover.
Guiding philosophy behind organization’s success
Sharmila highlighted that the guiding philosophy behind K-LITE’s success is its vision: “To make K-LITE an international brand.” She expressed confidence in its steady progress towards this goal. With the establishment of a NABL-accredited optic laboratory, K-LITE has reinforced its commitment to research and development. This focus on innovation ensures that the company consistently achieves the highest standards of quality, meeting international benchmarks.
Staying at the Forefront
Sharmila explained that the digital transformation in the power sector has significantly influenced the lighting industry, leading to the widespread adoption of LED technology. This shift has revolutionized power consumption patterns, particularly in lighting. She noted that concepts like smart cities, smart poles, and digital devices, including IoT, have simplified control systems, making digital transformation essential for the utility sector.
For utility companies to stay ahead in this fast-changing landscape, devising solutions that address evolving challenges is crucial. Modernizing infrastructure and fostering continuous improvement are key strategies. According to Sharmila, innovation at K-LITE thrives on open-minded interactions, with many advancements coming directly from employee contributions.
To ensure an organized and systematic approach across all divisions, K-LITE decided to transition from ERP management to SAP. This move aims to realize Digital Organisation Transformation (DoT) within the current year.
A Streamlined Leadership
Sharmila described the formation of dedicated teams at various levels—leadership, quality, production, interdepartmental, customer care, staff welfare, and facilities teams—each responsible for regular reviews and reporting directly to the top management. This streamlined structure minimizes decision-making delays and drives many of the company’s achievements.
The Balancing Act
Post-order customer satisfaction at K-LITE hinges on three key components: on-time delivery, failure rate, and guaranteed luminaire performance. Sharmila elaborated that the production planning team commits to delivery timelines while performance checks are carried out through laboratory and physical inspections. Failure reports, root cause analysis, and corrective actions are managed by a dedicated customer care division under the direct supervision of the QC head and the Director, ensuring top-priority attention to prevent a recurrence.
Ensuring Environmentally Sustainable Operations
Sharmila shared that LED technology itself is a powerful solution for environmental sustainability due to its lower power consumption and absence of harmful mercury, unlike traditional lighting sources such as high-pressure lamps. When LED applications began to emerge, K-LITE quickly recognized the need for a fast transition to this new technology. Despite the high cost of scrapping existing stock and tooling, the company’s commitment to a greener future and social responsibility, along with the anticipated demand for LED lighting, led K-LITE to fully transition in record time. This decision positioned the company as a significant contributor to fostering a more sustainable future. In addition to adopting LED, K-LITE has introduced green initiatives in areas such as packaging materials, consumables, and plastic usage.
A Transformational Project
She also highlighted several landmark projects that showcase K-LITE’s excellence and innovation. One standout project in Egypt involving the installation of smart poles was transformative and opened doors to upscale projects with ease. Other notable projects include LED street lighting with ornamental poles for the entire city of Varanasi, the illumination of Kota city in Rajasthan using state-of-the-art LED luminaires and controls, lighting for the Amritsar Golden Temple, and smart lighting poles for the Egyptian Parliament. Sharmila also mentioned the design and supply of ornamental poles with post-top lanterns and specially designed LED bollards for the new Parliament complex in New Delhi, as well as the recent lighting project at Ayodhya’s Ram Mandir. These projects are a testament to K-LITE’s dedication to innovation and excellence.
Leverage technology to optimize services
Proudly identifying K-LITE as “India’s Lighting Company,” she emphasized the company’s commitment to the “Make In India” initiative, with 95% of their luminaires produced using local components and more than 80% manufactured in-house. Quality has been ingrained in the company’s DNA since its inception. To achieve high standards, K-LITE has invested heavily in advanced equipment, including CNC and VMC machines, laser cutting tools, automated spinning machines, and digitally controlled pipe bending machines. Every product undergoes rigorous testing and validation, with in-house optical labs meeting NABL standards and ensuring that every luminaire conforms to international quality standards before reaching the market.
Cultivating Success
Sharmila emphasized that K-LITE’s transformational business growth has placed a significant challenge before all employees: the need to enhance their competencies and play their roles effectively. To achieve this, the company conducts programs aimed at improving behavioural competencies. Each department possesses in-depth knowledge of the processes and systems unique to its functions. To bridge the knowledge transfer gap for current job performers, K-LITE organizes regular functional competency transformation programs for every section. Additionally, the company stays updated on contemporary industry practices through expert input from external professionals.
Successfully Encountering Challenges
Reflecting on the resilience of K-LITE’s team during the COVID-19 pandemic, Sharmila praised their ability to convert adversity into opportunity. Through active interpersonal communication, introspection, and strategic planning, the team introduced new products, upgraded machines, modified production processes, and disposed of outdated stocks. Even during the pandemic, except for the lockdown period, K-LITE operated with a reduced workforce while adhering to strict safety precautions to fulfil export commitments. The post-COVID application of these plans resulted in a significant leap in both performance and production, allowing the company to normalize operations at an early stage.
Embracing Modern Branding Techniques
Sharmila also highlighted K-LITE’s extensive dealer network across India, as well as its international presence with an outlet in the UK for the European market and one in Dubai for the Middle East. K-LITE collaborates directly with architectural associations, landscape architects, and lighting designers for major projects, ensuring that they are closely aligned with the latest industry trends. The company actively participates in leading global lighting exhibitions such as Light + Building in Frankfurt, Light Middle East in Dubai, and Lux Live in London. Its website, www.klite.in, provides comprehensive technical information and photometric data for all their luminaires.
Looking ahead, Sharmila shared that K-LITE’s vision is to become the top luminaire manufacturer in India with international recognition for the K-LITE brand and a strong share in global markets.
