“We dedicate and resolve ourselves to continue our work, which will engulf the common man with easier and affordable access to the best possible vision care services.” That is basically Appasamy’s mission, but there is more to this company than meets the eye. How did it grow from three employees in the late 1970s to 2700+ employees today? What is their secret to success?
Appasamy Associates and Group of Companies (Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India) is a leading name in manufacturing and distribution of wide assortment of ophthalmic equipment, microscopes, lasers, pharmaceuticals, microsurgical instruments, and IOLs. Since its inception in 1978, Appasamy continues to work toward their aim of providing modern equipment and technology that is easily accessible to ophthalmic surgeons and vision care professionals.
In the year of its inception, Appasamy introduced India’s first low-cost cryosurgical instrument for ophthalmology, which was less than 1/10th of the price of its internationally imported counterpart. The company also launched the world’s first non-electric vitrectomy unit in ophthalmology, which has now become a preferred choice for many eminent surgeons across India, rather than the imported units. The company ventured into manufacturing and sale of slit lamps in 1989 and now offers photography and videography models to assist physicians. The company has also been manufacturing and selling single piece IOLs since 1995. Appasamy’s IOL manufacturing unit is not only an ISO 9002-certified facility, but also has been certified by TUV, Germany, since 1998.
The company’s Vice Chairman, Mr. R.N. Kasthuri shares: “We started off with just three employees and today we have grown to 2700+ employees with offices in more than 40 cities across India.” With its strong presence across the country, the company’s success lies in its ability to manufacture and sell based on the needs of the patients. Regarding the company’s ability to keep costs low, Mr. Kashuri explains: “We do not have a marketing department. Our company follows a supermarket approach where we make products that have to sell themselves. We stand by our products and offer the promise of reliability and that is why our customer base continues to spread.” He further revealed that Appasamy doesn’t charge the customers for the services but only for the parts of the products, which ultimately helps to keep the costs of the products very low compared to competitors in India and abroad.
The company’s core production staff, which forms a strong foundation to carry out operations effectively, has been with Appasamy for more than 35 years. With clearly defined goals and power to execute operations, the staff at Appasamy acts independently in different spheres.
In addition to instrumentation, Appasamy Ocular Devices (AOD), a pharmaceutical division of the company has also recently launched a drug to treat myopia. “In view of the alarming problem of myopia in young children these days, we have introduced a drug called Myopin that helps to treat and control progression of myopia. AOD was the first among Indian pharmaceutical companies to launch this ‘need of the hour’ drug for Indian children on 14th November 2017, to mark Children’s Day ”, shared Sivagnanam Subbiah, general manager for Clinical Research & Promotions at Appasamy.
“In the highly gadget-oriented environment these days, most of the children develop myopia due to exposure to screens of televisions or mobile phones, while some inherit it from their parents. The most affected age group is 6 to 13 years, for which this drug would be highly beneficial,” added Mr. Sivagnanam. As myopia in children continues to multiply year after year, Myopin was launched in a very cost-effective manner so that it would be available to patients belonging to all categories of society and ultimately reduce further progression of myopia.
Blindness from cataract is another huge problem in the Indian population – and India holds first place in the world regarding cataract surgeries performed every year. With the presence of responsible corporate identities dedicated to social welfare like Appasamy, 70% of total cataract surgeries in India are performed free-of-charge.
Talking about the company’s goals in the short- and long-term, Mr. Kasthuri mentions: “As we have achieved a noticeable position with respect to our goals in India, we are already on the move to extend our services internationally to parts of world where they are needed the most and people cannot afford to pay heavy pricing.” With this in mind, Appasamy continues to extend its network to ophthalmologists in Africa. When asked about why they chose Africa as their first international market, Mr. Kasthuri replies: “The African market is not a place that many companies like to serve, so we have chosen it to benefit from our services. Our main aim is not to make money, but to help people benefit from our cost-effective products.”
Shedding light on the company’s strength and strategy, Mr. Kasthuri shared that they always reinvest their profits in order to upgrade their manufacturing facilities. The products also get upgraded and benefits are passed to customers at a very nominal pricing. Appasamy is proud of its milestones, achievements, and unique mission – which is very well achieved thus far.
Editor’s Note: Both Mr. R.N. Kasthuri and Mr. Sivagnanam Subbiah contributed equally to this article.
A multi-awarded company in India, here are some of the awards Appasamy has received throughout the years:
• Star Performer Award for Outstanding Contribution to Engineering Exports in the Product Group: EEPC India National Awards for Export Excellence 2008-2009
• Star Performer in 2009-2010: EEPC India National Awards for Export Excellence
• Star Performer in 2010-2011: EEPC India National Awards for Export Excellence
• Star Performer in 2011-2012: 44th EEPC India National Awards for Export Excellence
• Star Performer in 2012-2013: EEPC India National Awards for Export Excellence
• Special Trophy for Excellence in Exports of High Technology Products in 2013-2014: EEPC India National Awards for Export Excellence
• Star Performer in 2014-2015: EEPC India Southern Regional Awards for Export Excellence
• Special Award in 2015 by EEPC India Southern Regional Awards for Export Excellence
• Star Performer in 2016 by EEPC India Southern Regional Awards for Export Excellence
