UPS gets pricey

Chennai

March 13, 2007

UPS products are becoming costlier everyday. First, it was copper shortage in
the international market, which triggered the price hike. Now, lead - another
key material mainly used in production of batteries - is scarce in global
markets creating a big gap between the supply-demand position.

Due to these factors battery prices are going up and influencing the cost of
UPSs. “We are forced to increase UPS prices regularly as copper and lead, the
two critical components that go into manufacturing of UPS, are becoming costlier
everyday. The entry-level UPS price has increased by more than Rs 250, over the
last couple of months,” said R Aravindan, Director, Compact Systems. Today, an
entry-level UPS of any reputed brand is sold between Rs 2,000 to 2,300.

Meanwhile, market reports indicate that lead consumption in the global market
has gone up by more than 300 percent in recent times. According to market
watchers, China and the US, the biggest consumers of these metals, directly
contribute to the present supply-demand gap.

“Lead prices are quite unstable in the market and our suppliers are raising
prices frequently. In fact, batteries rates are fixed only after we receive the
consignment and check out the new prices. It varies from consignment to
consignment, and we could not quote any fixed rate even for our regular
customers, who want to participate in tenders,” said MK Srivastav, Senior
Regional Manager, Base Corporation, an importer and supplier of UPS batteries-under
the brand name Base.

Today, a 7AH battery (which goes into an entry-level UPS) costs Rs 450, while
it was sold at Rs 300 a few months back. According to M Imtiaz Ahmed, GM-Sales
and Distribution, Numeric Power Systems Ltd, “We are forced to increase our
UPS price, as battery price is going up. But, it is a universal problem. We are
also educating the channels on the price hike and its reasons, creating a very
transparent system. Similarly, if there is any roll back, Numeric had done it
quickly, in the market, reaffirming the faith of our partners and customers.”

APC, WeP Peripherals and Microtek are some of the popular brands that have
increased their product prices recently.