Space is an intriguing concept. And one that has been debated about – or even attempted to be defined – since time immemorial. Not just scientists, but ancient philosophers like Aristotle, Plato and Socrates have dwelt upon what exactly is this thing called space.
Some insist space is an entity in itself; others opine that it is a relationship between entities – a connection or something that consumes the void between entities; some think it’s an essential element in a conceptual framework; and still others (perhaps those not bothering to think at all) dismiss space as nothingness. The truth must lie somewhere in between.
Paradoxically, space is both infinite and contained at the same time. That’s because, while space is undeniably infinite, to each individual it is contained and definite – to the extent of the space one owns.
And so, if one were to lens space through the prism of everyday living, it takes on a totally different dimension.
Space is Real Estate!
In personal living or in business, space is no more the vague or romantic infinity as seen through the eyes of philosophers or poets. In today’s material world, it represents a defined quantum, around which life or business has to mould itself.
At home or at the office, in the factory or the warehouse, in institutions, or out in public spaces itself, there is a desperate need to maximise space. Add to that the need for storage and space possibly becomes the most valuable currency in our lives. When you actually think about it, this is eminently true… because effectively, space is real estate!
It was upon this premise that the idea of Kompress came into being. Back in the late 1980s, a huge challenge was thrown to a few enterprising individuals to solve a regular storage issue. At a time when storage simply meant constructing a few racks and slotted angles, throwing in a few almirahs (cupboards) and cabinets… they relooked at space from a completely different perspective and, as a result, totally revolutionised the concept of storage.
The Challenge that Created a Company
It was 1989, when Reliance threw them that challenge: Create a system that would offer maximum storage in minimum space, while being a unique, revolutionary idea. Challenge accepted, they analysed the issue from various angles and finally came up with the idea of the motorised compactor– that not only compacted storage into a much smaller space, but also made access to everything stored far easier and with minimal effort.
At the time, the motorised compactor was a revolutionary idea in India, and it carried such salience, that it led to the creation of Kompress – the name evolving from the very idea it represented: Maximum storage in minimum space.
This unique storage solution created for Reliance became the calling card for Kompress. Word spread quickly, and it caught the attention – and appreciation – of leading architects. They marvelled at an idea that could save up to 50% of space, which effectively translated into saving money.
Enthused by their immediate success, Kompress started to build on it, reaching out to architects and potential clients and participating in exhibitions around the world. Traction quickly built up from there and the idea fuelled its own organic growth further.
Space Saved is Money Earned
Another huge factor that led to the concept of ‘Maximum storage in minimum space’ catching on fast, was booming real estate prices. Especially in metropolitan and bigger cities where space was becoming an alarming constraint for business. The need to compress more into less was no more a fanciful idea but one of survival.
Not just that, as opposed to open shelves and wooden almirahs, the fully-closed steel compactor provided critical protection and resistance to dust, germs, termites, and environmental vagaries.
But in a world driven by money, the savings argument became the most compelling. This is how it works… Consider a storage area of 1000sq ft. Conventional storage systems would consume the entire area for the said storage need.
The mobile compactor on the other hand, intelligently compresses the like-for-like storage into something like 50% of the area, effectively freeing up 500 sq ft (in the said example) for more productive purposes. And since space is real estate, that amounts to huge savings (or earnings, depending on how one looks at it). Going by prime real estate rates in metropolitan cities, that saving could run into a crore of rupees or more.
If one extrapolates that to big companies that have several offices across the country or around the world, the effective savings or real estate freed up could run into crores upon crores of rupees – or their million equivalents in dollars.
The Prism of Innovative Science
All of this, simply because someone decided to look at space through a different prism – the prism of innovative science. What Kompress offers is nothing short of a science. In fact, it is the ‘Science of Space’!
The mobile compactor, for example, is a series of steel-encased storage spaces compacted together, yet each a separate section that can be easily moved along rails that the entire system is built upon. Thus, all aisles that are imperative in conventional storage are rendered redundant – or rather, because of the movability of compactor segments, aisles can be created from nothing, at will, whenever and wherever needed, along the length of the rails.
The benefits of the mobile compactor system extend beyond savings to everyday issues like security, safety, aesthetics, ease of storage and retrieval, workplace efficiency, potential of catering to several departments in a limited area, etc.
Innovative Beginnings, Accelerating Growth.
For Kompress though, it wasn’t like everything simply fell into place right from the get-go. Like most ideas ahead of their time, this one too met with initial resistance that required education and marketing to dispel. A bigger challenge at the time of inception was the paucity of resourcesin terms of machinery and technology within the country. Much of that had to be sourced from abroad. Kompress representatives had to travel overseas and learn and understand various aspects of the processes and then bring all of it home.
But persistence and determination yielded stunning results. Through the nineties, big orders started to pour in from increasingly bigger names –Asiatic Library, LIC, ICICI, HDFC, Indian Navy… Business soon began to grow beyond geographical boundaries, with orders emerging out of Russia, the US, Africa, Middle East and SAARC countries, quickly bringing global status to Kompress.
While mobile compactors represent the biggest product vertical at Kompress, the company has long since expanded to other storage solutions as well – significantly, racking storage for warehouses, and lockers and cabinets for offices. In each case, it’s about intelligently applying their craft and rich experience and expertise; considering the client’s stated needs; and working around the unspoken or implied needs (such as constraints of lighting, flooring, layout, structure, etc) that can only come from spending in excess of three decades in the business.
Intelligence and innovation are the key drivers of what Kompress does. Around these priceless virtues, add the solid infrastructure that the company has developed and you have a world class player who is a leader in India, and with a mission to extend that leadership status to the entire planet. With R&D, manufacturing and process control entirely in-house, driven by a workforce that has been blessed by a very low attrition rate, and it isn’t surprising that Kompress is on top of the quality and innovation game, and on course to achieve its global-scale mission.
Powerful USPs
Unlike other players, Kompress prides itself on offering precise customised storage solutions. The company’s philosophy is that one size can never fit all – or even two for that matter! This is a huge and clinching USP, but by no means its only one. The others, derived from what was mentioned above – total in-house control; and thus, design and development flexibility; rich experience and solid expertise; and end-to-end solutions that go beyond their core offerings to material handling equipment and software integration as well. In fact, they even undertake turnkey projects.
Turnkey… and special projects where, again, innovation and ingenuity have been the hallmark of Kompress’ amazing delivery for global-scale clients and high-profile projects. These architects of space continue to raise the bar higher and higher.
So, what is space after all? While scientists and philosophers return to the drawing board, vying with each other for postulation or definition, one brand in India has made space its own business – or more accurately, the science of space its own business.
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