India has high demand for skilled workers in the electrical & mechanical domains

India has emerged as the fourth largest economy in the world and is likely to be the third largest in the next 3- 5 years. As the country aspires to be manufacturing hub of the world, many global giants are opening up new centres in the country. These factors have significantly increased scope for EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) projects in India. Shankar Electricals Services (I) Pvt Ltd (SESIPL) is one of the leading EPC companies in the electrical projects space. It counts several Fortune 100 companies like Google, Microsoft, and Indian majors like TCS among others as its clients. In a conversation with the BizzBuzz, Rajesh Shetty, the Founder & Managing Director of Shankar Electricals Services (I) Pvt Ltd (SESIPL) said the company has also been associated with the execution of electrical work of heritage project like Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. In the next five years, the company aspires to touch Rs 1,000 crore revenue in the next five years. The company is also in the process of setting up a skill development centre in which young people (10th and 12th grade students) will be imparted practical training in electrical and related works. This will help in getting gainful employment in several industries. He advised young entrepreneurs that they shouldn’t seek quick success in the business world, rather should persevere at the face of difficulty for achieving their objectives.

How did the journey for setting up Shankar Electricals Services (I) Pvt Ltd (SESIPL) begin? Can you give us some perspective on the motivation behind forming the company?

The journey started in 1998. My background is diploma in Electrical Engineering. Majority of manufacturing industries recruit ITI and Diploma holders as they are the real people who do the hard work on the ground. After completion of diploma, I was struggling to get a job. I got my first job as an electrician in charge of maintenance of electrical equipment. At that time, public sector enterprises were taking in interns or trainees for diploma holders in electrical engineering and related branches. I joined as a trainee in ITI Ltd (which is a central government undertaking) for a salary of Rs 725 per month. There, I came to know about maintenance department in every building or factory or industry. After one year, I joined a private company to look after the maintenance of electrical equipment, where I got a salary of Rs 1,425 per month. That was the time, when IT industry was just starting to boom in Bengaluru. I was under Shanti Electricals, looking after the electro-mechanical solution of an IT company (Mascot). The client decided to expand their centre in Bengaluru and was in need of more people. Then, the administrative person asked me to start a company. That point of time, I had no clue how to start a company. He asked me to bring some letterheads. I arranged a letterhead from one of my friend’s father company, whose name was Shankar Motor Binding. I borrowed five letter heads from him. The person in charge of administration asked me to remove motor binding and replace it as Shankar Electricals. So, the name of the company has come through divine intervention. We have not named the company. We don’t have any one in our family named Shankar. That’s how the company came to existence. We started the company in 1998 with five people. There was no looking back since then.

Can you give some profile of clients that SESIPL have been working with? Please provide some views about business verticals of the company.

As we grow, we got clients like Tata Elxsi, Sonata Software and others as our clients during the initial days of our operations. In the last 27 years, we have engaged with several marquee clients. We are managing electrical operations for Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and several others. Apart of maintenance and services of electrical equipment for large facilities, we also provide carpentry and plumbing services. This is our another vertical. Our third vertical is executing large electrical projects. We have completed several large projects. For example, we are the only selected vendor for Amazon for its centre in Bengaluru, Chennai, & Hyderabad. We have also completed projects of Google for its Bengaluru and Hyderabad centres. We also count marquee companies like Microsoft, TCS, Mercedes, and others as our clients. We have served most Fortune 100 companies in India. We have also executed projects like Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. We are currently executing the next phase of the project. We have also bagged projects in our domain from the upcoming Noida International Airport.

What are your expansion plans going ahead? Can you provide some perspective in this matter?

India is at the cusp of big transformation. The country aspires to be a manufacturing hub of the world. So, we see sound growth potential for our company going ahead. Our growth rate is likely to be higher than recent years in the future. India is witnessing investment in emerging sectors like semiconductor technology. We have served clients like global chip giant like Micron in setting up their lab and data centre in India. Currently, around 4,500 to 5,000 people are associated with us. We have a goal of having an employee base of 10,000 in the next five years. We are very much focussed on creating employment in the country. There is high demand for ITI and diploma holders. We are also setting up development centre in which we will train young people with skillsets to be employed in this particular sector. This centre will focus on skill development for those students who have not been able to clear 10th or 12th examination. These young people will be trained in practical operations related to electric and mechanical work. This step will definitely help in giving them gainful employment. That is the future we are aiming for creating employment in the country. As far as revenue is concerned, we are hopeful of achieving Rs 500 crore revenue mark this year or in the near future. Our aim is to double the revenue in the next 5 years or so.

What will be your advice to young entrepreneurs who are aspiring to be make it big in the manufacturing or related sector?

Education is the most critical thing on which young people have to focus on. Biggest wealth is created from the highest value of education. Secondly, if you are not good in education or not able to pursue because of circumstances, then he or she can be a successful entrepreneur through hard work, and commitment. Entrepreneurs shouldn’t try to take any shortcut because there are not any. Moreover, he or she should be passionate about the work he is doing. Whether it is service industry or manufacturing or any other sector, he should do the hard work passionately and with time, he/she will be successful. Currently, most young entrepreneurs are looking at getting success fast, may be in 2-3 years time frame. It rarely happens. My only submission is that don’t give up at the face of failure and keep working. Success will follow with time.