It has been rightly said that change is the only constant. Even in business, it is almost an axiom that an entrepreneur will face change on a continuous basis. The ability to understand the nature of that change and adapt to it is what determines the lasting power of a business.

Sahil Jain, is a second-generation entrepreneur who is director of Metalfab Hightech Pvt. Ltd. in Nagpur. He learned from his predecessors that business diversification with the changing times is key to success. From starting out as metal fabricators in the power, sugar & cement sectors, they have developed their ability to work in the cutting-edge wind power sector to a point where income from that part of the business is 50% of all revenue. 

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL) Sahil Jain (SJ) shares more about the journey of his firm. Watch this video to learn more:

GL: Tell us about your business.

SJ: Metalfab Hightech Pvt. Ltd. is a metal fabrication company. We make equipment and structures for core sectors like power, metal and sugar. We also make windmills for wind power generation. The company was founded by my father and his siblings in 1981. Up until then they were doing work for the power industry and they thought they should establish a base and start manufacturing. They established the manufacturing unit and it’s been 35 years since then.

I joined the company full-time seven years back in 2010. We had just started converting a unit where we made cylinders into a fabrication unit. When I joined, my father, uncle and cousin gave me full charge of that unit so I could make my own mistakes and learn from them. For a second unit, I was building everything from scratch, converting one product line to another product line.

I did that and only that for 4 years. After that I started getting involved in the main production unit activities of the company.

GL: What are the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

SJ: The primary challenge is handling management related issues concerning your finances and people - finding the right people to do the job year on year. 

When we decided that we wanted to venture into the wind industry, receiving the first order took a lot of time. Delivering the order took time as well. People thought we might not be able to do it and it was not the right thing to do. But we did not give up & this is now a very profitable aspect of our business.

We are always looking for some sort of project or product that is new to us. In 2011, we got a new product that required a different sort of skill set than the one we had in-house. It took 6-7 months before it was cleared by our quality control and got our customer’s quality. Now almost 5-6 years later we are doing it regularly and we have expertise in its production. Not too many people in the country can make that and it is a unique achievement.

GL: What is the USP of your business?

SJ: Our biggest USP is our people. Our senior management has been with us for 25-30 years. Our engineers have been with us for 15-20 years. The experience we have collectively with our people is what we bring to the table.

GL: What are some of the milestones of your business?

SJ: We had started as a small workshop. We have made our business into an industrial enterprise adding land, people, technology over the last 35 years on a continuous basis.

When we started the windmills in 2002, it took us a year before we could convince our people that we could do it. Now, 15 years later, something we were hesitant to start accounts for 50% of our business.

Our achievement is that we are constantly looking at developing new products. These products bring a lot of value to our business.

GL: What role do you feel GlobalLinker plays in connecting & assisting SMEs?

SJ: I think the biggest advantage that GlobalLinker has is that it is the only platform that connects SMEs and entrepreneurs. As an SME, you can go out and meet people or network on forums but the reach that you have and the network that you build is either limited or too big to tap into profitably. GlobalLinker is a forum that is wide enough that you can find what you need.

GL: What is your big business dream?

SJ: Our big business dream is to always innovate and find new products and businesses we can develop. We are looking at products for railways and petrochemicals. We are looking at getting into new industries and getting orders from them. We believe in looking for something new to do which we can incorporate into our business later.

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

SJ: The biggest challenge that any entrepreneur faces is that the business environment is always changing. It is very important for a company to evolve with this change and adapt to the new and developing scenario. The way things work now is not how they will work in the future. Keep up with the business environment.

As Murphy would say, if anything can go wrong it will go wrong. But it’s not the end of the world, you can do it again and do it better.

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