Interview Of Pranav kawale - CEO at A.K Engineering Solutions

1. Describe about your Company

A.K. Engineering Solutions (AKES) is an ISO 9001:2015 certified EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) Company Catering to client requirement at Shop and Site. One of our SBU is also into the business of Digital Marketing.

Our Quality Policy States as “At A.K. ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS, we

will strive for excellence in business processes. We will consistently meet

requirements of Quality Management System and customer's expectations

for product quality and delivery with the aim of achieving Customer

Satisfaction and Continual Improvement, through teamwork.

2. Could you please tell us more about your services?

List of Services Provided by AKES

• Design Engineering, Manufacturing supply and Erection & Commissioning of Process Equipment at shop as well as site in SS / CS / MS MOC. Major Product Line includes Pressure Vessels (Non coded), Distillation Columns, Heat Exchangers, Reactors, Tanks, Skid Mounted Packages and Customized Process Equipment.

• EPC (Engineering Procurement Construction) Projects at shop as well as site. Few of the major projects executed on site are Ethanol Storage Tanks – design engineering, procurement construction erection and commissioning along with plant piping and associated civil works, Plant Piping and Equipment Erection, Air Pollution Equipment manufacturing, supply and erection to name a few.

• Digital Marketing like Social media promotion on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Search engine optimisation, Website development, Logo designing, Packaging designing etc.

3. From where did you get idea for your business?

The Indian steel industry is considered as one of the few bright spots in the global steel industry. The steel industry in the country revived from the demonetization and the goods and services tax (GST) reform and is growing at a rapid pace.

The market has transformed to a great extent over the past few years. The technological developments, though the adoption rate is low in the sector, have not only improved the delivery times, but also helped the industry in producing accurate designs of steel structures.

The India metal fabrication market is fragmented in nature with the presence of a large number of small and medium-sized companies and EPC companies. The rising demand for goods and services across various sectors in India, combined with the fact that global manufacturing companies focus to diversify their production by setting-up low-cost plants in countries, like China and India, is expected to drive the Indian manufacturing sector.

Looking into the demand, Business opportunities and CAGR growth of 5.3% YOY, we ventured into this business couple of years before.

4. Can you share about your core team members?

Team is the integral part of any organization. They help and decide the company future. There is a saying which we strongly believe and practice “We believe a happy employee will lead directly to happy customers”. We being an EPC company, our team consists of experts from various disciplines like Design and Engineering, Procurement, Sourcing, Manufacturing, Quality, Erection and Commission, Projects, Finance and Accounting.

5. How was your first hiring Experience?

It was exciting and fulfilling to know that we are able to employ people. On the one hand you feel good about being able to do this on the other hand you are accepting a responsibility for your employees’ wellbeing and their own families. Hiring is a skill. And one of the hardest things to do well. My first hire didn’t work out very well (we’re still in touch) mainly because I know him personally from long time, and staff did not accept the guy and he could never succeed. My fault and lesson learned.

6. What is the most unique point about your Business and that you would like to put before the investors?

At AKES we believe and follow QCD i.e., Quality, Cost and Delivery. Happy to announce that we have been in business from last 2 years but till date we have not received any complaint from our client regarding quality and delivery commitments, in fact they are giving us repeat orders for our commitments and Quality standards followed. Our Motto and business Punch Line is “DELIVERING EXCELLENCE” and we strictly follow the same.

7. What was the most difficult situation faced in your business?

Getting the First Client on board was the most difficult situation faced. It took us approx. 1-1.5 months to get the first client. Since we are part of the Project Business, and orders are placed considering the Past Track Records, Manufacturing and Quality Setup, vendor registration, etc. In spite of us having past experiences working in the MNCs and big corporations, the trust factor is low since for them our organization was fairly new. However, we have gone through that phase now and happy to inform that till date our first client is still on board and we are executing n no. of projects for them.

8. How are you going to expand your business in next 6 – 7 years?

We have big plans. Today we are talking only about our Engineering business only. We have plans to take our Engineering business to Global levels and compete with Industry experts. We are also in digital solutions but not in a big way. We have concrete plans in place to increase revenue from our digital business nearly 8-10 times of present. However in coming 6 – 7 years we are also planning to start group of companies and are planning to enter into Copper Finished goods Retail sales, Industrial Copper sheet manufacturing and supply, Incense stick manufacturing and supply, and getting into Hotel and Food industry. We are working dedicatedly and monitoring progress closely to achieve our dreams.