Interview with Mr. Sanjay Jadhav, CEO, Powergen Business, Sterling & Wilson

Sterling & Wilson was formed in 1927 as Wilson Electric Works and subsequently became Sterling & Wilson in 1971 when the Shapoorji Pallonji Group took a 51% stake in the company. The diverse portfolio of the company includes MEP, Co-Gen solutions, Transmission and Distribution, Turnkey Data Centers, Diesel Generators, and Renewables – namely Solar, Wind and Battery Storage solutions. From being a predominantly India-focused company till 2010, S&W now operates across the globe in more than 25 countries with a strong presence in regions such as the Middle East, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Australia. Realty Plus visited the 8 acre facility for diesel generators of Sterling and Wilson in Silvassa. The facility is the largest in Asia and first of its kind in India by Sterling and Wilson. Realty Plus had an interaction with Mr. Sanjay Jadhav, CEO, Powergen Business, Sterling & Wilson about the plant and the strategies of the company. Mr. N. Singh, President, Sterling and Wilson gave a presentation about the credentials and business of the company. He showed the manufacturing plant and provided all the details of each unit in the plant. Mr. Sanjay Jadhav informed that the company has grown from a turnover of INR 1,760 crore in 2012 to a turnover of INR 6,200 crores in the year 2016-17, and expects to achieve a turnover of INR 10,000 crore in the year ending March 2018. He said, “With more than 1700 Gensets and an operational capacity of 1260 MW, Sterling Generators is India’s 2nd largest supplier of gensets above 750 kva. The capabilities of Sterling Generators to manufacture Gensets ranging from 10kva to 3300 Kva, and catering to all industry needs showcases its established benchmarks in fuel efficiency, reliability and adherence to global emission norms with support from leading business houses across the country.” When asked about the ratio of sales in the domestic and foreign market, he said, “We are operating at 30% exports and 70% domestic sales currently.We are tapping new markets in South Africa and countries with huge potential like Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Saudi, Kuwait, Oman, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Australia. About changes in policies like GST, he said, “When GST was implemented the market severely affected. We were operating only at 40% capacity after GST implementation. But, we started taking off during October and now we are operating at 80%-85%.” For the FY17, the company received around ?350 cr - ?400 cr orders both domestic and international, he informed. “In next 2 to 3 years, we are targeting 50% export revenue,” he said. When asked about new projects he said that the company is manufacturing data centers and expanding their projects in infrastructure including defense sector and hospitality sector. About real estate sector he said, “After reforms like demonetization, RERA and GST, the real estate sector has adversely affected. We have a little exposure in the commercial real estate market.” The company has its installations at Delhi International Airport (DIAL), TCS Chennai, CAIRN Energy, VSNL, Infosys, SIEMENS, TATA Steel, SAIL, TOI, etc. On future expansion plans, he said that the company is planning to expand its dealer network from 60 to 120 this year. Indian diesel genset market is about ?5,000 crores and Sterling generators makes up close to 20% of this. The company has achieved production value of about 1,000 hhp/mhp generators through its manufacturing facility at Silvassa. It has invested ?100 crore in the plant during last 10 years and is looking to further invest ?50-60 crores by the year 2020. With the PLC based testing facility in the factory for D.G. sets up to 3,000 kVA, Sterling Generators aims to reach an annual production capacity of 5,000 units.