Sanjay Enterprises aims to double its revenue and market share

Overcoming all odds, Sanjay Enterprises is determined to carve a niche for itself in the EMS sector

By Kariki Negi

Thursday, July 03, 2014: Located in New Delhi, Krishna Electric Works did not start off as an electronics manufacturing services (EMS) provider. Set up in 1967 by late Prem Narayan Gupta, it began as a small venture that manufactured scientific products for physics labs in schools and colleges.

Realising the growing potential of the electronics industry, his sons, Sanjay Gupta and Lalit Gupta, both partners in the firm, shifted the focus of the company to electronics products. In 1982, they diversified into the EMS business by setting up a new company, Sanjay Enterprises.

Today, Sanjay Enterprises, along with the parent company Krishna Electric Works (KEW), is engaged in the EMS business, besides manufacturing their own brands and trading them. The company is well known for manufacturing digital and analogue electrical measuring instruments.

Sanjay Gupta feels that the company’s strength is its focus on the quality of the products manufactured. “All our products are manufactured using premium quality raw materials and modern technology. These are designed in-house, with great accuracy and in compliance with industrial quality standards. We manufacture the products with technical proficiency that is highly cherished among our valuable clients, resulting in our products being stable, durable and easy to install,” says Sanjay Gupta.

The journey so far

Sanjay Enterprises entered the EMS business in a very modest way. “The company was started with an investment of just Rs 10,000, in rented premises. But as we grew, we also expanded in terms of revenue and facilities. Initially, we were dependent on our customers based in Delhi, but today, our customers are spread across India,” says Sanjay Gupta. For the first few years, Sanjay Enterprises concentrated on building customer relationships by improving its customer service.

Hurdles faced: The KEW Group’s journey into the EMS business was not a cakewalk. Not having much experience in this business, it was a challenging task for Sanjay and Lalit Gupta to carve a niche for themselves in the market. One major problem they had (and are still grappling with) was to get the company approved as a micro and small scale industry (MSME). “Till today, our biggest drawback is that we do not have land in the approved industrial area, which limits us from giving services to the government sector, as we fail to match their requirements,” says Lalit Gupta.

Says Sanjay Gupta, “The government officials keep telling us that the area where we have our facility will be soon declared as an industrial area but that has not happened since many years now. We are tired of submitting applications to the authorities again and again. Except ‘assurances’, we have not got anything till now.”

Since the company does not possess a facility in an approved industrial area, it has been denied approval by the Small Scale Industries (SSI) Corporation, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC) and has not been able to get a clearance from the Pollution Control Board. “This has impacted our growth to a great extent,” adds Sanjay Gupta.

Strengths and achievements

Dimmerstats, DC shunts, phase sequence indicators, AC DC moving iron meters, digital panel meters, watt meters, CT current transformers, HT potential transformers, voltmeters, hooters, DC moving coils and regulated power supplies are some of the products KEW is well known for.

The company boasts of its strong relationships with its customers. Not only has it won their trust but has also managed to build long term relations with them. “We were always confident about the kind of products we planned to manufacture, but since we did not have any accreditation from the government, it has been quite a challenge to prove ourselves. But with our commitment, we overcame these hurdles and today, our getting certification and government accreditation is considered a mere formality by our existing customers,” says Sanjay Gupta.

The golden period for the firm was from 2008 to 2011, when the boom in the telecom sector opened up immense business opportunities. It bagged some major projects from renowned companies like Emerson Network, Delta Energy Systems, ACME Telepower, to name a few, in this period.

In January 2014, the company bagged a prestigious project from the Indian Air Force to manufacture the voltmeters. “This has been a great achievement for us as we have been able to boost our business, due to this project” says Lalit Gupta.

Sanjay Gupta considers the firm’s workforce as an important asset. “The company is nothing without the employees. They form a very crucial part, and we have never put any restrictions on them. Whenever we take up a new project, we make sure that we discuss it with our employees and get their feedback,” he says.

The company is ISO 9001:2008 and C-DOT certified. “We have always had confidence in ourselves. If I am confident and determined, nobody can stop me from achieving my goals. Our philosophy is to work hard and honestly, and the rest will be taken care of,” says Lalit Gupta.

Areas for improvement

Though the company continues to grow in terms of revenue, there is still vast scope for improvement. “We have always believed that no matter how well we do in business, there is always an opportunity to improve. In this rapidly evolving environment, we need to keep pace with the latest technology. However, the primary area in which we would like to improve is to expand our team in order to offer better after sales services. We also want to improve and expand our area of expertise.”

Sustainability strategy

Despite unfavourable conditions, KEW has managed to make a mark for itself. To back its technical experience, the company has invested in its quality testing department. “To maintain quality in our products is our foremost objective. In order to sustain our quality standards, we have an advanced quality testing department that is fully equipped with the latest testing machines. Our quality controllers examine the entire process of manufacturing, right from the procurement of raw material to the final dispatch of the product. Further, our quality controllers make sure that the manufactured products match international quality and industrial standards,” says Lalit Gupta.

The company has grown based on its principles of honesty and transparency. “We strictly believe in righteous business policies and transparent dealings, which make us an honest entity in the industry. Our goal is to attain maximum client satisfaction. We have a customer focused approach and ensure that we make timely deliveries,” adds Lalit Gupta.

Infrastructure

The company has six facilities in Delhi. These facilities have designing, manufacturing, quality, warehousing, packaging, sales and marketing divisions. All these units are fully equipped with the latest machines and tools. All the units work with great coordination to ensure smooth production.

“We have two major facilities along with four sheds in the premises of the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Kalyan Puri. Our main facility is located in the eastern area of the city, Dilshad Garden. While the other facility is in the old Delhi area of Darya Ganj. Apart from these two, we have four sheds in DSIIDC premises.

Future plans

The company has some aggressive plans for expansion—both revenue wise and with regard to its market share. It first plans to make its technical team stronger, by bringing in more skilled hands. The company will soon undergo the process of replacing some of its major machines with new and upgraded versions. “This will further enhance the quality of our products as well as increase the efficiency of the manufacturing processes, while reducing pollution to a great extent,” explains Sanjay Gupta.

The company will now aggressively promote its brand as an EMS company with the aim to get a bigger share of the market in the coming years. “In the next few years, we aim to double our revenue as well as our market share,” concludes Sanjay Gupta.

Electronics Bazaar, South Asia’s No.1 Electronics B2B magazine