From helper to JV partner
Former Otis employee forms JV with world’s biggest elevator maker.
By Harit Mehta, TNN |
AHMEDABAD: It was in 1968 when Shanker Patel, a young enterprising mechanical engineer, joined Otis Elevator as a helper on a daily wage of Rs 4 per day. Last week, Mr Patel must have got a lift, literally, from the fact that Otis agreed to set up a joint venture with him for the Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan markets. Trio Elevators (India) — in which Otis India has picked up a majority stake — will be headquartered in Ahmedabad and Mr Patel will be its vice-chairman.
Mr Patel’s is a rags-to-riches story. He came to Ahmedabad from Jhanjhar, a small village in north Gujarat, and got a job with Otis, the world’s largest elevator maker, as a helper. “I used to earn Rs 4 a day. But like a true Gujarati, I always wanted to be on my own. I worked in Otis for a decade, quit as an engineer and started my small business of elevator maintenance. Those days, there were barely 50 lifts in the whole of Ahmedabad,” he says. This was in 1976.
Five years later, Mr Patel, along with two friends, assembled a lift. “We sold it for Rs 75,000. It was installed in Opera House, a building in old Ahmedabad. That lift still works,” he says with a smile.
This marked the beginning of Mr Patel’s upward journey. In a few years, he floated his own company, Trio Elevators. Today, the company enjoys a healthy 27% share in the Rs 60-crore elevator market in Gujarat. According to published government data (’04), Otis lags behind with around 10%. Needless to say, the world’s biggest lift maker had no qualms in joining hands with a former employee.
“The new company will run as an independent entity retaining its well-recognised brand identity and will continue to meet the needs of residential and commercial markets,” says Mr Patel. The new company will be started with an initial investment of Rs 10 crore.
While Mr Patel’s old neighbours vouch for his modesty —till recently, he used to live in a small housing board flat — his sons say it is foresight, skill, business acumen and hard work that took their father where he is today. “Behind every successful man, there is a woman. My mother, Vasantiben, helped my father sustain when he started his business. She took up a job and helped the family. Even today, we involve her in the important decisions of the company,” says younger son Kriyang, a wholetime director in the new company.
Patel Sr had the foresight to engage both his sons, Chirag (32) and Kriyang (27), in the business. “Chirag started his career as a trainee with Trio and used to draw Rs 1,200 per month,” says Mr Patel.
A bullish construction industry has helped lift-makers no end. “The demand for elevators is likely to go up by 25% this year,” says Mr Patel. About future plans, he says: “We want to penetrate markets in other states.”
Mr Patel’s is a rags-to-riches story. He came to Ahmedabad from Jhanjhar, a small village in north Gujarat, and got a job with Otis, the world’s largest elevator maker, as a helper. “I used to earn Rs 4 a day. But like a true Gujarati, I always wanted to be on my own. I worked in Otis for a decade, quit as an engineer and started my small business of elevator maintenance. Those days, there were barely 50 lifts in the whole of Ahmedabad,” he says. This was in 1976.
Five years later, Mr Patel, along with two friends, assembled a lift. “We sold it for Rs 75,000. It was installed in Opera House, a building in old Ahmedabad. That lift still works,” he says with a smile.
This marked the beginning of Mr Patel’s upward journey. In a few years, he floated his own company, Trio Elevators. Today, the company enjoys a healthy 27% share in the Rs 60-crore elevator market in Gujarat. According to published government data (’04), Otis lags behind with around 10%. Needless to say, the world’s biggest lift maker had no qualms in joining hands with a former employee.
“The new company will run as an independent entity retaining its well-recognised brand identity and will continue to meet the needs of residential and commercial markets,” says Mr Patel. The new company will be started with an initial investment of Rs 10 crore.
While Mr Patel’s old neighbours vouch for his modesty —till recently, he used to live in a small housing board flat — his sons say it is foresight, skill, business acumen and hard work that took their father where he is today. “Behind every successful man, there is a woman. My mother, Vasantiben, helped my father sustain when he started his business. She took up a job and helped the family. Even today, we involve her in the important decisions of the company,” says younger son Kriyang, a wholetime director in the new company.
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Patel Sr had the foresight to engage both his sons, Chirag (32) and Kriyang (27), in the business. “Chirag started his career as a trainee with Trio and used to draw Rs 1,200 per month,” says Mr Patel.
A bullish construction industry has helped lift-makers no end. “The demand for elevators is likely to go up by 25% this year,” says Mr Patel. About future plans, he says: “We want to penetrate markets in other states.”
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