After completing the 10th class, Vikram Dekate walked into a rented shed where molten aluminium and machines became his education. No capital, no safety net, just his father’s grit and his own hands. From fixing breakdowns to fighting for orders, every step was a struggle. Today, that shed stands transformed into Dekson Casting, a listed company built from scratch.
Vikram Dekate is the Managing Director and Chairman of Dekson Casting Limited. The company was established as a proprietorship in 1993, became a private limited company in 2005 and was converted into a public limited company in February 2014. With the guidance of his father, Ashok Dekate, who was a Metallurgist from IIT-BHU, he founded the company Dekson Casting Limited in 2006
In 1993, Vikram joined his father’s business as an Assistant in the Dekson Casting Proprietary Unit, which was a small operation started by his father. It was a mill setup. He remembers sayings, “At that time we were working in a small field, essentially a mill setup. After graduating from the 10th, I joined him, getting involved in every step.”
Starting from a rented place to moving towards a 5-acre Place
The journey was not easy and it started in Chikalthana. Between 1993 and 1997, they started operating in a rented shed in Chikalthana. He believes it to be their first major step in scaling. In 1997, the company received its first crucial order from Greaves Cotton. It was a turning point for them, Vikram shares in happiness. “I still remember the excitement when we got the approval for the components on the very first attempt. That success gave us the confidence to push further.”
Following the approval, his father, Ahoke Dekate, gained significant recognition in the industry. Vikram also shares that during those times, there was support from a well known aluminium company. In 2000, they further expanded their business by acquiring a small industrial estate property in Chikalthana MIDC with an area of 2,350 sq ft Vikram realises, “It was not huge, but it gave us room to expand”.
By 2006, the company started looking for a larger space and then they acquired a 5-acre property with a shed of about 16,000 sq ft. The location was again in Chikalthana MIDC and the purchase costed them 1.8 crore. According to Vikram, this was a big investment from them. However, with such a big expansion, there also came some challenges, the challenge of distance for the workers. Many found it difficult to commute and wished that the move had been made earlier.
Besides this, the entry into the big companies was also something to overcome, as it was difficult for the small-scale industry to break in or secure large orders. “It was a frustrating phase, we needed to do something”, expresses Vikram. And that’s when they decided to take a step that would change their approach in the company.
A New Approach with New Challenges
Reverse engineering, a new method that was about to help the growth of the company in the coming future. For the company, setting up its alloy-making facility changed everything. She shares, “ We started building the setup in 2006, and by 2008, we had a full-fledged alloy-making unit running. It gave us control over our material quality, reduced dependency, and opened up new possibilities”. It was a journey of constant evolution, where the start was from a small-based unit to becoming a self-sufficient setup capable of making their alloys.
At the time of the Financial crisis in 2008, Vikram’s company suffered a loss of Rs 10 lakh and then they decided to stop alloy making and shifted all casting operations into a newly formed private limited company. He says, “Initially, we started with a proprietary firm and later merged everything into the present private limited entity.”
Vikram acknowledges that throughout the journey of establishing the company, there were many challenges. From getting a place for the company to paying for it. Bank credibility was the next challenge. He says, “At the beginning, our financial corpus was in the negative, we had no capital, only a legacy.”
The Fruit of Hard Work and Dedication
Initially, Vikram believed alloy making to be a technical job, but it turned out to be a commercial venture that needed to be cost-effective. The first loan was of Rs 1.5 lakh in 1997, and after repaying it to a small corporate bank. They then again took a loans of Rs 4.5 lakh, Rs 10 lakh and eventually Rs 15 lakh. However, the struggle gave the results. Between 1997 and 2003, the company grew by 30% year on year and by 2008 to 2009. They were operating with a modest budget of Rs 2.5 crore.
In 2010, when some foreign delegates from Italy visited the company, they got an opportunity to show their reverse engineering work. Vikram explains how the delegates were curious about the process of development. He adds further, “I explained our use of reverse engineering and insert-based solid root techniques. I told them I was aware of solid root technology but didn’t know how to drill it precisely. They said it could be done in China”.
V Subramanium, who was vice president of Endurence and knew Ashoke Dekate, approved the machine of reverse engineering within 15 days, which was an achievement of Vikram and his company. However, initially, the orders were not forthcoming. At that time, Subramanium helped and gave them an order for 5,000 feet for Boxer bikes, and this was around 2011. The engineering concept behind this was to use both solid root and insert root. Generally, molten metal is filled into a cavity, and the core creates a cavity in the casting.
He explains further, “However, this traditional method often caused leakage and shrinkages due to the erratic behaviour of aluminium. So, I applied common sense, similar to how we fill a beer or Pepsi glass, that is by tilting the mold 30 to 45 degrees to allow air bubbles to rise and impurities to migrate toward the centre, the hottest part. Once the impurities were collected at the centre, we drilled them out. This gave us clean, sturdy castings”.
Reflecting on the journey back, Vikram realises that they developed the raw casting technique, custom-made their own machines and drills, and tackled complex drilling challenges. Globally, drills with L/D (length-to-diameter) ratio above 4 are rare. The company achieved L/D 10 to 13, which was not available even in Germany or from companies like MachineX. Many drill suppliers refused to guarantee tool life. Vikram worked with a local machine maker, Sigma Tooling, and tested tools from Steady and 3Tech. Out of 10 tools, 9 failed. But one tool worked perfectly, and they moved forward from there.
They scaled production to 120 sets per day using a lab machine. Later, developed a special-purpose machine (SPM) over two years. Even though they made some losses and increased dues from banks like DSP and SELSAC, they kept pushing forward.
A Journey Which is Yet to Cover
Vikram had joined his father’s business after 10th grade. Though initially he wanted to study B.Com, he had a strong interest in engineering, which helped him quickly grasp technical aspects. Later, his younger brother, Chetan Dekate, now the director, joined in, and business began improving. In 2014, they also applied for a patent, which was granted six months ago.
Before the pandemic, about 80–86% of the business came from Royal Enfield. They also supplied parts for Honda Activa, Honda Shine, Scout bikes, Jawa, and Extreme, producing high-performance castings using solid root technology, including components like selector heads and crankcases (5C engine). Vikram even developed a battery process for these components.
Since 2022, they have started a low-pressure die casting line. And are now in discussions with Hero for MMC parts, while also working on initial projects with Siemens, Hitachi, and Greaves Cotton.
“Regarding exports, the components are highly consumable”, Vikram says. Before the pandemic, India made 20 lakh bikes annually, and 60% of components were imported from China due to their low cost. But now, bikes from Bajaj, Hero, and even Harley Davidson use components made in Dekson Private Limited, made in India. They actively substituting many imported parts with Indian-made ones.
The company’s installed capacity is 2 lakh components per month, which equals 2.4 million per year. However, post-pandemic, this capacity is underutilised because market prices haven’t changed since 2011, and competition from cheap imports continues.
Despite all the challenges and concerns, Vikram is proud of being recognised. He happily admits, “We are a listed company on the Bombay Stock Exchange under the Institutional Trading Platform (ITP) since 2016–2017”. Although they have not issued shares yet, they are listed for visibility. They are also exploring the acquisition of a U.S. company, and have evaluated Dubai-based firms with actively pursuing deals in the ₹40–50 crore range.
