Starting from a 600 square feet tin shed to building a Rs 25 crore company, Anil Jhamtani, the founder of Elcab Conductors has shown phenomenal growth as an entrepreneur. Today, his company is placed to offer import substitute cables of German and Japanese quality to Indian manufacturers.
Cables are an integral part of modern technologies. From Power Cables which supplies power to an electronic gadget to Optic Fibers which transfer data at high speeds to power up our internet experience, the role of cables cannot be ignored.
Elcab Conductors offers Indian manufacturers the option of buying indigenous cables with the same assured quality as leading foreign brands from Germany and world-class efficiency comparable to cables made in Japan.
Elcab Conductors was founded in 1994 by Anil Jhamtani, who comes from a humble background that remains true to his ethics, fairness and rich culture even today.
In conversation with Machine Maker, he shares how he started the company and how he overcame the challenges he faced in his 29 years of experience in the field.
Dream to Do-It-Yourself
Having a Bachelors Degree in Mechanical Engineering from The College of Engineering Pune, Anil was selected as a Trainee Engineer at Alfa Laval through campus placements. With only Rs 2,000 as his monthly stipend, he decided to resign from Alfa Laval after a year of training. “I wanted to do something of my own. That’s when I started looking for new projects. I devoted myself to study rigorously for six to eight hours,” said Anil on how he moved towards entrepreneurship.
After studying various sectors and weighing his options, he decided to enter the cable industry. “My initial investment in the cable industry was not high. When I decided to start with cable manufacturing, I had an industrial shed of only 600 square feet and it was made of tin. The welding was done by a welder and I was his helper.” Anil bought a second-hand machine for manufacturing wires, which cost him Rs 35,000. It was significantly low compared to the price of a new wire manufacturing machine which used to come at over Rs 1.5 Lakh in the 1990s.
ELCAB Conductors: Beginning
Elcab Conductors started their wire production on November 6, 1992 with only two employees and Mr Jhamtani himself. With Rs 1.25 lakh cash credit limit from the bank and Rs 4 lakh from family members, he started the journey. The bank was very supportive and helped him to grow his company. “With the total capital of around 5.25 lakh I had started my journey, and today if I want to sell my company, it will fetch me around Rs 25 crores”, added Mr Jhamtani.
When the company first started, they were making automotive cables for wire harnessing vendors supplying to Bajaj Auto. They also were into the manufacturing of house wires. But the problem with auto wires and house wires, as faced by Elcab conductors, was that there was huge competition in the market for these wires.
The only way for survival of the company was to switch to manufacturing of special-purpose wires and customized cables. Yet the survival in special-purpose wires was dependent only on 15 to 20 per cent profit. “Financial management is key to survival in the Manufacturing sector”, explained Mr Jhamtani. “Customer is not my king, I choose my customers. I consider supplier as my king.” he added, while talking about his suppliers and customers.
Navigating the Challenges of Lockdown
The COVID 19 lockdown severely affected a lot of people, especially the manufacturing sector. The workers were the ones who suffered immensely across the world. But for Mr Jhamtani, the workers were his family and he took care of them even during lockdown.
Elcab Conductors finally resumed its operations on May 5, 2020 even though the sales were only about 30 per cent of the usual. The company suffered a significant decrease in turnover during the financial year of 2020. But now the worst has passed and the company has bounced back and recovered from the economic mess that the lockdown created.
The company invested Rs 1.5 crore in a new wire harnessing division about six months ago, a major step towards forward integration. The company has progressed from being run by two employees to around 50 employees today, Rs 5.25 lakh industrial shed to a Rs 25 crore manufacturing company.
Message for Aspiring Entrepreneurs
“There is always scope to learn till you die. You have to keep your eyes and ears open. Simplicity and keeping grounded is the key to business.
Entrepreneurs should become self-reliant in running the business. There is slow and steady growth in the manufacturing sector, but not to get overtaken by success and not to get over shaken by failure is important”, said Mr Jhamtani.
Elcab conductors are playing a prominent role in India’s economy by supplying specialized wires which are import substitutes. The company is exporting their cables to multinational companies in the UK, the USA, throughout the electrical and renewable power sector.
They believe in the motto “make your products so good and your service so professional that your customers become your marketers.” They are doing a wonderful job of achieving their goals and are expected to further the development of the cable industry in India.
