AIRA: You started with trading in FRP. How did the move to manufacturing happen?

Sushil Shah: While trading in FRP raw materials, we developed a new product “Phantom Veil’ which was an inhouse innovation, this product, changed the issue of many of the FRP end products, A concrete example is FRP doors. Before Phantom Veil use in Door application, doors were made in mono color it’s usage of restricted to bathroom doors. Phantom Veil imparted wood finish to the door keeping core properties of FRP door as it is, opening a whole new set of opportunities. This enhanced the application Phantom Veil to pretty much all fixtures in the house. Interestingly, Otis elevator used this in elevator doors. Garden benches that were made using wooden strip, got damaged in rains. Phantom Veil gave FRP bench strip a wood look and its usage increased ten-fold in the bench application. Now, this spark brought a thought in our mind that one idea can change an application, why don’t we try manufacturing using new idea and increase the usage of FRP.

AIRA: How did the idea of focusing on temple architecture come about?

Sushil Shah: As mentioned earlier, we took Phantom Veil as a product to US. During marketing we realized instead of raw materials, finished goods had a bigger market in the US. We found dome and cupolas in churches were made from FRP. This gave a spark to us, if it can be used in churches, why not temples? Intense marketing & proper market study of FRP products got us the idea of FRP’s use in building application; in turn it led us to temple business. During the course of our marketing efforts, we found that Indian Community in the USA was growing and they were also building many temples. We studied the Indian culture and temple construction methodology and found that there can be many components that can be converted from traditional material to FRP. This insight led us to focus on temple architecture.

AIRA: Temple architecture is usually stones, wood and metal. How difficult was it to convince customers to move to FRP?

Sushil Shah: You are right that traditionally materials used in temple construction are stone, granite & marble. Initially we did face resistance. We engaged in detailed study of the techno commercial aspect – of FRP vis-à-vis traditional material. We spoke to a few temple authorities and understood their difficulties both from accessing the materials to construction. We succeeded in getting a couple of test projects which we executed successfully. This could convince people of the superior quality, safety and long-term stability of FRP in comparison to other materials they were using. Techno- commercial viability finally convinced more people to award us with their temple construction projects.

AIRA: Temple construction is a mix of faith and emotion. How do you manage to stay true to the traditions while adhering to engineering principles?

Sushil Shah: Once we could convince the techno- commercial aspects, our next task was to keep our Indian traditional faith and emotions attached to temple. We hire qualified Sthapathi from South India and Sompura from Gujarat – people that traditionally are engaged in temple construction and have a deep understanding of the culture and the religious texts related to temple construction. We have engineers in our team that ensure design and construction are aligned to scientific principles while our design team looks after aesthetics. Building a temple is an emotional process for the entire community and we have ensured that we strictly adhere to the science and faith.

AIRA: You are almost 100% exports. How do you manage to adhere to so many different building laws across countries?

Sushil Shah: Initially when we started exports, we faced lot of issues on specifications, building code of USA which are far more stringent than in India. Our team in the USA ensures we are aware of the requirements and the process to adhere to them. We get lot of help from architect with whom we work in USA and they help us in setting up proper standards of manufacturing, keeping in mind the standards in USA.

AIRA: Magnus is a manpower intensive business. The sthapatis, designers, pattern makers, assembly staff – they all are skilled workmen. How do you recruit and train them to be effective in their work?

Sushil Shah: Yes, it is highly manpower intensive process and at every stage of manufacturing we require skilled, qualified & expert workers. We recruit a mix of fresh and experienced people and invest a lot in training. The best way of retaining and making them productive was to motivate them at every stage and making the policies keeping in mind their needs. On a broader note, we have built a culture where we reinforce that the reputation of not just our company but the country is at stake with every supply.

AIRA: What is the next milestone for Magnus Composites. How are you preparing the team for it?

Sushil Shah: Magnus is exporting FRP & GRC products for building application to seven countries around the world. Our next goal is to cover larger part of the world for building application. To achieve our goal, we are investing a lot in our manufacturing capabilities, machinery and skills of our people. We are preparing our team to take up responsibility of their division or one of business. We are leveraging our talent and experience to grow faster and scale.

AIRA: Making the business attractive for the second generation is a challenge many SMEs grapple with. You have successfully integrated your next generation into the business. How did you manage?

Sushil Shah: Yes, we have integrated next generation in our business. Every generation comes with its own style of working and approach to business. So, we have carved out product line and geographical territory so that they take complete ownership of their business. We have given lot of freedom to take their decisions. Our role in their business is to provide resources and guidance as required and they can scale the business to their potential.

AIRA: What is the one policy change you would advocate to ensure a favourable environment for SMEs?

Sushil Shah: Government needs to support the SMEs by opening training and testing centres. Help them to make the aware of international standards and quality requirements and eliminate the ‘chalta hai’ culture. In the markets we operate, less than the best ‘Nahi Chalega’

AIRA: What would be your advice to other SME owners that are looking to scale the business?

Sushil Shah: “World is the market”