An interview with Sunil Nuthakki, CEO, Sai Deepa Rock Drills…
“Our tools play a major role in the operations of drills. We are a Rock Drilling tool manufacturer based out of Hyderabad, India and work with some of the top corporations in mining and construction industries.Our tools compete with the top brands on range, availability, quality and overall cost per metre. Our offices in France, South Africa, Brazil and USA were started strategically, to make sure our entire range of products are available to different parts of the world.”
As a leader, how best did you strategize to maintain your confidence level that enabled you to triumph over the pandemic-induced crisis?
The pandemic was certainly a major crisis for a manufacturing industry like us where work from home is not possible. Keeping the factory operations live was very important as our tools are critical for Essential commodities.
Continuous testing, tracking and isolation was observed at our factories. Stringent measures were taken in terms of Maintaining Distance, Mask Mandates, Cleanliness of Self & Environment and Proper Ventilation in all areas were key to our success. Visitor movement was totally restricted. We asked all our Channel Partners to follow covid protocols very seriously. The situation was tough, but we could still achieve production with strict measures in line with Government protocols. We were very fortunate to have the support from our government and also our Industry associations, who worked with us closely to address the issue and curtail the virus at bay.
I would say with pride that our company was one of the first organisations to complete 100 per cent vaccination at the earliest. We also had “Zero” fatalities among employees in the Wave two and three of the pandemic, which shows how better we were prepared.
Quality and pricing – how will you balance this equation to cater to a price-sensitive market?
The business of rock drilling tools is performance driven. It is not just the price of the product that actually drives our market. Many parameters which include Penetration, Life, Quality, Fuel consumption etc, are few parameters which enable our customers to decide which product they would like to buy. Overall, our products give the best Cost Per Metre of drilling and this is how we address the Price Sensitive markets.
There simply cannot be any compromise. We need continuous R&D on our products with respect to the strata of the geological location of the drilling. Understanding the customer requirement and tailoring the product to their needs is very critical in our industry. As you know, Mother Earth is full of surprises.
We also have good inventory levels, which help us to sustain sudden impacts like we had with the Steel prices lately. Our concept of all process under one roof also helps us to maintain our costs lower than our competition which makes us cater to Price Sensitive markets with ease.
Provide some insights on your products’ winning technological features that will suit the Indian construction scenario.
Indian construction scenario is changing very fast and for all the good reasons. Our products can help the transformations much faster and at a very cost-efficient manner. Our R&D team is working continuously on many advanced features that can help the drilling industry address the challenges they are facing today. One of our new developments is in the line of 3D Printing and Surface coatings. We have our own Laser Cladding machines, which we use, to add a surface coating on the base metal. This process helps to enhance our product life and reduce the drilling time drastically, mainly in the most abrasive formations.
We are also working with IIT Hyderabad to establish a connect with our young engineers and be a part of the latest technologies that can help our industry.
Forging was a very critical part of the product and the quality had a large dependency on it. Decision to start our own Forgings was a difficult but fruit bearing. Sai Deepa started its captive Forging unit which soon became an independent business vertical. We believe in developing critical operations in-house to have better control on quality. Lot of technological improvement are being planned in this sector of our business as well.
CE manufacturers are now under pressure to introduce machines in the market which are not just cost effective but also comply with regulatory norms for lower emissions. Your viewpoint…
It is important that we as human beings start reducing our carbon foot print globally. Lower emissions are good for our environment and since there is a possibility we all should comply. Now most manufacturers are looking at Battery operated machinery as well.
In drilling industry, people work in very tough conditions. A mine which goes as deep as 1,000 m and imagine the kind of ventilation we get at those depths. In general, the atmosphere there is highly risky and having machines with higher emission make the life of a miner more miserable.
As the saying goes, “Where there is a will there is a way”. There is definitely a way to have a cost efficient solutions which comply with the changing regulations. Even though we are a tool manufacturer and not a machine manufacturer, we are still closely monitoring the changing standards, as we are also planning to step towards getting into a Machine Manufacturing Venture.
What are the possible challenges in the post-covid era? What are your suggestions to further ease a business-friendly climate?
The post-covid time is the new normal. It has taught us many things, mainly how we can do business across the globe by sitting in one place. Also we have gone through an extensive process of Safety standard improvements. The possible challenges in a post-covid era would be to analyse the risks associated to travelling, which we can overcome eventually.
Post-covid all essentials have increased, which includes, Fuel, Raw Materials, etc., which impact production costs. Normal increase is always welcome but then steep increase in recent Steel costs will impact overall Manufacturing sector which in turn needs to passed on the End User. If this Life Cycle can come back to Normalcy, I feel it can help further ease the business-friendly climate.
Your stance on the market demand dynamics. How do you foresee the future?
Our tools play a major role in the operations of drills. We are a Rock Drilling tool manufacturer based out of Hyderabad, India and work with some of the top corporations in mining and construction industries. Some of our prestigious Indian clients include Vedanta Group, Reliance, Wipro, Navayuga, L&T, MEIL, SMS, etc, working for UCIL, HZL, HCL and many more tunnelling projects and irrigation projects.
We are different. We are unique. Our tools compete with the top brands on range, availability, quality and overall cost per metre.
We also work closely with equipment manufacturers like Tata Hitachi, Hyundai, DAEMO and many Global mining companies with our products available in around 50 countries. Our offices in France, South Africa, Brazil and USA were started strategically, to make sure our entire range of products are available to different parts of the world. This makes our motto “Just Drill!” apt for our end users.
Your message to readers…
As an entrepreneur, it is critical to make decisions at the right time. There is no decision which is right or wrong. It is the effort and time you can put in to succeed. Not all decisions we make give the best results, but it is okay to fail sometimes. Whatever heights you reach, never stop learning. Keep your feet on the ground all the time. Never demand respect, earn it. One more point: not all wars are to be won. Strategic losing is very important to understand.
There is no decision which is right or wrong, make decisions at the right time, followed by lots of effort you can put in to succeed. Not all decisions we make give the best results, but it is okay to fail sometimes. Continuous learning is very important. Whatever heights you reach, never stop learning. Keep your feet on the ground all the time. Never demand respect, earn it!