The electricity has developed as a major part of a life and life without electricity is a thing that can’t be imagined. Industries indisputably need constant supply of electricity and certainly need transformer for ducking voltage instabilities and malfunctions caused by some machines due to voltage problems. A transformer is a solution for all these glitches and it has the potential to fix it.
KRYFS Power Components is a renowned name as manufactures of transformer laminations and cores. We at Insights Success are delighted to introduce you to Saif F Qureishi, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at KRYFS. The outset of the leader’s and entire team’s efforts is dedicated to achieve overall business environment development and sustainability.
Following excerpt is the highlight of the interview:
IS: Kindly share your Vision and Mission of your organization.
The Vision of KRYFS is to be a globally recognized player in whichever products or services that we offer to the market, leading to growth and prosperity of all our stakeholders (shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers and community)
Our Mission is to achieve scale and excellence in everything KRYFS offers to the market, by providing optimal quality, great value and delightful service to our customers.
IS: Kindly brief us about the company.
KRYFS Power Components Ltd is India’s largest manufacturer of transformer lamination and core and the world’s second largest. KRYFS also makes transformers upto 10 MVA, 33 KV class, the largest manufacturer of transformer tanks and is engaged in Power distribution projects (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) across India in 4 states. We also provide green solar power to several industry with PPAs with private industry of about 3 MW on rooftops.
KRYFS has a strategic investment from Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Japan, a US$ 80 Billion sister company of Toyota Motors. KRYFS is the only company in this sector to have this privilege.
IS: What kind of solutions/services/products does your company offer at par with the current industry standards?
We were one of the first companies to introduce “step lap lamination” in India, which actually reduced the No Load Loss of transformers by 6 to 8%, without any additional cost. We were conferred with the Assocham Innovation award for this innovation Now it is an industry standard in the transformer industry to use “step lap laminations”.
Besides, KRYFS is the only company to offer both tanks and transformer laminations upto 765 KV class of transformers which are the highest rating of commercially produced transformers in the country. In fact, KRYFS is the only company in the world to offer both these products to the transformer manufacturer.
IS: What fascinates you most about the electrical industry?
What fascinates me is that the electrical industry in totality, is contributing to the country’s development and progress. As one is aware that nothing is possible without electricity today and therefore India is fortunate that our electrical industry is well developed and we have sufficient supply of world class electrical equipments in the country.
IS: Kindly mention the awards and accolades?
We have received several awards from Engineering export promotion council for exports, for 6 consecutive years, the Asscocham innovation award, the India’s small giant’s awards and several other awards which are too many to list here.
IS: What were the major challenges the company faced during its growth?
Like any growing organization, the biggest challenge is building a robust, competent and committed team of people. Ultimately it is the people who make an organization. KRYFS is a value driven company always putting values above business. We have our enumerated 7 H values of Honesty, Humility, Helpful nature, Humanitarian approach, Hardwork, Happy outlook and Hamesha Kaizen (Always improving). We start every meeting at KRYFS by discussing one of the 7 H values for 5 to 10 minutes and thereafter go on the agenda of the meeting.
IS: What are your views regarding the current scenario of the industry?
Currently with the various schemes of the government like DDUGVY, IPDS, Saubhagya, the demand for electrical equipment is good. However the financial situation of most companies in the electrical industry is not very sound. This is because the end customer- the state utilities- are not in good financial health and this condition will obviously be passed on down the food chain.
Further intense competition from Chinese players (who somehow have access to supply electrical equipments to India, while we don’t have the same access to Chinese market) has a severe pressure on margins. Also the tightening of fund availability by the banking industry has created a cash crunch in the electrical industry, like in all other industries.
Thus, I would say the current scenario in the electrical equipment industry is satisfactory from a demand perspective but gloomy from a cash flow perspective.
IS: Brief us about the company’s future perspectives?
We intend to pay greater attention to solar rooftop business along with energy storage (batteries) while also exploring the applications of IIOT (Industrial Internet of Things), AI (Artificial Intelligence) and ML (Machine Learning) in the electrical equipments industry to make the equipments more predictable and the supply more robust.
IS: Please share a quote that best describes your company.
Our 7th H value, “Hamesha Kaizen” (always improving) best describes KRYFS. There is no end to improvement and if a company has a mission of “always improving”, one can never be obsolete or out of business. All businesses which have had a long run can be case studies to prove that organizations that are constantly improving, ultimately survive the tough times and thrive in good times.
About the Leader
Saif F Qureishi the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director at KRYFS, and his father F.B.Qureishi co-founded KRYFS in December 1992 with very little capital. His father F.B.Qureishi (fondly known as FBQ) ran a very small manufacturing unit in Mumbai, making small electrical equipments. However the unit was not doing too well.
When Mr. Qureishi graduated from IIM Bangalore, and decided to be an entrepreneur, his father decided to close down that business and support him in the business that Mr. Qureishi proposed to set up. His father handled a very critical and important portfolio in the company, finance, and that left him free to grow and expand the business in the early days. His father passed away in May 2015, after a long and illustrious career in this sector.
Mr. Qureishi has been associated with various industry organizations like IEEMA, ITMA, CII and IIMBAA as a part of his professional journey and has changed the lamination industry which was dependent mostly on secondary CRGO (raw material) to Prime CRGO.
He claims, today, KRYFS is not only the preferred supplier to most of the large and prestigious transformer manufacturers in India and abroad, but also a preferred customer for most of the CRGO mills around the world. As CRGO electrical steel is a material manufactured by only a handful of countries around the world, it is imperative to have a good relationship and a constant supply of raw material to be successful in this business.
