Saket Jain joined DCM Shriramin which is a business conglomerate with a group turnover of INR 7,063 crores in Novemeber 1999. The business portfolio of DCM Shriram comprises primarily of agri rural, chlor-vinyl and value added business of Fenesta Building Systems.
He has held different positions in the organization and currently is the Business Head of Fenesta Building Systems. B360 interviewed Jain during his visit to Nepal to inaugurate Parth International’s new showroom in Kathmandu which is a joint showroom of Fenesta Building Systems and Kich Architectural Product. Excerpts:
Can you tell us about Fenesta Building Systems?
Fenesta Building System is part of the billion dollar DCM Shriram Group. DCM Shriram is basically comprises of three segments. The first one is agricultural segment which manufactures urea, hybrid seeds and sugar. The second segment is polyvinyl where we manufacture PVC Resins and cement. And the third is value added business which is Fenesta Building Systems. Fenesta started in 2003 as an extension to our PVC business. So from PVC we unplasticise and then make PVC profiles and we also fabricate. At this point of time, Fenesta is present in across 240 cities with almost 125 showrooms, four factories and almost close to 500 sales officials. We started our business of international operations around a year back with launch of products in Bhutan. Nepal is the second country of our international operations.
What products of Fesnesta Building Systems will be available in Nepal?
We have launched almost 60 plus variances at this point of time. So, there are casements, sliders, slide and fold, tilt and turn, lift and slide, and wood plastic composite doors in different colours and segments in wood colours. Just to give you a brief about uPVC which started in the early 60s in the West, but in India, Fenesta was the one to launch uPVC in 2003. At this point of time, in the western world, uPVC has penetration of close to 60-80% depending upon the country. And there are countries like the UK where the penetration is close to 90%. Presently, the penetration is around 10-12% in India; but it is growing. In Nepal as well, usually wood and aluminium is being used but there are some companies who are selling uPVC also.
What are the advantages of uPVC against wood and aluminium?
Comparing the benefit of uPVC against wood and aluminium, uPVC gives you much better sound, heat, rain and dust insulation. uPVC is also a bad conductor of heat and electricity. So, it gives you a supreme quality of sealing. In wood, over a period of time, there are cases of warping, and in terms of aluminium, there is continuously extraction and contraction happening because of which the sealing one should get from a window or a door is compromised. Therefore, what happens is dust particles keep invading houses, water leaks whenever there is a heavy rainfall, etc. Besides, if there is ahigh wind pressure, there is a whistling or rattling noise from windows and in this kind of pollution - as here in Kathmandu - the pollution also enters homes and offices. Fenesta provides 100% ceiling or a much superior ceiling compared to any other product. Also, it is aesthetically better compared to wood and aluminium.
What is the scope for Fesnesta Bulding Systems in Nepal?
As I mentioned before, we started our international operations around a year back and we started looking for countries which are neighbouring countries to start our international operations. Nepal was one such country we saw good potential in. Then we started looking for partners, and we came across Parth International. We found the right partner which promised potential so we have decided to go ahead and launch Fenesta products in Nepal.
What is the competition like here?
First of all, Fenesta is a unique organisation which commands control over end-to-end. So, right from PVC resin to profiling, surveying, fabricating, installing, handing over and after sales, we are the only company that provides complete solutions. Generally, the competition which is present in India or in Nepal provide limited services. Either they are just fabricators or just salesmen or they just provide installation. What this means is, the overall quality control is not there and therefore the customer is not able to get the kind of quality they desire. We being in command of the whole end-to-end solution are able to provide a much better and superior solution to the customer all under one roof.
What is your target market?
There is no one particular type or background of people to whom we are trying to promote our products. Everybody is a customer of Fenesta. Anybody who is looking for a solution from the pollution or if insulation from sound is required in homes, are our customers. We have launched almost 60 products here. The price range of these products depends on the size, shape and colour of the product. It varies from INR 600-4000 per square foot.
Fenesta recently won the National Award for Marketing Excellence in terms of Most Preferred Brand of Real Estate Sector (uPVS windows and doors) awarded by Times Network. Can you tell us about that?
We are the most preferred brand in India. We command almost close to 25% market share. So, we are by far the biggest. It was an honour to receive the award from Times Network on this platform. Right now, we do provide services to quite a few builders whether it is DLF, Prestige, or Brigade and similarly we are operating in 240 cities. Our presence is very unique and also widespread which is probably why Times Network chose us for the prestigious award.
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