Chandra Shekhar Chandan
Director
Starting its voyage in 1981, Trident Fabricators Pvt. Ltd. gradually become conglomerate dealing with products pertaining to aluminium, power, and steel, under the guidance of Chandra Shekhar. With more than 20-25 MSME units directly working under it, Trident Fabricators has blossomed into a prolific industrial platform offering employment to talents and nurturement to smaller industries as well. With a notion to mould Trident Fabricators as an impeccable enterprise that is synonymous with innovation and an outstanding reputation, Chandra Shekhar is passionate about setting up a business that is lauded for its industry-specific offerings and this is what has motivated him to keep going on a daily basis.
Chandra Shekhar engages in an exclusive interaction with CEO Insights.
How would you define Trident Fabricators as an organization and its position in the market? What is the unique proposition that your organization offers to its clients?
In India at present, the engineering industry, especially about 90 percent of equipment manufacturer and steel fabrication segment is quite unorganized. In this domain, most of the players indulge in doing small chunks of work, rather than demonstrating a professional approach and executing projects in Turnkey basis from Design, Civil Foundations, Manufacture Installation & Commissioning.
We have managed to position Trident Fabricators in such a way that all of our bigclients are the prominent conglomerates of India such as Tata Steel, Jindal, NTPC, Vedanta, Thyssenkrupp and so on.
All these organizations look up to Trident as an extremely professional organization, which has a very good corporate setup. And as we work with the culture of delegating responsibilities to all our team members, our clients get a huge amount of satisfaction that they're dealing with a professional and corporate organization. I think this phenomenon sets us apart in this industry from a lot of other players. Working with a lot of project-based companies, the most critical bench mark for us is to deliver quality products in time. Owing to our strict adherence to timely delivery and zero tolerance for quality compromise of our products, our clients keep coming back to us for further business.
Why did you choose Odisha to be the breeding ground of your company? How has been the state favoring you so far in your operations?
Although I came to Odisha for a different set of reasons, I soon realized that Odisha was on fast track towards industrialisation with huge mineral sources. Further, there is a huge customer base in form of steel plants, power plants and aluminium plants in Odisha. Since there were very few organised industrial equipment manufacturing industry in Odisha, almost all the businesses used to go out of the state.
Now, Trident has PAN India clients who source material from us. Though Odisha is the major consumer of our products, Trident is a major player in supply to neighbouring states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Odisha also provides a condusive environment with the availability of skilled technicians, good connectivity and political stability. Rourkela, with its cosmopolitan culture, has been an ideal breading group for Trident to not only establish itself but to flourish in its expansion & growth plans.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
All these organizations look up to Trident as an extremely professional organization, which has a very good corporate setup. And as we work with the culture of delegating responsibilities to all our team members, our clients get a huge amount of satisfaction that they're dealing with a professional and corporate organization. I think this phenomenon sets us apart in this industry from a lot of other players. Working with a lot of project-based companies, the most critical bench mark for us is to deliver quality products in time. Owing to our strict adherence to timely delivery and zero tolerance for quality compromise of our products, our clients keep coming back to us for further business.
Owing to our strict adherence to timely delivery and keenness to maintain the quality of our products, our clients keep coming back to us for further businesses
Why did you choose Odisha to be the breeding ground of your company? How has been the state favoring you so far in your operations?
Although I came to Odisha for a different set of reasons, I soon realized that Odisha was on fast track towards industrialisation with huge mineral sources. Further, there is a huge customer base in form of steel plants, power plants and aluminium plants in Odisha. Since there were very few organised industrial equipment manufacturing industry in Odisha, almost all the businesses used to go out of the state.
Now, Trident has PAN India clients who source material from us. Though Odisha is the major consumer of our products, Trident is a major player in supply to neighbouring states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal. Odisha also provides a condusive environment with the availability of skilled technicians, good connectivity and political stability. Rourkela, with its cosmopolitan culture, has been an ideal breading group for Trident to not only establish itself but to flourish in its expansion & growth plans.
Going forward, what are the changes in market behavior that you anticipate and what are the opportunities that you foresee?
In the upcoming five years, we are envisaging good growth in the Indian economy. Trident has been growing at a very healthy pace for the last five years, & owing to the policies that the Indian government is currently introducing under the concept of ‘Make in India’ and all the infrastructure projects moving on fast track, we are hopeful of exponential growth in the upcoming days. Believing in the concept of outsourcing, we have developed network of MSME units that cater exclusively to Trident Fabricators requirements, and we ensure that they give us quality products. It gives me immense satisfaction that these young enterprises which are very similar to what we were 20-30 years back are finding it easy to grow and nurture their business with Trident.
In the light of your strong experience in the manufacturing industry, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
The biggest question that the budding entrepreneurs face is ‘what is the right time to launch your own startup?’ With the way the economy is growing, I think, this is the opportune time for people to take the leap and start their own businesses. To the budding entrepreneurs, my advice will be to not delay and start theirventure immediately. The mantra to find success in today’s global business environment is to think big, use latest technology & deliver world class products. It goes without saying that apart from these mantra’s, nothing can succeed without hard work. Set your vision right & be prepared to chase your dream & success will be yours.
Chandra Shekhar Chandan, Director, Trident Fabricators Private Limited
Apart from being a successful industry professional, Chandra Shekhar is a family man, who enjoys spending quality time with his better half Soni, who provides the spiritual anchor & personal stability within the professional turmoils. Chandra Shekhar takes immense pride in the professional growth & character strength of both his daughters Anuja & Richa and his son Ashish. Interacting with them keeps him young at heart & connected to the younger generation. Chandra Shekhar also loves reading and quotes the book ‘Deep Purpose’ by Ranjay Gulati to be his favorite. Reflecting on the concepts that mostly deals with organizations and how they should find deep business purpose to grow and survive for a long period, this book is one of the most recommended by Chandra Shekhar for entrepreneurs and established industry professionals alike.
Awards and Recognitions:
National Industrial Excellence Awardby the All India achievers foundation in 2007
In the light of your strong experience in the manufacturing industry, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs?
The biggest question that the budding entrepreneurs face is ‘what is the right time to launch your own startup?’ With the way the economy is growing, I think, this is the opportune time for people to take the leap and start their own businesses. To the budding entrepreneurs, my advice will be to not delay and start theirventure immediately. The mantra to find success in today’s global business environment is to think big, use latest technology & deliver world class products. It goes without saying that apart from these mantra’s, nothing can succeed without hard work. Set your vision right & be prepared to chase your dream & success will be yours.
Chandra Shekhar Chandan, Director, Trident Fabricators Private Limited
Apart from being a successful industry professional, Chandra Shekhar is a family man, who enjoys spending quality time with his better half Soni, who provides the spiritual anchor & personal stability within the professional turmoils. Chandra Shekhar takes immense pride in the professional growth & character strength of both his daughters Anuja & Richa and his son Ashish. Interacting with them keeps him young at heart & connected to the younger generation. Chandra Shekhar also loves reading and quotes the book ‘Deep Purpose’ by Ranjay Gulati to be his favorite. Reflecting on the concepts that mostly deals with organizations and how they should find deep business purpose to grow and survive for a long period, this book is one of the most recommended by Chandra Shekhar for entrepreneurs and established industry professionals alike.
Awards and Recognitions:
National Industrial Excellence Awardby the All India achievers foundation in 2007