Shyamal Chatterjee: A First Generation Entrepreneur Dedicated To Promoting Renewable Energy Propagation & Implementation In India
Shyamal Chatterjee
CEO & MD
Continuing this vision of capturing and harnessing the maximum possible energy from the Sun, Galaxy Solar Energy is working tirelessly to achieve that goal for mankind. Galaxy is an experienced turnkey solar Engineering, Procurement and Commissioning (EPC) company. It was established in 2017 by Shyamal Chatterjee, along with a highly skilled team. Shyamal, with his extensive knowledge in his field of work in Solar Power Systems, is now Secretary of Maha Solar Sangathan (MSS), Chairman of MaharastraEconomic Development Council (MEDC) and the Founder & Chairman of Galaxy Foundation, which works for the underprivileged class in India.
CEO Insights engages in an exclusive interaction with Shyamal, as he shares the story of his journey through the lens of Galaxy Solar Energy.
Give us a brief detail about your educational & professional background and how has it helped you in your journey so far?
I completed my education from St. Karen's High School till class 10. Later on, I did my plus two from Patna Central School, and then I moved to Nagpur for my engineering studies and completed my Mechanical Engineering from G.H. Raisoni College of Engineering. While these things have helped me a lot, the leadership came from the start, where I served as a school captain for sports in all activities; also in college, I was the student union leader, which groomed my characteristics.
Initially, I was seeking a job in Tata Steel. One of the reasons I did mechanical engineering was several of my relatives worked at Tata Steel, and it was my dream job. Due to the global recession, there was no chance for employment in that company. Then, the thought of starting my own business came to my mind. After getting initial success, I started a construction business in the year 2010, where I was the mining consultant and the youngest contractor at that time in the city.
Share with us the inception story of your company and what inspired you to establish Galaxy Solar Energy?
It inspired me to start a solar company because it was almost an untouched industry from several resources. When we started dealing
with solar and explained to people about it, they didn't believe that certain things are working on solar. Initially, we started with 4-5 people in a very small office in 2017.When Maharashtra government subsidy first phase was ending, I promised 23 customers that their subsidy will be credited into their account and our people worked till 2am at night, we packed-up our bags and at 3am reached our places. It was the first kick that we got that bought into our business, and the amount of around Rs. 15-25 lakh was the business we accomplished on that day.
We whole heartedly give service to our customers; for example, every month, twice or at least once a month we do a survey, wherein in this survey of the system, we look for faults. If any fault is identified, we rectify those things smoothly.
What strategic guidance and direction do you give to the board to ensure that the company achieves its vision and mission? How does your experience help you in business operation and what has been the biggest challenge in your professional journey?
I am the mentor of the company. I'm guiding mypeople on customerrelationships, where they are to treat the customer as our god, and we do follow it at Galaxy. This is the service industry; if your systems do not work at odd times also, we will respond to that immediately. We let you understand what was the fault in the system and rectify them from our end without any extra charges. I learned from the people how to grow; if you are committed to any work, you will not fail, and I believe every business needs honesty. As of now, we are serving in around 25 locations all over India and have very good corporate clients such as Tata Steel and Siemens, and now, the Umami group is the new star in our weather and a new feather in our cap.
The distribution of salaries was the biggest challenge when I started the business and we distributed 7:3 of the salary at certain times. We recruited because we have to give service, but a new business was not that much profiting. Gradually, we were able to give the salary. We borrowed some money from friends, sometimes I got the salaries on interest to run the company, and as a result, I was in a loss of Rs.1.5 crore.
Which has been the most exciting project so far? What did you learn from it? What are various services provided by Galaxy Solar Energy?
The most exciting project for the company was the Kisan Sampada Project, which was the first Megawatt order of the 2.1 Megawatts. Till that time, the highest capacity of single system that we had was 50 Kilowatts. Even though we did not have a lot of experience in doing such big projects, it was the sheer confidence which helped us to grab that order
I'm guiding my people on customer relationships, where they are to treat the customer as our god, and we do follow it at Galaxy
We whole heartedly give service to our customers; for example, every month, twice or at least once a month we do a survey, wherein in this survey of the system, we look for faults. If any fault is identified, we rectify those things smoothly.
What strategic guidance and direction do you give to the board to ensure that the company achieves its vision and mission? How does your experience help you in business operation and what has been the biggest challenge in your professional journey?
I am the mentor of the company. I'm guiding mypeople on customerrelationships, where they are to treat the customer as our god, and we do follow it at Galaxy. This is the service industry; if your systems do not work at odd times also, we will respond to that immediately. We let you understand what was the fault in the system and rectify them from our end without any extra charges. I learned from the people how to grow; if you are committed to any work, you will not fail, and I believe every business needs honesty. As of now, we are serving in around 25 locations all over India and have very good corporate clients such as Tata Steel and Siemens, and now, the Umami group is the new star in our weather and a new feather in our cap.
The distribution of salaries was the biggest challenge when I started the business and we distributed 7:3 of the salary at certain times. We recruited because we have to give service, but a new business was not that much profiting. Gradually, we were able to give the salary. We borrowed some money from friends, sometimes I got the salaries on interest to run the company, and as a result, I was in a loss of Rs.1.5 crore.
Which has been the most exciting project so far? What did you learn from it? What are various services provided by Galaxy Solar Energy?
The most exciting project for the company was the Kisan Sampada Project, which was the first Megawatt order of the 2.1 Megawatts. Till that time, the highest capacity of single system that we had was 50 Kilowatts. Even though we did not have a lot of experience in doing such big projects, it was the sheer confidence which helped us to grab that order
with expertise evenwhile we were competing with around 17 companies. We not only grabbed that order,but also performed very well in terms of services, and after that, there was no looking back for Galaxy Solar Energy. After we got this great exposure, we became a great combination of commitment and work experience.
How has Covid-19 impacted the Renewable Energy industry? What are the major hurdles witnessed by Galaxy Solar Energy due to the pandemic?
In the lockdown, we started doing some charity and donated around one lakh rupees to the PM Fund. We served the people who were not able to earn in our nearby places, that was the basic challenge. Every customer refused to pay at that time because of the condition. We resumed our services based on emergency services because we are getting several orders, but the difficulty was that around 150+ people were infected in the company. This was a big task, as we did not have people who are aware, but we had orders and the finances also were blocked.
I visited our major clients in the food sector. Additionally, we grabbed many orders in May, worth around Rs.20 crores in a mixed order that helped me to get out of the situation. If the Covid-19 restrictions were not there, the idea was to grow throughout the country and beyond, as we had already opened-up an office in Thailand. The same condition applies to the service industry with solar in any city. We want to grow more, but once these restrictions end, we will be opening a lot of new ventures.
What are the unique benefits that can be expected from Galaxy Solar Energy compared to your competitors? How do you update yourself with the latest technologies in therenewable industry?
The component which we provide is of high quality compared to others, as they are not providing quality to the consumers. They are only thinking about the 15-20 percent margin that goes into their pocket and they will be happy for another two to three years or five years. Our vision is of a long-term business and we ensure the customer that for 25 long years, they can enjoy the benefits of Galaxy Solar power plants.
I am the secretary of the Maha Solar Sangathan, which we found a few years ago. I approached the MSME ministry for a reason on a huge loss if the solar is not installed in the industry. The union power minister R.K Singh took my case study and this case study was read in Parliament and was accepted in Lok Sabha. The first year, we did a business around Rs. 1.5 crores, the successive years, Rs. 9- 10 crore and the next year Rs. 21 crores; our banking turnover was Rs. 45 crore, but we were restricted with GST to Rs. 30 crore.
Shyamal Chatterjee, CEO & MD, Galaxy Solar Energy
QUICK FACTS
•Hobby: Listening to music and playing sports
•Favorite Cuisine: Non-veg food
•Favorite Book: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari
How has Covid-19 impacted the Renewable Energy industry? What are the major hurdles witnessed by Galaxy Solar Energy due to the pandemic?
In the lockdown, we started doing some charity and donated around one lakh rupees to the PM Fund. We served the people who were not able to earn in our nearby places, that was the basic challenge. Every customer refused to pay at that time because of the condition. We resumed our services based on emergency services because we are getting several orders, but the difficulty was that around 150+ people were infected in the company. This was a big task, as we did not have people who are aware, but we had orders and the finances also were blocked.
I visited our major clients in the food sector. Additionally, we grabbed many orders in May, worth around Rs.20 crores in a mixed order that helped me to get out of the situation. If the Covid-19 restrictions were not there, the idea was to grow throughout the country and beyond, as we had already opened-up an office in Thailand. The same condition applies to the service industry with solar in any city. We want to grow more, but once these restrictions end, we will be opening a lot of new ventures.
What are the unique benefits that can be expected from Galaxy Solar Energy compared to your competitors? How do you update yourself with the latest technologies in therenewable industry?
The component which we provide is of high quality compared to others, as they are not providing quality to the consumers. They are only thinking about the 15-20 percent margin that goes into their pocket and they will be happy for another two to three years or five years. Our vision is of a long-term business and we ensure the customer that for 25 long years, they can enjoy the benefits of Galaxy Solar power plants.
I am the secretary of the Maha Solar Sangathan, which we found a few years ago. I approached the MSME ministry for a reason on a huge loss if the solar is not installed in the industry. The union power minister R.K Singh took my case study and this case study was read in Parliament and was accepted in Lok Sabha. The first year, we did a business around Rs. 1.5 crores, the successive years, Rs. 9- 10 crore and the next year Rs. 21 crores; our banking turnover was Rs. 45 crore, but we were restricted with GST to Rs. 30 crore.
Shyamal Chatterjee, CEO & MD, Galaxy Solar Energy
QUICK FACTS
•Hobby: Listening to music and playing sports
•Favorite Cuisine: Non-veg food
•Favorite Book: The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari