Dr. Manoj Debnath: Leveraging His Years Of Experience To Steer His Engineering Services Business Towards Success
Dr. Manoj Debnath
Founder & CEO
Even on a small scale, engineering projects are usually very complex. To achieve the desired results and ensure a satisfactory level of reliability, several different disciplines and technical specialties are needed. As a result, cultivating leadership skills is a vital way for engineers to add value to the projects on which they work. Engineering leaders foster not only individual strengths and skills, but also team cohesion and unity.
CEO Insights interviewed Dr.Manoj Debnath (Founder & CEO)of Universal Corrosion Prevention India (UPCI), where in he enlightened us about his professional journey and the challenges he overcame to establish his venture
What were the initial challenges that taught you the fundamentals of handling diverse organizational functions?
Initially, my goal was not to earn money but to gain experience money is always vital for survival, but the experience was something I concentrated on, and in the path of providing proper technological solutions to the industry, I ended up forming my venture rather than looking for projects for it. I didn't have a proper office in the beginning, and I was the only employee and asset of my business; without proper financial support, I took the risk of forming a company. Those were the days when I took on
a 30-lakh rupee project with just 15,000 rupees in my pocket. After coming this far and working hard for years, we now have about 30 employees working with us at UCPI and a 2500 square foot office in Calcutta. If we have the right mindset, we can do something, regardless of our financial or technical background. Having the potential to achieve anything will help people achieve their goals.
How have you been performing these responsibilities at UCPI? What is the most crucial leadership skill that you've learned in the business?
Today, I may be a CEO and might be leading a company, but initially, I have worked from being the only person handling everything. Right from going to a cyber cafe and getting printouts, making quotations, going on the field and examining the site, doing all these things and running around was done by all of me. I also handled accounts and drafting tendering. Eventually, employees started coming into the organization, and I have shown complete trust in their work and treat them like my superiors because trusting your employees is a main thing and it helps in building a company and running them successfully, you cannot do everything by yourself. My employees are like columns, a building cannot stand on a single column it needs a strong strength through various pillars.
As the CEO of the company what are the policies structures, you have implemented for the growth of the company.
We provide corrosion prevention services this device was originally used for ship polishing. Later, the same technology was used across countries for pipelines that
transported oil crude and hydrocarbons from one place to
Cathodic Protection to Prevent the Problem of Internal Corrosion of IOCL tanks was first introduced by UCPI
How have you been performing these responsibilities at UCPI? What is the most crucial leadership skill that you've learned in the business?
Today, I may be a CEO and might be leading a company, but initially, I have worked from being the only person handling everything. Right from going to a cyber cafe and getting printouts, making quotations, going on the field and examining the site, doing all these things and running around was done by all of me. I also handled accounts and drafting tendering. Eventually, employees started coming into the organization, and I have shown complete trust in their work and treat them like my superiors because trusting your employees is a main thing and it helps in building a company and running them successfully, you cannot do everything by yourself. My employees are like columns, a building cannot stand on a single column it needs a strong strength through various pillars.
As the CEO of the company what are the policies structures, you have implemented for the growth of the company.
We provide corrosion prevention services this device was originally used for ship polishing. Later, the same technology was used across countries for pipelines that
transported oil crude and hydrocarbons from one place to
another. Underground pipelines are vulnerable to corrosion and damage we used the same technology that was used in the 1990s to protect ships from corrosion in the pipeline field. Not only do we deal with cathodic processing and corrosion prevention in India, but also in the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.
What are the strategies/methods you put forward to align your organization with your vision and mission and how do you generate great value to your organization?
Our methods are very simple; we are always honest with our clients and constantly upgrade technology. Previously, I worked as a trainee at DRDO for a year, and later in my professional career, I learned several new techniques and introduced them to my business. If emerging innovations are not incorporated into the current business domain, a company would not be able to maintain itself because many competitors in the industry offer similar services. So, to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, we must do something different and special. At UCPI, we have introduced many new technologies like Remote Monitoring, Collecting Data through Satellite Systems’ Supply Sector and offer solutions based on these techniques. To mention one, earlier in all the IOCL tanks the cathodic protection was not provided and later on with the help of IOCL officials, we offered a solution that can prevent the problem of internal corrosion of tanks. Today, every company offers these services but initially, it was UCPI who introduced this service into the market.
In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a CEO?
There have been many professional achievements, and we have provided some services to the Indian Navy and Indian Army that cannot be revealed due to security concerns. Such ventures have given our business a boost and other accomplishments, and our services have been acknowledged by government bodies. And, in terms of personal achievements, for me, the sky is the limit; my goal was to build a niche market and a team of 100 people, with 30 workers on board, 30*4 equals 120 people, our business serves 120 people, which means 30 families rely on us. These are the most significant achievements that have provided me with the most satisfaction.
What are the strategies/methods you put forward to align your organization with your vision and mission and how do you generate great value to your organization?
Our methods are very simple; we are always honest with our clients and constantly upgrade technology. Previously, I worked as a trainee at DRDO for a year, and later in my professional career, I learned several new techniques and introduced them to my business. If emerging innovations are not incorporated into the current business domain, a company would not be able to maintain itself because many competitors in the industry offer similar services. So, to differentiate ourselves from our competitors, we must do something different and special. At UCPI, we have introduced many new technologies like Remote Monitoring, Collecting Data through Satellite Systems’ Supply Sector and offer solutions based on these techniques. To mention one, earlier in all the IOCL tanks the cathodic protection was not provided and later on with the help of IOCL officials, we offered a solution that can prevent the problem of internal corrosion of tanks. Today, every company offers these services but initially, it was UCPI who introduced this service into the market.
In your professional journey so far, which are the milestones that bestowed you with utmost satisfaction both as an individual and as a CEO?
There have been many professional achievements, and we have provided some services to the Indian Navy and Indian Army that cannot be revealed due to security concerns. Such ventures have given our business a boost and other accomplishments, and our services have been acknowledged by government bodies. And, in terms of personal achievements, for me, the sky is the limit; my goal was to build a niche market and a team of 100 people, with 30 workers on board, 30*4 equals 120 people, our business serves 120 people, which means 30 families rely on us. These are the most significant achievements that have provided me with the most satisfaction.