reve oe Govind Beriwal, Director Shyam SteelFOCUS Q&A “Today, not just in Bengal, we are a premium TMT brand across India” When supplying TMT for national infrastructure projects was the forte of two or three of India’s largest manufacturers, Shyam Steel broke the glass ceiling. When Bengal’: individual home building consumers started to understand the superiority of TMT over TOR steel, Shyam Steel started bringing them excellent quality IMT ata reasonable price. When COVLD posed a challenge {0 economic growth and numerous companies had to struggle 10 say afloat, Shyam Stel grew from srength to strength Govind Beriwal, Director, Shyam Steel, speaks to Iron & Steel Review about the company's vision, principles, diversification strategies and future plans. When your ancestor started his business, India had just begun to build itself. There were so many easier avenues to choose from. So why did he choose steel? Atthe dawn of India’s independence, my father, Shriram Beriwal, had dreamt of an Atmanirbhar Bharat, He wished India to bese reliant in its development by developing its iniastructure with its own steel running through its veins. He wanted the best quality stel in the world to bbe made right here in India, So, in 1953, he ‘established a small factory in Howrah, From that small fae ath. How did it happen? iy to today’s steel e Soon after my father started the business, his brother Shyam Sunder Beriwal joined the company as well. Together, they took the ‘company from strength to strength. I joined in 1983. Along with my brothers, we took the le 1 of our fathers further ahead, We always strived towards making the best-qualty steel and, hence, made strong investments on quality. We set up one of Eastem India’s frst private sector integrated steel plants in Durgapur. We invested in cutting edge technologies like Electric Are furnaces. Weputintoplaceastrong Total Quality Managem (TQM) approach and got all our labs NABL “Today, our TMT bars have that perfect balance between strength and flexibility” As a result, we were able to offer steel that would meet the stringent quality standard of mega infrastructure projects, We provide steel to every major contractor like L&T, Gammon, HCC, te, and also eve ‘major PSU such as Railways, BHEL, et. We also wanted every home in India to be powered by this highs quality steel. Hence, we set up a strong distribution network. Today, not just in Bengal, w premium ‘TMT brand across India, We are available in almost every state through our network of thousands of dealers. What would you say isthe reason why you have succeeded so well where countless others have Since its inception, Shyam Steel has been guided by four principles set down by my father. These are lke the pillars that hold the foundation of Shyam Stoel. They are ‘+ Never compromise on quality: I'l give an example. You'll find most TMT brands focus on the strength of steel. But research has shown tat along with strength, i's the flexibility of a TMT bar that gives the home the ability to withstand nature's fogoes. But strength and flexibility are proportional; ifstre versely duces and vice sh inereases, flexibility versa. Heno itis very dificult to get the right combinationFOCUS between these two properties. But we took up the challenge. And, today, our TMT bars have that perfeet balance between strength and flexibility + Create your own market: Build trust ‘among your channel partners and end ceustomers. Talk to them honestly, and they will respond. To communicate the property of our TMT to our consumers, we convey through ‘our brand ambassadors Virt Kobli and Anushka Sharma; we show that home, like a relationship, needs to be both flexible and strong tobe long-lasting + Taking great care of our real assets ‘our employees: Shyam Steel is nothing but a collective representation of its employees. And, like we grew fiom a small factory, we believe in giving each employee the ground to grow. There are umpteen examples here of employees ‘who've joined as ju and, today, managers, jor-most executives fare our senior general vice presidents and even directors + Give back to the society ax much as possible: CSR has always been a part of our existence ~ decades before the government announced its mandatory CSR poli CSR budget also far exceeds any stipulated And, our unt Giving back to society as a core principle ‘Shyam Steel was founded with a firm belief that a bu ss is ultimately about helping people. To that end, Shyam Stel actively suns 1 wide variety of welfare programmes across ‘education, healthcare, women’s hygiene, Some of the notable recent initiatives are +The Shyam Steel Foundation provides growth opportunities and support to all, seations of society, including omphans, senior citizens, the diffrent abled, ete + Shyam Steel runs mobile healtheae units in remote villages for free doctor consultants and medicines Q&A “We always strived towards. making the best- quality steel” “We are available in almost every state through our network of thousands of dealers” “We are ona mission to put a store in every district across India by 2025” + Running charitable schools with free ion and books Partnering with NGOs to improve ‘women’s hygiene through mass distribution of sanitary napkins and running educational workshops + We were heavily involved in the areen movement in Durgapur-Asansol belt + We donated oxygen concentrators and other relief material in several states atthe height ofthe pandemic + Providing relief after every major natural disaster such as ‘Yaas, Amphan, ete, across Faster India ‘Your company is growing at such a rapid pace —is it just from one product? Apart ftom our flagship product, FlexiStrong TMT rebar, we also manufacture various ancillary products like Steel Round Head Nails, Binding Wire, TMT Rings or Stirrup, Composite Bricks, ete. We also mab range of structural steel products used to make residential gates and grills. We shall soon be adding a few more produets to our portfolio, We offer various eustomer-cenitie services like Online sles, Free expert advice and Pree home delivery of our product, whi complete peace of mind to the consumer, give What is on the horizon for Shyam Steel? What's the vision moving ahead? Our TMI is used in mega projects across India forts high quality. Our visions to keep ‘on bringing the same TMT tothe builder at affordable costs. And, we are on a tail home mission to put a store in every district across Indin by 2025, so that it is easily available to every home builder across the length and breadth of Inia. Todo so, w e also looking yy ~ both through freenfield and brownfield investment. We at adding significant caps are also expanding our produet portfolio. Furthermore, we are diversifying into new segments. Today, we are present in a variety of industries such as Inastru tare development, Power sansmission, Agro-processing IT services, ete .