40 Tata Review | October-December 2021

Steeling the show

Nest-In: New-age construction solutions from Tata Steel

By Sanghamitr a Bhowmik

I
n early 2020, when the world registered a
steep rise in coronavirus cases and India
went into lockdown, a 551-bed hospital was
constructed within 90 days in a small district
in the southern Indian state of Kerala. Since then,
for Tata Steel’s Nest-In division, which supported
the hospital’s construction in Kasaragod district,
calls enquiring about prefabricated construction
solutions haven’t stopped.
Conceived as a downstream business strategy
to combat the vagaries of real-time market
fluctuations of the steel industry, Nest-In taps
into the growing trend of prefabricated building
solutions across the globe. An organic continuation
of the core business, Nest-In leverages on the
company’s expertise in selling steel and taps into
Tata Steel’s wide partner network to directly cater
to the end consumers’ needs.
Ecosystem aggregation
And yet at the heart of the business lies the
challenge of a highly fragmented market with
local players offering over-the-counter building
solutions. “However,” says Prakhar Aggarwal,
business head of Nest-In, Tata Steel, “quality,
convenience and speed continue to be a need for all
customers. Here is where Nest-In comes in.”
He adds, “Nest-In is an aggregator of
capacities and capabilities in the prefabricated
industry. By owning the supply chain, project

This under construction site of a medical

college library in Jamshedpur is a G+3
structure constructed using HabiNest.
Spanning 55,000 sq ft, it will have reading
rooms, computer labs and a cafeteria

management expertise, and the design &
engineering functions, Nest-In is the single
point of contact for customers, offering them a
seamless and hassle-free service.”
Identifying the white space
The prefabricated construction industry offers
different technologies and solutions. Tata
Steel first reviewed the market options and
decided to foray into the light gauge steel frame
structures (LGSF), polyurethane foam (PUF)
panel solutions, and standardised modular
offerings under the Nest-In umbrella. The
business then strengthened an ecosystem of
various players, including manufacturers,
solution partners and execution partners, to
provide top quality offerings across the country.
Starting the journey with EzyNest, a
modular toilet solution, Nest-In worked in
the remotest areas of India and built a robust
network of partners across the country. The
Government of India’s Swachh Bharat Mission
gave EzyNest a further push as it evolved into
the automated smart toilets under the Smart
EzyNest brand. Nest-In today is the partner
of choice for several government bodies and
corporates for their CSR programmes.
Over the last few years, Nest-In has built
on LGSF construction as its focus area. One
of the first key LGSF projects was an 8000 sq
ft canteen constructed in 75 days, followed by
the construction of a 23,000 sq ft educational
institute in 84 days. The construction of the
80,000 sq ft Covid-19 hospital in Kasaragod,
in collaboration with the Tata group and Tata
Projects during a complete lockdown, proved to
be the game changer. “We have been building
our capabilities, but with Kasaragod we feel
more confident. The learnings from all our past
projects have been huge, and they are coming
handy now as we grow,” says Mr Aggarwal.
The prefabricated construction business
business 41
has various elements: the design element that
brings in the structure and the stability, the
materials piece which needs to be procured from
various component manufacturers, and then
project management and on-ground execution.
Nest-In owns the design, which is customised
for consumers; the material, of course, is high
tensile steel by Tata Steel, and for other parts
and fixture we onboard approved partners and
vendors. On the execution front, partners do
the installation on ground while Nest-In deploys
project managers and site supervisors to monitor
and execute individual projects.
Changing habits
Prefabricated construction comes with its
own set of challenges. Buildings, homes and
structures have conventionally been made of
brick-and-mortar. Steel-intensive prefabricated
constructions are a rare sighting, typically
reserved for public facilities. How then is Nest-
In expanding its retail footprint with Nestudio?
“And to that extent, we are the business leaders
in converting this category,” says Mr Aggarwal.
The initial hesitancy and doubts about
durability and comfort have gradually abated.
There is a greater acceptance of prefabricated
living solutions, with both institutions and
individuals looking at alternative construction
technologies. “In a way the pandemic helped us.
Why Nest-In?
l New-age construction solution
l High-speed
l Hassle-free
l Reliable with quality
l Scalable
l Pan-India presence
42 Tata Review | October-December 2021

Solution sets
Modular solutions are largely utilised by the B2G (business to government) and B2B (business to business)
clients — municipal corporations, government bodies and corporates to set up toilets and water ATMs at
various locations. Electric vehicle charging stations is the new offering in this segment.

l EzyNest – Modular toilets l Smart EzyNest – Smart toilets

Prefabricated
living solutions for
retail customers,
under which Nest-
In offers rooftop
extension or living
solutions such as
farmhouses and
cottages.

l Nestudio – Premium housing solution

New solutions

ChargeNest –
l
EV charging station

AgroNest –
l
Smart warehouse for onion storage

l MobiNest – Portable cabins
l HabiNest – LGSF construction
The LGSF solutions are typically utilised
by large B2B companies such as mining
companies, oil and gas companies, and public
sector undertakings that want to set up hostels,
industrial amenities, residential complexes and
offices in a short timeframe.
business 43
News reports about various prefabricated steel
installations not just in India but also in China and
other parts of the world has made people realise
that prefabricated is the answer for high-speed and
quality construction,” adds Mr Aggarwal.
A step towards a greener tomorrow
To understand the sustainability impact of Nest-
In’s solutions, Tata Steel conducted a lifecycle
analysis for a HabiNest (LGSF) building vis-à-vis
a similar conventional structure. The findings
noted that the environmental savings for a 2400
sq ft HabiNest unit as opposed to conventional
buildings is between 48% and 61% over a range
of lifecycle categories. This, loosely translated,
is the environmental savings on carbon
emission equivalent to not driving an average
passenger car for 3 lakh km. That is the kind of
environmental savings Nest-In is talking about.
As individuals, companies and governments
increasingly look for sustainable and smart
solutions, Nest-In is poised to play a larger role
in India’s growth journey. The company has
collaborated with Tata Power, Fortum India
Pvt Ltd, Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd,
Volttic and Zeon Charging for installing EV
charging stations across the country. Their smart
toilets are already part of Indian daily life, with
many more to be installed by the year end. The
business is continually looking to come up with
new and innovative solutions with the help of
Tata Steel’s in-house innovation hub, Innovent.
Nest-In has also collaborated with Tata
Technologies and the Government of Karnataka
to build 149 ITIs across Karnataka, spanning
11.5 lakh sq ft; a 2 lakh sq ft academic block for
a private medical college, and 1500+ modular
toilets for a marquee CSR programme among
other projects. Says Mr Aggarwal, “We are
looking at upward of `1000 crore of business
by 2025.”
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