SHOWCASING ENTREPRENEURSHIP

All fired up about his next move

C Jayanthi
Posted: Friday, Apr 04, 2008 at 2208 hrs IST
Updated: Friday, Apr 04, 2008 at 2208 hrs IST

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: bank. I told him I would love to but cannot give him any collateral because those days funding was difficult without collateral. He then said that he noticed our transactions and that at his risk, he would give me an overdraft of Rs 10 lakh without collateral. I used to bank with them. This happened in the end of 1994.”

For Firepro, that was another turning point because the first time, the overdraft limit was Rs 10 lakh and the next year 1995-96, it went up to Rs 50 lakh. It was an overdraft facility from the bank, rather than a loan, Narendra stresses. The following year afterward, the facility went up to Rs 1.5 crore and thereafter, to Rs 4 crore. “We still bank with them even today but although we bank with different banks, a lot of credit should go to Canara Bank for supporting us then. Today, the same facility limit has gone upto Rs 350 crore through letter of credit and bank guarantees.” Firepro currently employs 1,200 people. His success mantra is commitment to the customer—it has played a crucial role in scaling up his business.

“When a customer asks you to jump, do not ask why, just how high,” he adds with

a smile. Initially, the company grew due to word-of-mouth since it did not have a large sales team. “It was purely with the kind of delivery deadlines that we kept up with the projects, we got recommended to other builders and people started appreciating our work,” he says. But later on the company’s growth came from strategising in terms of geographical expansion. “We started operations in Delhi in 1998, then Chennai in 1999, so we went to different cities. Today we have operations in about 14 cities through out the country. Since 2000, Firepro is a private limited company not a proprietorship company—it’s Firepro Systems Pvt Ltd now.” In fiscal 2006-07, the company turnover was Rs 230 crore. “We also have international operations now in Australia, Middle East and Singapore. In 2007-08, the revenue is likely to touch Rs 450 crore,” he says. The company has grown on an average at about 100% year on year in the past seven years. No wonder, then Narendra is all fired up about the future....

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