His Mercedes could well have been a Maruti and his business card could have read a manager instead of chairman and managing director. But Satish Agarwal was always ambitious.

For a boy hailing from Muzzafarnagar in Uttar Pradesh to make it big in the world of business was never easy. It is his hard work and perseverance that has led him to lord over Rs 372-crore Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd. The ISO 9001:2000 certified company is listed on BSE and NSE and the brand turnover through franchisee manufacturers is Rs 2,000 crore.

Today Kamdhenu Ispat is a well-known player in the construction business. ?It?s been a slow and steady growth, but that is the way I wanted it to be. I wanted to be sure of each step that I took. I believe in moving ahead only when you are sure of your every move,? says Agarwal.

And it?s probably something he inherited from his father who worked as a manager in Nath Bank and Aggarwal Bank in late 40s before he started his own small steel-manufacturing unit after he got disillusioned with the banking world. ?He thought that banking wasn?t a transparent business and he should start something of his own,? explains Agarwal. That is how Arya Krishi

Yantra Udyog Shala came into being.

The core business was to manufacture agricultural implements. At the same time, the family also managed distribution of Dunlop.

So, business, Agarwal tells you, was always a part of his life. ?It is in my blood. Sometimes you are just born with a business attitude, and I sure was,? he smiles.

Agarwal was always a good student and made it to the Pantnagar University, Roorkee University and even Pilani, but decided to take admission in mechanical engineering at Banaras Hindu University because his father wanted him to stay closer home. And given Agarwal?s love for business, he dived into it after he finished his bachelor?s degree in 1970.

Three years later he joined the family-owned Muzaffarnagar Refractories Pvt Ltd as its technical director. In 1986, the family started another refractory?Vikas Refractors. By then, Agarwal was learning his lessons fast. ?Quality was something that we were very conscious about right from the beginning.?

And it?s the same vision that led him and his three brothers to set up Kamdhenu Ispat Ltd in 1994 from a factory in Bhiwadi in Rajasthan after a failed attempt to set up a dairy unit two years earlier.

?In fact, that is how the name came about. I liked it so much that it was stuck in my head. Kamdhenu, according to Hindu mythology, is a cow that came out during the churning of the sea to get the elixir of life. Kamdhenu is supposed to give prosperity to everyone. And that is how I wanted the company to be. It should give prosperity not only for us but also for the whole society,? he reminisces.

When they began their business in 1994, says Agarwal, India was fast evolving. ?A new outlook was developing and we didn?t want to miss out on it. Steel was a commodity and we wanted to make it a brand. So, we started a lot of consumer awareness programmes. We wanted customers to get value for their money. We wanted to establish ourselves as a quality conscious company.?

The initial years were crucial but they were also the ones that set the company on its journey to success. ?We worked hard around our quality. We tried to cut our costs and doubled the manufacturing capacity of our units,? he recalls.

The results were out soon. Their business was expanding and the demand started outgrowing the supply. ?We had limited capacity, yet we wanted to keep meeting the demands,? says Agarwal. And that is when he thought of pursuing the franchisee model. ?We decided to meet the growing demands by involving other manufacturing units. Our catch point was quality, so we decided to oversee their quality and let them use our brand name. They benefited as we gave them 80% of the profit they made and we kept 20% of it.?

And it?s these tie-ups, says Agarwal, that makes them what they are today. ?We have presence in 39 locations in India and one in Nepal. Today if a manufacturer asks me for material in a remote area, I can deliver the goods in 48 hours at the location thanks to my franchisee in that area.?

It?s small surprise then that Kamdhenu has supplied material to biggies like NHAI, Godrej and Infosys and yet not missed out on a little project in say Tamil Nadu or western Uttar Pradesh.

Agarwal might be 56, but his age is certainly not a barrier in pursuing his ambitions. ?I love my work and I see no reason to retire if I enjoy doing what I do.? So, even after his brothers started their own businesses, he didn?t let his enthusiasm die down. ?See, everyone has a different style of working. So it?s all right to do your own thing, I guess. Besides, life has to go on.?

So, he is back to talking business even before you notice a hint of emotion in his voice. The next big thing he is looking forward to is the launch of Kamdhenu Paints. ?We want to be a one-stop shop for construction business. So, be it windows or paints, we are trying to capture it all.?

Ask him if competition is a worry and he smiles. ?Competition is healthy. It tells you about the health of an industry. It has to be there,? he opines.

But a quality that has probably kept him leading the pack till now, says Agarwal, is his working style. ?My employees are my biggest assets. I have people who have worked with me for 30 years. When I go to a factory, any worker has the liberty to walk up to me and discuss his problems.?

Basant Bansal, who runs the real estate company M3M, has known Agarwal for more than a decade now. Talking about his friend, Bansal says, ?He is a very simple man, but he knows the art of judging people.? Ask him about his working style and Agarwal admits candidly, ? I think my strongest point is my personality. I?m a simple man and I like to lead my life in a simple way. There are people who tell me I should speak differently and behave differently but I am the way I am. I would rather let my work talk.?Another friend Atul Grover, who runs a chemical factory, agrees, ?He has scaled great heights, yet there are things about him that haven?t changed. He is still a simple man who loves to help others.?

Agarwal?s love for work has also motivated his wife Radha to take care of Kamdhenu Jeevandhara, the social welfare wing of the company. ?As a company we?ve always paid attention to our employees, but we are doing it in a more formal way now,? she says.

They run a school for their workers? children and have also set up a computer centre for children and adults. The school is free of cost but they charge a nominal fee for the computer centre so that people are more sincere in their effort.

Giving back to the society, says Agarwal, is important. ?If God has given me so much, I should share it with others.?

If his business keeps him busy, he also makes sure it doesn?t eat into his family time. So when he gets back home, it?s his wife, two sons, their wives and children that get all his attention. ?I don?t like thinking of work when I?m home. Though my phone is switched on, I tell most of the people to talk to me in the day,? he says.

His mornings begin as early as 5 am. It has been a routine for the past 20 years. Earlier, he also used to swim, play badminton and practise yoga, but a pain in his joint has now reduced his activity to only swimming. Rest of the time is taken up by work. He is a sworn workaholic. ? I can?t sit idle for too long. I love my work,? he says.

Fact File

* Satish Agarwal is the chairman and managing director of Kamdhenu Ispat.

* A graduate from Banaras Hindu University, he joined his family business after his graduation.

* He started the company in 1994 and today Kamdhenu Ispat is an ISO 9001:2000 certified entity, listed on BSE and NSE. The brand turnover through franchisee manufacturers is Rs 2,000 crore.

* Agarwal started a franchisee system to meet the growing demands of steel. Today the company has presence in 39 locations in India and in Nepal.

* The company also has plans to launch Kamdhenu Paints.

* The ultimate aim is to be a one-stop shop for construction business.