He is a kind of an adventurer; perhaps even a bit of a maverick. But M S R V Prasad definitely is an entrepreneur with the ‘Midas' touch. With a penchant for acquiring sick companies and then turning them around, Prasad started his entrepreneurial journey in 1985.
Since then, across a variety of industry sectors like steel, cement, foundry and railways, he has proved that with vision, hard work, determination and a strong focus on quality as well as delivery schedules, any business can be transformed successfully.
With three decades of robust experience resulting in a business empire worth a global turnover of US$ 1.5 billion, Prasad - who is primarily based in Africa - is now seeking newer entrepreneurial frontiers. And this time, he is looking to make a mark in India's dynamic bus industry.
The logic behind entering this segment? He believes the market is ready for the next generation buses and he wants to build them! Prasad points out that more than 90 percent of the buses on road in India are based on the Chassis based platform, which is commonly understood by the passengers as a truck chassis modified for bus application.
Of course, there is no denying that chassis based buses have been very essential in the development of the bus market in India where the passengers are price sensitive. After all, chassis based buses are cost effective both in production as well as maintenance.
"If you look at the middle class passengers, they have mostly moved away from using the city buses and avoid bus travel due to the discomfort associated with the chassis based buses. I have travelled world over and have seen how comfortable the road travel is in good buses. Volvo buses have given a good opening to the market and have redefined the travel norms in our country.
But even though they have played an important role, their share in the overall Indian bus market is just about one percent. Today, India needs good buses; it is like the time when Maruti brought in the 800cc car and set the tone for the revolution in the car market. It is time this happens for the bus segment! Now people are ready and are looking out for comfort and safety. This is the reason for the birth of Deccan Auto," Prasad explains.
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M S R V Prasad - The Entrepreneur Prasad started his entrepreneurial journey way back in 1985. Having worked with a couple of foundries in Gujarat, Prasad decided to acquire a sick foundry unit at Pattancheru, Hyderabad called Martopearl Alloys Pvt Ltd. Using his experience, he turned around Martopearl transforming it into one of the most successful foundries in Andhra Pradesh. Today, this unit supplies to big names like BHEL, L&T and so on. Riding high on this success, Prasad then took over Duccan Alloy Castings, another unit to supplement the increasing demand for castings. This dual stint in the castings business inspired Prasad to venture out into Africa. In 1991, he took over Tema Steel Company Ltd, a sick steel plant from GIHOC Steel Works Ltd. (owned by Government of Ghana) in partnership with M J Patel, an Indian industrialist based in Kenya. After successfully turning around this steel company, Prasad then acquired a clinker manufacturing company in Togo, and forayed into the cement industry. Impressed by the commendable performance of Prasad's Group, the Government of Togo invited him to take care of the operations and maintenance of the entire railway network of Togo! Since then, the Group has been success fully operating the railway under the name of Togo Rail SA. It is worth noting that Togo Rail imported discarded meter gauge diesel locos from Indian Railways. These old locos were then thoroughly overhauled and used for operations in Togo successfully. Prasad has also setup Greenfield cement plants in Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and Mali. His Group, now clocking US$ 1.5 billion annually, is also building Greenfield cement plants in Congo, Niger, and Madagascar. |
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