BY VICTOR ADAR
Every day, in the tough 1980’s, Parbat Pindoria struggled to get things done. So many people knew him as an artiste who enjoyed singing and playing saxophone.
Seeing no silver lining in that forte, he approached his neighbour to borrow some money which he used to buy a grinder, a welding machine and a few materials. Then he moved on to inform his fans about the new venture, hoping it will be profitable and turn his dream into reality.
The epiphany came in 1988 when the 55-year-old industrialist, then an energetic young guy, clinched a contract to supply aluminium and steel to a home in Siaya County at a cost of Sh7,000. His client was happy and paid him Sh10,000 on top of what he had charged, he says.
That didn’t just bankroll his aluminium and steel investment that is now fetching an annual turnover of Sh900 million but was the winning shot that saw him increase his stock and rent space. Later on, it would power him to diversify from aluminium to construction and, most recently, into the hospitality business.
Pindoria’s firm, Canon Aluminium Fabricators, in partnership with the Royal Orchid Hotels Group of India, in November unveiled the Sh1.5 billion Hotel Royal Orchid in Westlands, on the outskirts of Nairobi. The hotel is operated under a management contract with Canon Aluminium Fabricators, the property owner and developer.
Located on Lantana Road, off Rhapta Road in Westlands, the hotel offers 165 well-appointed spacious rooms, an outdoor swimming pool, fitness centre, a lounge bar and a casino, among others. It was constructed over the last two years by Mr Parbat Pindoria through his company, Canon Aluminium Fabricators, expanding his wealth and influence in the growing hotel sector in Kenya.
Tough road to big money
When someone is not financially well-grounded, turning the tide is not easy. It is even unlikely for an entrepreneur who has never set foot in an English class to achieve such a milestone growth. But Mr Pindoria, who has a natural sharpness, defied that. Now a leading industrialist – he is the managing director and chairman of Canon Aluminum Pvt. Ltd, and co-owner of Hotel Royal Orchid, Nairobi – he says business is never a straight line, having learnt from the odds he faced and surmounted.
When he started operations, there were no phones for easy communication and so he always walked from home to his hardware.
Without any education background, he established Canon Aluminium Fabricators Ltd at Gikomba market, which has since grown to become one of the biggest players in the industry serving clients in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and other East African countries.
With a solid business at Gikomba, he now suited the whims of a financial institution and managed to get a loan of Sh100,000 to expand his business. This later enabled him to buy and own the store he used to rent when he started up. “It was a very tough time,” he says. “It was like I was riding Mount Everest. When I was starting, I didn’t have anything and I was going to lose nothing. The economy was slow, but I marketed to the 90% of our community who knew me because I was a singer.”
It takes a strong man to pull off such hard financial times. His big gamble – construction and development of apartments – started in 1998 at a time when things were not that rosy. He did most of his investments in turbulence.
It was in the 1990’s that President Daniel arap Moi opened door for multiparty politics. A section of the opposition felt they were being muzzled and a wave of violence due to ethnic incitements was experienced. His business dipped. Then, he says, things started looking up during President Mwai Kibaki’s era, and the Jubilee government seems like his lucky star. “When Moi was retiring nobody knew what was going to happen. There are some problems but we are succeeding,” Mr Pindoria says.
Companies that deal in this kind of business usually engage distributors but for Canon Aluminium, selling directly to hardwares, contractors, and anyone who can buy has been a better bet. He doesn’t see the oldest companies like Herbatulla or Kalu Works as his competitors despite the fact that they are vying for the same market. “Our core business is aluminium. When we started doing glass, they (competitors) came to us saying, ‘you are killing the market let’s sit and set price’. They tried to kill my business. Sometimes they refused to sell to us material. We just started by selling at low price,” he says.
Conon’s diversification into the hospitality industry marks a natural trajectory as the owners seek a stake of the lucrative business traveller and meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions – popular known as MICE segment. “This piece of land belonged to the church,” he says. “We approached them so it is a joint venture between us and the church. We gave the church some offices where they will get about Sh5 million a month.”
Grow one step at a time…
For Mr Pindoria, nothing ventured is nothing gained. Business takes a lot of guts and very few have it. It is not always about money as sometimes the best way of raising capital is by starting small, say with a measly Sh5,000 like he did, and plough back capital to grow it one step at a time.
What people don’t know is that competition is good for the market, he says. It is actually good for consumers. He compares the market size to drinking glasses of water. “You have to calculate your moves. You have to see that you cannot drink 20 glasses of water. Four glasses is fine because that’s something you can finish,” he adds.
Coming from an ethnic group of India that is Gujarati, he has gone far as an entrepreneur, thanks to his humility. His community, what he calls ‘our community”, deals almost exclusively in construction. About 95 per cent contractors are from his community just like the Shah businesspeople come from a particular place.
To Mr Pindoria, the secret to keeping employees is making sure that they are comfortable both at work and at home. He pampers them with flour, cooking oil and soap among others, apart from providing proper housing to those who have worked for him for at least 20 years. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why employees stay with them for longer. “They are the ones who are making us money. They are the real workers,” he says.
He encourages small companies and individuals to take advantage of flexible ways of making payments. Cash or none, he offers training to his customers. Further more, those who are in jua kali but lack the much-needed financial muscle to buy materials can benefit from credit services.
By providing materials to small and emerging contractors on credit, he is improving the lifestyles of quite a big number of Kenyans. After the work is complete, this lot of customers take their profits and pay him.
“I give customers five days credit. If someone wants to make a door or a window, for example, we can give them materials for them to do the work first. Once their clients have paid, they make their profit and we get our money,” he says.
His company is growing swiftly with about 600 employees. Canon Aluminium featured in the Top 100 companies in 2010, topping in their category, and coming 11th overall. The first apartment Canon constructed is in Westlands, then an office block in Hurligham, Satchi Plaza, and have another on Mombasa Road.
“When you are performing, and giving quality your clients will recommend you to others. Since then, I have made it my policy to be honest. If it is a 10-day work, it is a 10-day work. If it is going to take longer it is better to let the client know. When you know there will be a hitch just inform your client in advance for them to plan,” he says.
He says the appetite for more business keeps growing. “Two or five years from now we’ll have to diversify into other businesses. It will be a completely different thing. You have to work hard and you don’t say my time is over,” he says.
