National champions

The journey of S&T Group is a true underdog story. The success it enjoys today is a world away from the position its Founder and Managing Director Shanmugasundaram D began with in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, in 1996.

“I started with a small eight-by-eight-meter office, a typewriter, a chair from home and a INR10,000 [US$115] loan. My father wanted me to become a civil servant; he told me he would get me a post in government. He did not want me to go into business, and when he found out, he told my mother not to let me in the house,” he recalls with a smile.

His father needed not to worry, as from these humble origins Shanmugasundaram would go on to build one of India’s leading engineering solutions providers. Now, S&T Group’s broad offering encompasses the production of advanced STM brand manufacturing machines, healthcare technology, fitness and gym equipment and ecommerce services.

“We’ve just celebrated our 28th year. From nothing in 1996, we now have more than 1,000 employees,” Shanmugasundaram says.

Building the foundations

In its infancy, S&T Group was a regional trading company in South India as a subsidiary of a larger Delhi-based organization.

“The first 10 years were the formative years of our entrepreneurial journey,” Shanmugasundaram says. “We started selling simple products, like accessories and conventional machines. The mantra for us back then was simply to ‘make technology affordable to the customers’.”

As the company grew, it began to widen its product offering.

“Later, we slowly began to expand our portfolio. In the second decade we shifted onto CNC machines, which was a significant development both for us and for the country,” he says.

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“Then as we entered our third decade, we underwent a significant shift from a trader to a manufacturer. Also, during this time we expanded our network all over India. We now have our own offices, sales and service engineers in 18 cities nationwide.”

Despite Shanmugasundaram’s obvious ambition and determination, even he did not anticipate S&T Group becoming what it has.

“I’ve had an entrepreneurial spirit since I was a student and always had fire in my belly to grow. But to be frank, I did not anticipate we would become this successful,” he says.

The international stage

Over the course of his journey with S&T Group, Shanmugasundaram has witnessed the rise of India as a global manufacturing powerhouse. Having been a passionate advocate for the skill and quality of the sector for decades, he is proud to see the world is starting to take note.

“Taiwanese companies have now been coming to us and saying that they will buy from us,” he says. “It’s been an inversion – we used to import from Taiwan, and now we are exporting to them. It is like carrying coals to Newcastle.”

He sees this growing international demand for Indian-made products as a trend that will continue, yielding economic prosperity for the nation. “I see a big growth happening in India’s GDP over the next 10 years, and the government is forecasting big growth in manufacturing,” he says.

To ensure that S&T Group remains a prominent player as the industry flourishes, Shanmugasundaram is focusing on extending its quality and investing in innovation.

“We want to match European expectations so we can begin to export to both Europe and the United States. We are working very hard to match their standards,” he reveals.

“Another important aspect is our technological transformation, which our design and R&D teams are working hard to provide. We have to come out with the products, which will continue to attract customers, like 5 axis machining centers and horizontal machining centers.

“The company cannot survive if we rely on standard products; we have to keep advancing our technological capability to match the expectations of customers.”

This adds to an already impressive portfolio of cutting-edge products.

“We now manufacture STM CNC machines, injection molding machines, laser machines and EDM,” Shanmugasundaram says. “We are the only company in India that has these four verticals, and this will surely help us to grow in a very big way.”

Joint prosperity

Having overseen the growth of the company from the ground up, it would be easy for Shanmugasundaram to have a measure of self-satisfaction. Yet, he shows the highest regard for his employees and partners.

“I dedicate the company’s growth to the people only. If you trust them, the right things will happen. You also have to have the right people in the right place, which is easier said than done,” he says.

“But if you have energetic and enthusiastic people and you listen to them and support them, then growth is guaranteed.”

This readiness to listen is a trait that sets S&T Group apart from its competitors in the level of attentiveness it has to its customers.

“The service is the big difference. Our engineers are always on hand to answer queries,” he says. “We have built this network of relationships over the last 28 years.”

The company has forged mutually beneficial relationships with partners, including but not limited to its partnership with Royal Precision Tools.

“We have grown with our suppliers, and they have helped us out in very difficult times. It’s been a win–win situation in the last few years,” Shanmugasundaram says.

“Suppliers have had more business, and they have also adapted to meet our expectations. They have adapted to our speed and enabled us to have a quick product launch turnaround.”

Beneficial supplier relationships will continue to underpin the growth of S&T Group, as well as the flowering of the wider national manufacturing scene.

Shanmugasundaram is looking optimistically toward the future.

“India’s manufacturing sector is growing, and everyone has the opportunity to grow in a big way. It’s going to be a really interesting journey for the next decade,” he says.

“We are very fortunate in this generation that we get to witness the growth of India. The next hundred years are our years.”