This story is from November 23, 2014

From explosives trader to warheads maker

A first generation entrepreneur, Satyanarayan Nuwal has graduated from being an explosives trader to warheads maker
From explosives trader to warheads maker
NAGPUR: When Satyanarayan Nuwal set out from his hometown Bhilwara in Rajasthan for Chandrapur, all that he had in his mind was to try his luck in the business of trading in industrial explosives. Bhilwara, a small town, is known for explosive traders catering to demands from all over the country. Nuwal too took a cue from others and ventured out. That was his first employment.
A first generation entrepreneur, he had no other experience except what he had observed from others.
His father Nandlal Nuwal was a state government employee. “But with time there were opportunities and we could move a step further,” says Nuwal, still as down to earth as he may have been as a young entrepreneur in the 1980s.
City-based PSU Western Coalfields was his first client for supplying explosives to undertake mining operations. At that time he had to scrape the bottom to arrange funds for renting a warehouse to stock the ware.
Two decades down the line, his company, Solar Industries Limited now a listed entity, is ranked the 4th largest explosive makers in the world and first in the country. It graduated to manufacturing in 1996. As indigenous defence manufacture has always been high on the agenda of the government the company has diversified into this segment.
Solar Industries, which still may not be a known name for many even in the city, is the first private player in the country to have secured an approval to make warheads for missiles as well as rockets. Apart from making propellants it has also got an order for making warheads. “With the entire process with defence establishments almost over, the company expects to start off manufacture within the next 5-6 months,” Nuwal said.
Nuwal said, “There are other firms which make propellants but we have got the distinction to be the first to make warheads,” he said. These are the components of a weapon system which directly hit the target.

On financial parameters as against last fiscal’s turnover of Rs1,200 crore, the company is expecting to clocking a revenue of Rs1,500 crore in the current year. The number of employees stands at 2,500 which makes it among the biggest job creators among local companies. Solar Industries is keen on expansion but will prefer to stick to the same sector. It has also been a bet for quite a few institutional investors.
On success, Nuwal says “focus is the mantra. We all know so many things but then there has to be clarity on what to do. Perhaps this makes people succeed.” As a businessman, he also wants the government to further liberalize the policy so that private entrepreneurs get a chance to grow and also boost the overall economy.
Ranjit Dani, an investment adviser says, he is an undisputed leader in this sector but yet so down to earth. As a financial consultant, I have access to several fund managers who have great respect for this company and promoters for the manner in which they conduct the business.
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