A candid discussion with Mr. Imran Zafar, Director Enercon Systems International
Enercon Systems Intl Pvt Ltd has recently celebrated its 10 years completion in Pakisan, Enercon is now well familiar name in Generator Synchronization & Control Industry in Pakistan, Engineering Post remain in touh with their Director Imran Zafar for activities related to IEEEP and different trainings Enercon perform for University graduates, On this auspicious occasion, Engineering Post congratulated and conducted interview to find what hardship Enercon faced in first decade and what are their future plans.
- Briefly describe your professional journey and how enercon Pakistan started?
I completed B.E Electrical from NED University and started my career with Siemens Pakistan Engineering Co. Ltd. It was an institution for Engineers and it has a huge contribution to the Engineering sector of the county.
I got selected as a future leader and was deputized in Siemens AG for extensive on job training & development. This provided me an opportunity to work & learn from the most dynamic professionals in Siemens World and exposure to a variety of cultures across Europe, South Africa, and the United States.
I left Siemens Pakistan in 2012 and accepted a challenge to start operations of Enercon in Pakistan under the Umbrella of Enercon Singapore. The company business lies in niche and customized segments of the power sector.
Like any other new entrants, we faced tough initial years due to both less industrial activities and disadvantages of new entrants. We had to wait long for our breakthrough opportunities.
2. What kind of problems did you face in your initial years and how you have overcome them?
We are in the B2B business and its dynamics are different from B2C. Although every business starts with the aim to provide value addition to society. Survival is only for those, who can distinguish themselves from their competition and this cannot be done overnight and requires time testing.
Profit making which is important for the survival and growth of the business will be an indirect reward of your focus to create your value addition.
Our company has roots in US and Singapore. Since the Pakistan office has incorporated, we have developed local university graduates by their overseas training and have never needed to call international engineers for commissioning in Pakistan.
This way we have completely transferred technology, we have established our name across all industries and replicating the US & Singapore products by manufacturing & engineering in Pakistan.
Alhamdulilah, we have come through some tough initial years and now our name is well recognized in the industry. We are a premium brand in our field of Generator Synchronization and controls and our journey is just begun and even the sky is not the limit.
3. How have you developed a team and how are you able to retain employees?
Employees without growth cannot stay long with any company. Growth has three components:
- Financial growth
- Their Skills & Competence growth (through constant technical & non-technical training)
- Responsibility & Scope Growth (providing them bigger business and team to look after)
The most important is B. If your employee grows in skills, it will help your company grow and he will ultimately get A & B growth too. As mentioned earlier, we are always committed and give the highest priority to raise the skill & competence level of our employees.
4. What is your company`s aim and vision?
We want to serve our beloved country by solving problems of our Industry, providing successful career paths to our engineers, helping Universities and Engineering graduates in line with future industry needs.
Our vision is to become the industry leader for Customized Power & Energy Solutions.
5. HOW COVID-19 HAS IMPACTED YOUR BUSINESS AND HOW DO YOU OVERCOME IT TO ENSURE FUTURE GROWTH?
There was temporary stagnation in the industry due to the closure of business worldwide, and the complete payment cycle was disturbed. Many small businesses run out of finances and closed down.
We were lucky to pass through that tough period, and as soon as things opened, we faced positive and healthy activity in our industrial manufacturing sector. In fact, due to rise of exports in textile, we find it positive cascading effect on our business.
To grow your business, you need to find new things and do old things in new ways. Today, we are living in the Digital age, its use and understanding covered leaps and bounds during COVID-19. We have to educate our upcoming graduates with the latest tools and techniques of Digital norms in the industry.
We have also implemented new measures within our budget and resources to maximum utilize technology. Whether it be doing things remotely, hybrid working, utilization of professional platforms for marketing. For example, we have now 10,000 followers on Linked-in which is one of the reputable professional Networking platforms.
Alhamdulillah, we have not only survived but even grew our team after COVD-19.
6. What is the importance of leadership and how do you define leadership in the development of company and country?
It is individuals who decide the fate of nations, communities, organizations by their strong will, knowledge & capabilities. An ordinary set of people can achieve wonders under the guidance of a great leader while a set of exceptional individuals can underperform and collapse in absence of a great leader.
Leadership starts with the trust & belief in yourself, in your employees, in your country.
7.Tell us about any csr contributions your company is doing?
Every year thousands of Engineers are graduating and many of them have no idea about the requirement of the industry and the particular skills that need to excel in their professional careers.
We at Enercon System have been continuously engaged with universities, engineering communities, and guide faculty and students about the development in the industry. During pandemics and before we have arranged a series of courses on different technical & soft skills-related topics for Engineering students.
8. How do you see your future growth opportunities for your company?
Allah has a special blessing on our country and every individual with honest effort can find a lot of growth opportunities.
In the post-COVID-19 world, the majority of manufacturers from the US & Europe who provide complex systems that require commissioning are looking for partners who can provide technical support & after-sales services to its customer. We see this as a positive opportunity for a company like us, which has qualified engineers from a variety of disciplines. So we are making new partnerships with these companies and making technology transfers to Pakistan. Further, we are looking forward to exporting our services to the Middle East & Africa region through our international collaborations.
