Mr. Zubair Farooqui, Chief Executive, talks to Engineering Post
The foundation stone of Sheikh Wilayat Ahmad and Sons was laid by the Late Mr Sadiq Hussain Farooqui in 1968.” I joined the firm by the end of 1976, after completing my graduation in Electrical Engineering from N.E.D University, Karachi” said Mr. Zubair Farooqui CEO of Sh. Wilayat Ahmed and sons while talking to Engineering Post.
“At that time our company was the authorised distributor for electric motors of Siemens only. Then in the late eighties when Switchgear products were introduced in the market we entered into business firstly with Fuji electric from Japan and then added Schneider Electric (France) and LS(Previously known as LG-Electronics, Korea) into our product portfolio. Currently S.W.A.S represents more than 15 top brands from all over the world in the Low-Voltage Switchgear sector.
Pakistan being a developing country has a lot of consumption of electrical switchgear and other related products. Our market is separated into different segments according to the buying power of the people. This means that there is requirement for all price brackets in this market. The only thing that is different in these segments is the quality of the products.
‘’ By the Grace of Almighty Allah what separates Sh. Wilayat Ahmed and Sons from most of the companies is that it has never compromised on the Quality of its products even if we have to provide expensive products in the market. We have a huge repeat customer base because all companies/suppliers are assured of the best standards and practices from our company” said Mr. Zubair.
While commenting on the different brands available in the market, Mr Farooqui said that “Japanese companies do not believe in independent international certifications and they conduct testing in their own labs in Japan. In contrast brands like Schneider and LS get their products certified by most foreign testing and certification bodies of high reputation like CESI of Italy, KEMA of Netherlands, UL of America, etc.
When we entered this field it was dominated by Japanese or European players but now Korean companies like Samsung in consumer electronics and LS in industrial products is taking the lead and have increased their quality by four folds. LS are now manufacturing products on OEM for bigger brands like Terasaki and Siemens which shows the high quality of their products internationally.
Mr. Zubair Farooqui has more than four decades of experience in the electrical industry and has seen the industry getting mature and new players entering and leaving the market. While talking to Engineering Post, he explained that currently Pakistan is not manufacturing switchgear products although our neighbours India is now manufacturing basic line-up of switchgear products for more than 15 years now. Our country needs support from the government and a long term plan as we have the talent in our country and nothing is impossible. These products require an immense demand for local production and a lot of investment that is the reason we have been unable to manufacture Switchgear products in Pakistan. Another problem was the different types of brands available in the market each with its own specific set of qualities. This has given rise to promotion of counterfeit products in the market. “In these times our company has spent its time in raising awareness to its customers about the originality of its products and discourage the use of black market and counterfeit products”.
The story of Sh. Wilayat Ahmad and Sons is a success story in which Mr. Zubair Farooqui along with his brothers Mr. Rashid Farooqui and Mr. Asif Farooqui has established their brand and proven the quality of their business in the market. While commenting on his four decade long journey he said that “The only thing we had in mind while starting the business was never to compromise on quality and service, our products have always been of top quality and we try to provide customers/consultants with best solutions. We just kept working with contentment and dedication and the rest was managed by Allah SWT”.
Mr. Zubair Farooqui suggested that the young engineers and entrepreneurs should concentrate on consistent approach towards life. There is no short cut to success. The young Generation can bring economic change in Pakistan if they adopt honesty with consistency. Mr Farooqui sees a positive potential change in the upcoming days. On the basis of his experience in the engineering and technical sector he said that “Currently the government is not paying proper attention to the engineering sector. The moment the administration starts working on it the future will change for the better. We can drastically reduce our Import bill if we come up with a long term strategy and encourage Made in Pakistan products, this can’t be done overnight but requires a 10 year vision.
