Vijay Agarwal founded the biggest crane company in India—Action Construction Equipment (ACE) 30 years ago at the age of 47 years as he was destined to do something much bigger. His wife Mona Agarwal gave him the necessary encouragement when the chips were down, and problems seemed insurmountable, to keep trying, to keep going.
He started making cranes at the most unlikely time in his life, at the most unlikely place, in a desolate patch of land, under the open sky. It took him a couple of months to make the first crane, fix 600 components, big and small, in perfect symphony, never did he falter for he knows the art of making cranes.
Vijay had declared long ago ‘I can make a crane in the middle of a road.’ He was not joking. He did it, almost literally. Thirty years later, ACE is the market leader, he asserts with the same conviction, ‘I can make cranes with my hands’ and explains, ‘when you do things with your own hand, work day and night, you develop a skill.’ ‘Skill with time gains an artistic mastery,’ I tell him.
It was wonderful to see Vijay seated in his office, wood panels rising up to the ceiling, décor that reminded me of the ministerial chambers in the North Block, aesthetically done, and was a conductive working space, window overlooking the plant as far as the eyes can go that makes scores of cranes of dozens varieties, descriptions and capacities. The premium product is the tower crane, ACE towers above the rest in the segment.
Vijay, a visionary business leader, not only diversified types of cranes but also democratised the use of cranes in India by encouraging banks and NBFCs to give credit to the operators to buy cranes, akin to the cab drivers. The concept of equipment rentals was popularised by him, and now
every operator is an entrepreneur in his own right.
The success has made him humbler, for he knows that success is not a destination, but a way of life. To remain on top requires a commitment par excellence, to him has become a habit. To be working in the plant is not a labour to him but a source of profound joy.
A mechanical engineer with a degree in management from Delhi’s Faculty of Management Studies, Vijay loves machines, they are his best friends and he likes to spend time with them. ‘I have always worked (even when he was an employee) as if I own the company,’ he explains. So not much changed after he founded ACE. He likes to take charge, give his best that invariably leads to a job done well.
Working for others had ‘become very monotonous’ and for the first time he was not enjoying the work. That’s not good, especially for a man like Vijay who’s a doer. He made the decision of his life. ‘I will make my own cranes,’ he told his wife Mona, and she gave an unconditional ‘go ahead’ and assured that ‘for six months I will not ask for money and take care of the family.’
Vijay’s parents were aging and his son and daughter were about to finish school. They had little savings and, therefore, logically speaking, a bad time to take the gamble of life. He had made up his mind, and there was no going back. They mustered all their savings to buy a plot in a jungle littered with stones with sharp edges, snakes and blood soaking mosquitoes. The first crane was built by a small team of committed engineers and workers under Vijay. A task next to impossible was accomplished. ACE grew like a hydra.
Vijay explains, ‘making a crane is an assembly operation. No company makes components, they buy out, make, test the crane and sell it.’ Vijay had a goodwill in the market and stakeholders were well aware of his capabilities. They reposed full trust in him. Initially, vendors supplied components on credit to ACE.
And his experience working as an employee in other companies was educational, and he’s grateful for that, for it gave him critical insights into how to make a crane and, more importantly, how not to make a crane. He knew all these flaws and was adamant not to repeat them. Customers, vendors, distributors–their interest was paramount, so that they come back again and again to do business with ACE. Also, being small was advantageous because ACE didn’t have debilitating overheads. ACE sold a superior machine for less price and made steady rise in the market.
ACE, as the name suggests, was destined from day one to be the numero uno. He knew how to service clients, and keep the machine working, is what sets him apart from the rest. ‘I’d carry equipment weighing 100 kgs—wife would help wrap it in a bori—and fly to Mumbai to ensure there’s no loss of production,’ he gives an example. Trust is the basis of engagement and it is sacrosanct to him.
Vijay ensured that all the components used were of a standard and easily available in a hardware store. The idea was simple: ACE was not to make money from spare parts and the cost of maintenance should be minimal.
ACE had to fight an arduous battle for survival as the bigger companies did everything possible to ensure Vijay shut shop and leave. He faced prolonged motivated legal battles simultaneously all across India. ‘There’s no option. I have to fight. I’m a fighter. You don’t give up,’ he says. ACE never stopped manufacturing, and started capturing bigger market share while fighting the existential battles that took years to win. In spite of all this, ACE went public in 2006.
The adversaries would learn the hard way that ACE is there to stay, and soon would become a market leader. The quality that makes Vijay’s success endearing is that he harbours no bitterness. ‘We don’t do anything negative. We don’t try to harm. If you try to save your back side all the time, someone will take your front side,’ he says and bursts into laughter.
Vijay is a visionary business leader, who not only diversified types of cranes, but also democratised the use of cranes in India. Vijay encouraged banks and NBFCs to give credit to the operators to buy the cranes, like the cab drivers. The concept of equipment rentals was popularised by him in India and, in the process, every operator became an entrepreneur in his own right. They were all able to pay off loans, because cranes are a lucrative source of livelihood.
ACE cranes were better machines for cheaper price, so it was advantageous for operator’s to buy them on credit. The sales of cranes increased many folds in the years to come, now even smaller construction works, building a house, or digging the foundation, in the mining, and host of other activities use of a crane is common.
The other area where ACE registered big success is the tower crane. In the early days, India was importing tower cranes at a big price. ‘Importing a tower crane would cost a crore or two, we could sell an indigenous tower crane only for Rs 50 lakh,’ explains Vijay. This revolutionised the market. ‘No one gives ACE or our team credit for it, but we remain the largest player in the tower cranes segment,’ he asserts with an air of satisfaction. ACE now has operations in 37 countries and 8 percent of its revenues come from exports, and is truly a Swadeshi multinational.
He’s good at multitasking, as time is finite and a lot is to be done. A religious man, though not ritualistic. ‘My religion is don’t do bad things that will bring harm to others. Integrity is key. If intentions are good, good things happen,’ he says.
‘If someone loves mechanical engineering (like he does ), there’s no bigger thrill than the making of construction machinery. It involves structural engineering, material engineering, engine, gear boxes, hydraulics, tyres, rubber, load lifting and the concept of mechanical advantage,’ he explains.
He’s leading a good life with his life partner Mona, children, grandchildren, and hundreds of employees of ACE are part of his extended family. And not to miss his 14 lovely dogs,
A life of learning and innovating are most fundamental to being perpetually young. He likes making new machines that are able to perform unique tasks or improve existing machines to do better. That is why he remains a young man at 77, this week is his birthday, which is also the foundation day of ACE.
And his message to the younger generations is that there are no shortcuts in life; do what you love; when at home don’t let work interfere with your family life—it’s about maintaining a right balance to play a long innings.
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