DWTPL- Winning Blend Of Business And Social Conciousness

July 12, 2018

Anirban Sarkar, Managing Director – Deccan Water Treatment Pvt Ltd (DWTPL is at the helm steering the Business built on Sustainability, Renewable Energy and Social Consciousness –

Water, life-sustaining water is the newest worry as water sources are depleting faster than they can be recharged, the water table is receding and all too often, it is polluted. This is the area where the Pune-based Deccan Water Treatment Pvt Ltd (DWTPL) stepped in.

Anirban Sarkar, Chairman and Managing Director, DWTPL, saw in this business of water treatment an opportunity to fulfill both his dreams of starting his own enterprise and a passion to do something for his country. Water treatment is a very important business and needs to be dealt with in the best way possible for an efficient outcome. Utilizing resources such as a commercial water softener can help keep everything running smoothly, and the output of water is safe for everyone. Now, 20 years later, it is a Rs. 3,000 crore company with a presence also in solar energy and a soon-to-be-launched retail product.

Talking of his journey, Sarkar said, “I had worked with Indian and multinational corporations. When I came back from the US in 1998, I decided to set up my own enterprise, the success story it is today. Our revenues last year, 2017-18, were Rs. 3,000 crore.

We are now present not only in all aspects of water treatment, from sewage water treatment to grey water recycling plants and our presence is not just limited to India but also in countries in Africa. We also set up car wash plants. That’s our water business. We have now widened our portfolio to include solar power plants. In India, we have bid for solar power projects in Maharashtra, while in Slovakia, in eastern Europe, we took over a solar panel manufacturing plant to address business opportunities in that region,” Sarkar said.

The 53-year old first generation entrepreneur is a Mechanical Engineer from the College of Engineering Pune (COEP). Since his area of expertise is water and water treatment, it is hardly surprising that his first job was with Thermax. He worked in the US but returned to Pune fired by his ambition to set up his own enterprise. Sarkar incidentally speaks eight Indian languages.

Today, his focus is on sustainability and renewable energy which means focusing on water and the sun. Which left out the third element, fire. Now, Sarkar has set up a sister company, DeccaLeap Technologies LLP to manufacture automatic fire extinguishers for vehicles. This gadget is placed under the car’s bonnet where it automatically detects and extinguishes the fire at the source. That’s not all, he’s lined up a safety product for the home-user market which addresses fires caused by short circuits and the product is set for a launch soon.

But there is more to Sarkar’s view than merely challenging his employees. For him, the attempt in all his ventures, is to give back to society. This sense of a social responsibility is what drove him to address the water treatment business.

Sarkar’s niche focus has ensured they don’t come up against the big guys, yet offer best-in-class products and services. This is possible thanks to the research and development (R&D) undertaken within the company, that ensures they remain leaders in the segment. Yes, he freely admits, this makes them more expensive than some of their competitors, but now the market has accepted the brand value DWTPL delivers.

The foray into solar energy was “accidental” Sarkar insists. “We had an order to set up a drinking water plant in Gadchiroli, in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. When we got there, we found the area had 18-hour power cuts. How were we going to get anything done?! So, we looked at renewable energy, wind and solar. Setting up a wind power plant would require a 20-year study of wind patterns, etc. Solar was thus the only option available and that’s how we entered the solar energy business,” he explained.

The challenge for solar power in India, Sarkar noted, is that every region in our country is different and has specific needs. One size won’t fit all in our country in view of our
huge climatic variation.

Apart from his social conscience and commitment where the business can contribute to bettering lives of the poor and voiceless, there’s another driver for this technocrat: to ensure that the contributions of little known people are recognised and given its rightful due. This brought him to film production, a business that is as divorced from their bread-and-butter water treatment and renewable energy, as can be found. To learn more about renewable energy for your business you can see more here.

“My first film, Farzand, released on June 1. This Marathi film is about the fight to capture the fort at Panhala and the contribution of the anonymous `Mavala’, Chatrapati Shivaji’s brave foot soldier. Everyone acknowledges that the Mavala was a great fighter and he helped Shivaji Maharaj achieve the latter’s dream, but what about the actual work he did? No one has gone into it and that, is what I want to highlight. They worked so we could live,” Sarkar said, adding, “I have another film planned which is about Shivaji Maharaj’s escape from Agra. There too, the contribution of the little known Mavala who did the actual work has never been brought on record.

This is my tribute to the scores of workers who make our lives possible, these little known and rarely recognised people who work, so we enjoy the fruit of their labour.”

Team - DWTPL — Team: Deccan Water Treatment Pvt Ltd (DWTPL)

Sarkar’s plan at the moment is to produce five films, the other three similarly paying tributes to the silent, understated work of individuals.

Niche is the segment Sarkar has identified, be it in water treatment or any other. So, as president of the India-Arabia Chamber of Commerce and Agriculture, he is keen to promote investment and trade between the poorer countries of the region and India “We have identified Iraq and Syria as two countries to focus on to take this initiative forward. We want Indians to invest in the region, deepen ties,” he said.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes that DWTPL is committed to take forward it’s founder’s philosophy of looking to improve the lives of those who serve society quietly.

“The police work so that we can sleep well. At DWTPL, we have taken on a project to upgrade the police stations, including fitting toilets for women police. This project is currently being undertaken in Pune. We have also provided the state’s police force with equipment like barricades,” Sarkar said.

There are other social issues he seeks to address, including supporting marriages without dowry. Often, dowry issues prevent young women from getting married; this programme that DWTPL supported, ensured 72 marriages took place without dowry.

Women and their status is another issue close to Sarkar’s heart and he believes in going to the root cause. Sarkar supported the 4th Sub Junior National Hockey Championship where the girl’s team were encouraged and motivated to take up our national sport.

Anirban Sarkar has also incidentally helped several cancer patients by paying for their entire treatment.

Getting Sarkar talking is easy, but what really gets him charged up is the way everyone expects government to do the work. “Every one of us has a responsibility and we should not expect anything free. If it’s free, we don’t value it. We need rules, but more importantly, we need them to be implemented,” is his emphatic view.

Given these views, it is no surprise Sarkar has no intentions of handing over his hard-earned business to the children. They will have to work for it he stressed, the way he did building it up.