Tulsi Tanti was initially in the textile business. He faced a lot of problems due to lack of electricity. First of all, he installed a wind turbine in his factory.
New Delhi. The story is of the year 1994. Tulsi Tanti used to run a textile mill named Suljer Synthetics in Surat. This was the time when no one knew when electricity would come and when it would not. There was a huge shortage of electricity, and on top of that it was very expensive. While other businessmen were resorting to generators to overcome the electricity shortage, Tulsi had something else in mind. He installed two wind turbines to meet the electricity needs of his factory. This small initiative of his not only met the electricity needs of his company, but also earned him the title of ‘Wind Man of India’. Today Tanti’s company Suzlon Energy is the largest wind energy company in India.
However, today Tulsi Tanti, the founding chairman and managing director of Suzlon Energy, is no longer among us. He passed away on 1 October 2022. Tanti had made a distinct identity on the world stage as a renowned expert on clean energy. He is known for promoting the wind energy business in India. In 1995, Tanti conceived of renewable energy at a time when international companies dominated the sector. Tulsi Tanti was an engineer by profession. He had studied commerce and mechanical engineering.
The foundation of Suzlon was laid in 1995
In 1994, as soon as he started generating electricity from a wind turbine in his textile factory, Tanti recognized the immense potential in this field. He wanted to do something big in the field of wind energy. That is why he went to his brothers living in Pune. He told them his business idea. He wanted to provide a complete package of wind energy services to the customers. The brothers liked his idea and they collected Rs 1.5 crore and started the business. Thus, Suzlon was established in the year 1995.
He used to take only 25% money from the client
Initially, Tanti used to charge only 25% of the total cost of setting up a wind turbine to generate electricity from the client. He used to arrange for the remaining 75% by getting a loan from the bank. His business model was good. But, there was a problem. At that time, there were no wind turbine generators in India. Tanti formed a joint venture with German company Sudwind Energy. With its help, he installed Suzlon’s first 0.27 MW wind turbine generator for Indian Petrochemicals in Gujarat. By the year 2000, Suzlon started generating 100 MW of electricity from wind turbines.
Suzlon was listed on the stock market in 2005
On 19 October 2005, Suzlon got listed in the stock market. It was the first renewable energy company to be listed in the market. The company raised Rs 1500 crore from the IPO. The company’s revenue reached Rs 13,679 crore. Suzlon also acquired the German company RE Power. After some time, Suzlon became India’s largest and the world’s fourth largest wind energy company.
Bad days due to acquisition
Tulsi Tanti’s gamble of acquiring RE Power (now Senvion) backfired. Suzlon had to pay Rs 411 crore for Senvion’s faulty components. The company incurred losses for the first time in 2010, which was Rs 989 crore. By 2014, Suzlon’s debt rose to Rs 17,810.96 crore.
Tanti took over the company
Tulsi Tanti did not lose courage even after being deeply in debt. He took several steps to improve the condition of the company. He sold Senvion for Rs 7500 crore. In 2015, he took Rs 400 crore from Sun Pharma owner Dilip Sanghvi to run the company. Due to Tanti’s efforts, the condition of the company improved. By the year 2020, the company’s installed wind capacity increased to 10 thousand gigawatts and the debt also reduced to Rs 4453 crore.
Today it occupies 32% of the market
Suzlon Energy’s installed wind capacity today is 20.5 GW. The company has a market share of 32%. Today, the company is providing services to 1900 customers with the help of 9700 turbines and the net debt on the company is now only Rs 1180 crore, which has reduced by 94% compared to ten years ago.
died in the year 2022
Tulsi Tanti passed away in October 2022. Tanti was also the President of the Indian Wind Turbine Manufacturers Association (IWTMA) and a member of the Management Board of TERI University, Delhi. He was awarded many awards like ‘Champion of the Earth’, ‘Hero of the Environment’ in the field of energy.
Tags: Inspiring story, Success Story, Successful business leaders, Suzlon Energy
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 17, 2024, 05:26 IST