Arun Mahajan,
CMD & Founder, Appolo Cranes Pvt. Ltd.
Working in construction and heavy machinery, it requires tough discipline to do well in. It requires endless hours of hard work, keeping and maintaining schedules, punctuality, stringent quality checks, managing hundreds of both skilled and unskilled labour and what not. Those who falter in any of these aspects tend to get left behind in the race of getting new and laudable projects. Only companies that have excellent work ethic, high aspirations and the drive to succeed manage to come out on the top. Appolo Cranes
Pvt. Ltd. is one such business entity which belongs to the latter group of outfits.
Mr. Arun Mahajan, CMD & founder of the 35 year old company proudly states “in the last two to three years we have really managed the impossible, huge projects have been completed before time on a zero casualty basis”. An example of this was the Ballabhgarh to Faridabad metro line. The time duration given was a year and a half, but the work was completed ahead of schedule with all the safety precautions in place. For this and other projects underway, the company has a total of sixty cranes which are self-owned and also claims that it is always ready to purchase new equipment if the client requires. Interestingly, the size of the cranes utilized is of up to 650 metric tons capacity which is one of the largest in the country. Mr. Mahajan even goes to say that “in terms of quality, service and safety we are eons ahead of our competition”. This ISO 9001-certified company has also the contract of the National Police Memorial “Tower Statue” under its belt as a highly acclaimed piece of work completed within all constraints and limits of perseverance and the “Bhagwan Babuli Statue” at the Jain Mandir in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh. A diversification plan under
the aegis of the “Appolo Satnam Construction Pvt. Ltd.” is also presently underway. Established in 1984, the firm works on the steam of more than 150 people. Mr. Mahajan fondly remembers the time of startup when he began this work odyssey with just two to three cranes and built a strong and steady company with a minimal initial investment. He also reminisces about retaining about 70% of his staff strength, some of whom have placed their bets with him since the last 25 years or so and are like filial members for the entire team. A fortunate coincidence is that Mr. Mahajan’s daughter, Mrs. Sonarika Mahajan and son-in-law Mr. Nikhil Poonacha, have joined forces with him and are taking care of the rental and contract side of the business, they are a driving force for the entire team. They have also involved themselves in the modernizing of the company and steering it towards conducting business in new and innovative ways rather than the traditional style of working. The ambitious couple says that “we believe that as time progresses a companies style of working must evolve too”.
The entire company gets together on an annual basis on either Diwali or on Holi to have a “grand and gala time together and bond with each other.” Opining that “dedication, rigorous hard work, and the good god’s grace have worked together to help him reach his present position,” Mr. Mahajan also realises 3 that there is “too much competition in this field these days and it is not a simple feat to survive here.” Working on the mantra that “Appolo Cranes Pvt. Ltd. strives to provide efficient and high quality services to its clients, carrying out all operations in a safe and professional environment,” Mr. Mahajan’s
35 years of experience and knowledge in the spectrum of crane hiring and trading in the south-east Asian market has helped this company reach where it is today.”
The sojourn, which began with a single Hydra in 1984 to acquiring more than 55 hydraulic telescopic and crawler cranes by 2017, has truly come a long way. With cranes deployed at different sites in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, this company has received the best corporate customer citation from SANY and the ‘King of cranes’ title too. Taking up turnkey projects in association with companies like Larsen & Toubro too comes within the gambit of Appolo Cranes. This company, a leader in the realm of crane trading, has imported infrastructure from more than 15 nations including the US, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, and China. Till these times, it has even sold over and above 200 cranes to various firms in India. Some of the esteemed customers at Appolo include Reliance Infrastructure Ltd.,
IFFCO Ltd., Power Mech. Project Ltd., AFCONS Infrastructure Ltd., ACC Ltd., DMRC, BHEL, IRCON, NTPC, Jammu Udhampur Rail Line, NHPC Ltd., Om Metals and Minerals Ltd., Satnam Global Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., DSCL Sugar Mills, Bhushan Steel Ltd., Nagarjuna Construction Co. Ltd., DSC Ltd., Simplex Infrastructure LTd., ABB Ltd., Gammon India Ltd., and Hindustan Construction Co. Ltd. Acquiring a 1000 ton capacity crane is the goal this company has set its eyes on to help secure its position even further in this niche market. This, and the will to do good work all the way through is what is keeping this flagship enterprise in top form and spirit; which is what is required to keep ahead in this game of sorts in the construction industry.