K. Vijay Managing Director, Ajax Fiori
"In my opinion, one should be passionate about what one does and should do it in a spirit of achieving excellence and nothing less. I also very strongly believe that, as a leader, you should hold yourself accountable to the same high ethical and professional standards that you expect from your team," this is what Mr.K.Vijay believes, is the mantra of a successful life.
He is of the opinion that every person should follow his or her own passion and interests, and determine the course of his or her life. He even inculcated this belief in his children so that whatever profession they choose, it will be of their own volition.
Applying the same mantra in his life too, he, as an alumnus of IIT-Chennai, started his career with L&T and saw joining this company as an opportunity to work in the core mechanical equipment sector, which had always been his special interest. His fascination with the construction equipment sector began with the first introduction to the hydraulic excavator and that has remained with him ever since. It was fortunate for him that,early in his career, being so young; he was given the responsibility to head the design team, manufacturing the first hydraulic excavators in India, in collaboration with Poclain of France.
Early nineties saw the beginning of major infrastructure development in India, and the need for mechanization became obvious. Thereafter, in the field of concreting, he spotted the self-loading mobile concrete mixer as an opportunity which he believed was a right tool for Indian contractors. This belief gave birth to Ajax Fiori, who pioneered the use of the concrete mixer in multiple application sectors in a very short time, and today it has become the accepted solution nationwide acrossapplication sectors. The addition of a complete range of Batching plant solutions was a logical step forward.
As managing director of Ajax Fiori, he is working to position the company as one of the most important players in the concreting sector in India. Currently with over 16 standard products, the company is still busy adding to its portfolio and have plans to round out its product range in the concreting equipment sector over the next two or three years. Mr. Vijay has always emphasized the imperative of not only building a good product, but also providing timely and effective product support to his customers nationwide. He also intends to create a significant presence for Ajax Fiori beyond Indian shores in the coming years.
Talking about his most memorable experience he says, "The launch of our first product, self-loading concrete mixer in 1995, was a very special moment, as, indeed, has been the launch of every subsequent product. Even more gratifying is when a customer tells me that he is most satisfied with our product and products support. But nothing beats the heady feeling that we have contributed, in our own small way, to building the future of India." Being trained in France and Italy, I have tried to combine European discipline and work ethic with the Indian ethos to create, in our organization, enduring standards of integrity and excellence, which I see as an achievement of not inconsiderable measure."
On roadblocks he reminisces," the period from 1996 to 1997 was one of the most difficult times in the then brief history of our company, as the market plummeted and we were left with huge inventoriesalmost leading to our collapse. Being very optimistic for the Indian economy he avers, "I have strong faith that the Indian growth story is intact, albeit with several hiccups, such as we are witnessing now. The Indian entrepreneurial spirit, the burgeoning middle class, and the industriousness of Indians will surely drive growth in the coming decades and position India amongst the world’s most important economic powerhouses. India, in the next decade, will be counted amongst the largest global economies, and I see Ajax Fiori as a multinational player of some significance on this stage."
"I would personally like to groom my successor in the next few years, and gradually ease myself out of day-to-day operations in order to devote my time to my other interests, mainly social causes. I am an avid reader and very fond of music. All my free time I have, I want to spend with my family," he shared.
He is of the opinion that every person should follow his or her own passion and interests, and determine the course of his or her life. He even inculcated this belief in his children so that whatever profession they choose, it will be of their own volition.
Applying the same mantra in his life too, he, as an alumnus of IIT-Chennai, started his career with L&T and saw joining this company as an opportunity to work in the core mechanical equipment sector, which had always been his special interest. His fascination with the construction equipment sector began with the first introduction to the hydraulic excavator and that has remained with him ever since. It was fortunate for him that,early in his career, being so young; he was given the responsibility to head the design team, manufacturing the first hydraulic excavators in India, in collaboration with Poclain of France.
Early nineties saw the beginning of major infrastructure development in India, and the need for mechanization became obvious. Thereafter, in the field of concreting, he spotted the self-loading mobile concrete mixer as an opportunity which he believed was a right tool for Indian contractors. This belief gave birth to Ajax Fiori, who pioneered the use of the concrete mixer in multiple application sectors in a very short time, and today it has become the accepted solution nationwide acrossapplication sectors. The addition of a complete range of Batching plant solutions was a logical step forward.
As managing director of Ajax Fiori, he is working to position the company as one of the most important players in the concreting sector in India. Currently with over 16 standard products, the company is still busy adding to its portfolio and have plans to round out its product range in the concreting equipment sector over the next two or three years. Mr. Vijay has always emphasized the imperative of not only building a good product, but also providing timely and effective product support to his customers nationwide. He also intends to create a significant presence for Ajax Fiori beyond Indian shores in the coming years.
Talking about his most memorable experience he says, "The launch of our first product, self-loading concrete mixer in 1995, was a very special moment, as, indeed, has been the launch of every subsequent product. Even more gratifying is when a customer tells me that he is most satisfied with our product and products support. But nothing beats the heady feeling that we have contributed, in our own small way, to building the future of India." Being trained in France and Italy, I have tried to combine European discipline and work ethic with the Indian ethos to create, in our organization, enduring standards of integrity and excellence, which I see as an achievement of not inconsiderable measure."
On roadblocks he reminisces," the period from 1996 to 1997 was one of the most difficult times in the then brief history of our company, as the market plummeted and we were left with huge inventoriesalmost leading to our collapse. Being very optimistic for the Indian economy he avers, "I have strong faith that the Indian growth story is intact, albeit with several hiccups, such as we are witnessing now. The Indian entrepreneurial spirit, the burgeoning middle class, and the industriousness of Indians will surely drive growth in the coming decades and position India amongst the world’s most important economic powerhouses. India, in the next decade, will be counted amongst the largest global economies, and I see Ajax Fiori as a multinational player of some significance on this stage."
"I would personally like to groom my successor in the next few years, and gradually ease myself out of day-to-day operations in order to devote my time to my other interests, mainly social causes. I am an avid reader and very fond of music. All my free time I have, I want to spend with my family," he shared.
