As he began to work and acquire hands-on experience in the world of construction, his vision for the company began to expand – he wanted to create one of the biggest construction equipment manufacturing conglomerates in the country. He wanted to carve a strong niche in the market and not just replicate what the older generation was doing. He wanted to add a competitive edge to their products through innovation and technology.
Armed with an engineering degree and hands-on experience in the field of construction, he geared up to take the plunge into the relatively unknown waters of Concrete Equipment Manufacturing. With the help of his father, he floated a new company and named it Apollo Inffratech Pvt. Ltd. (AIPL). This was in the year 2008.
At Apollo’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, the company began building batching plants of various capacities that were deployed at project sites across India, and even in the neighbouring Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Afghanistan, and in countries like Africa, Israel, and the Middle East. The business grew in leaps and bounds, more branches were opened, along with service & spare-hubs, and a dealer network established across the country.
Two years later, Mitul announced a JV with Metalgalante of Italy – a world leader in Self Loading Mixers. The company came to be called Apollo Carmix Equipments Pvt. Ltd. (ACEL). AHCT subsequently formed a technical collaboration with MBK of Germany - a world leader in manufacturing cage welding machines for concrete pipes. This was in the year 2013.
Seeing another huge opportunity in the Paver Blocks business, Apollo Inffratech formed a JV company with Zenith – one of the largest manufacturers of Automatic Block Making Machines. The JV company came to be called ApolloZenith Concrete Technologies Pvt. Ltd. (AZCT). This was in the year 2017.
Mitul credits his maternal uncle, Kiran Patel, a director at Apollo Inffratech Group for helping him collaborate with the foreign companies. Not ready to rest on his laurels, and to further expand his knowledge, he enrolled in the Harvard Business School and became an alumnus of one of the best business schools in the world. Under his leadership, the company diversified, expanded, and consolidated its business verticals under the name Apollo Inffratech Group, which is now positioned as one of India’s most integrated concrete solutions providers.
The big breakthrough came when Mitul struck a deal with the century-old company Parker Plant of UK to form a JV called Parker Plant India Pvt. Ltd, following which, a highly modern manufacturing facility was set up near Mehsana. This was in the year 2022.
Apart from being an astute entrepreneur, Mitul has honed his marketing and management skills, including human resource development. Under his guidance, Apollo undertakes skill development programs and workshops at the company’s knowledge center. His customer-centric and people-oriented approach has helped form long-term relationships within the construction community, which include employees, customers, and vendors. A proponent of ‘Make in India’ products, he believes that Indian companies can compete in international markets by providing innovative, high-quality, tech-rich products and solutions.
Mitul has received many accolades for his contribution to the construction industry and has been conferred awards by various institutions. Today, as managing director, he is spearheading the Apollo Inffratech Group with his dynamic leadership, even as he looks for new avenues of growth and ways to scale up the business further. As the nation continues to become infrastructurally developed, construction company leaders like Mitul Patel are being seen as important contributors to India’s growth story.
