Raja Srinivas Pedada is a highly accomplished business leader with a wealth of experience in the investment and energy sectors. As the Managing Director of Experience Investment Company, Energy & Sabson group Companies, he is responsible for driving strategic growth and development for the company.
With a career spanning over more than two and half decades, Raja Srinivas Pedada has built a reputation as a results-driven leader with a track record of success. Through his extensive experience and expertise, Raja has become a trusted advisor to clients and partners alike and continues to be a driving force in the industry. Learn more about Raja Srinivas Pedada and his company through our interview below.
What’s the idea behind your company?
Our company aims to deliver cost-effective, quality energy solutions, after-sales services, and operations to utility corporations and industries. We are a passionate energy solutions & service provider and supply company that offers best-in-class services, equipment, and products to the MENA region’s oil, gas, power, and water industries.
The idea for our company was conceived due to the shortage of power availability in the economically remote regions of the Middle East. To address this issue, our promoters decided to set up power plants that could provide cheap and uninterrupted power to public utility corporations and upcoming industrial units via separate distribution/transmission lines and through the public utility corporation grid.
Our promoters launched an investment company in 2010 with a leading industrial house, “Sabson,” a flagship company of M/s Bajarsh group under the chairmanship of Mr. Yahya Bajarsh and funding organizations such as the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and other organizations. This initiative successfully paved the way for implementing the first IPP project of 85 MW, which is still operational in the Hadramout region of Yemen.
Since then, we have implemented several projects under rental PPA’s with the utility grid. In addition to these energy projects, our group has a conglomerate of more than 15 companies diversified in power, steel, food, cement, construction, and more.
Our business fundamentals prioritize ownership and establishing, operating, and managing investment projects, industrial, commercial, and other sole or shared with third parties. We aim to create, own, manage, and operate power plants and accessories on a BOO & BOOT basis, sale and rental electric power, provide advisory services and training in the field of electricity, and any other purposes that will directly or indirectly achieve our goals.
We are committed to the business and personal integrity and compliance with applicable regulations and laws through our policies, procedures, and awareness programs. We have complete support from our investors in implementing innovative techniques with proper training, tools, and methods and taking the right action at the right time.
How did you begin your career journey? Do you have some advice for beginners?
My journey began by joining a major fertilizer group as a Project Management Trainee in India way back in 1994, despite being selected for a commissioned rank in the Indian Navy. I chose to join the former organization as it was located in my hometown. However, soon after, I relinquished and started working in the Energy field with MAN Diesel Power Plants and MAN Energy Solutions. From 1995 until December 2008, was instrumental in implementation of over 150 projects across various industrial installations in India and abroad meant for Captive Power generation.
In January 2009, I moved to the Middle East and successfully implemented the first IPP project of 85 MW, which was cleared for commercial operation by June 2010. While executing these IPP and other industrial projects, I gained valuable experience and exposure, which paved the way for establishing my present roles and responsibilities.
Overall, my journey has been an enthusiastic and rewarding one, and I am grateful for the opportunities I have had along the way. Each responsibility has taught me valuable skills and helped me grow professionally, leading to where I am today.
For beginners in the electro-mechanical industry, I advise building a strong foundation of knowledge and expertise.
This includes obtaining formal training and education and gaining practical experience through hands-on work, on-the-job training at an industrial level, and attending various workshops, etc. Moreover, staying up-to-date with the latest technologies and innovations in the field is important. Another key factor for success is cultivating a strong work ethic and a commitment to excellence. This means taking pride in work, being reliable, and consistently delivering high-quality results.
My humble advice to beginners is to have full confidence and faith in themselves, be industrious, plan things in advance, and practice proper time management. Try to find a solution to a real problem in the market by bridging the gaps where necessary. It’s essential to maintain integrity and objectivity in whatever you do. This means being honest about your preconceptions and striving to present a fair and balanced depiction of events and people. Last but not least, the right attitude with a proactive approach, building and maintaining positive relationships with clients, coworkers, and suppliers is critical to long-term success in the industry.
What’s the goal of your company?
Our goal is to become one of the leading companies, locally respected and internationally recognized, that are known for their professionalism in terms of quality, safety, integrity, ethics, compliance, and corporate social responsibility.
We aim to meet energy needs by taking on large Electro-Mechanical Projects in the aforementioned fields on an EPC basis. Regardless of how challenging a project may be or how remote its location is, we have the capability to handle it. This is because we bring a unique combination of knowledge, skill, experience, and customer commitment to every project.
Our core objectives are as follows:
- To harmonize the way we work
- To reduce firefighting during the project stage
- To deliver projects smoothly
- To create a knowledge database and effectively share information
- To reduce lead time and effort
Our mission is to be a reliable and trusted partner for our clients, providing tailored solutions that help them achieve their targets. We are committed to delivering results that meet the highest quality and safety standards, whether through project execution, maintenance and repair work, or implementing complex turnkey projects.
How important are employees’ energy levels to the success of your company?
Our team is equipped with a highly positive attitude, technical expertise, customer focus, friendliness, and excellent communication skills. Our well-groomed and experienced teams are proficient and can become highly productive project team members.
Our projects have contributed to the growth of local economies in the Middle East region. Our efforts have improved the quality of life for communities and people. Our work has repeatedly demonstrated that the only limits on human achievement are those we place on ourselves. Through a balanced combination of examination and development, we create value while bringing long-term social and economic benefits to the Middle East and the communities we work with.
Our highly qualified team of business management specialists, engineers, technicians, consultants, and supply chain experts are available in-house or in coordination with our international and professional business partners to meet every possible challenge faced by our customers with able and creative solutions.
With a full understanding of local challenges and international professional industry standard requirements, our team is always prepared and capable of offering customized and cost-effective solutions that fit the requirements of our customers, regardless of the size and complexity of the project.
How do you plan to motivate your team to go the extra mile?
Motivating the team is the success mantra for any organization to flourish. I maintain close relationships with the team, provide ongoing support, guidance, and inspiration, and encourage a collaborative and supportive work environment to help everyone succeed, be happy, and love the job they do. We focus on individual strengths rather than weaknesses, which we correct by providing additional training as required. I strongly believe in working as a team and leading from the front.
The team takes responsibility for any mistakes that are part of our journey. Sometimes, I assign our team to attend training sessions at the respective OEM centers, conduct workshops, and provide regular on-the-job training in their areas of expertise. This way, the team feels encouraged and recognized and has an intrinsic desire to do well. Every division leader in our team commands respect by leading from the front.
We motivate our team by defining clear goals and expectations, ensuring that everyone understands their roles and responsibilities, recognizing their hard work, offering incentives, fostering a positive and supportive workplace culture where our employees feel valued and appreciated, providing opportunities for growth and advancement, and promoting work-life balance by encouraging our employees to prioritize their well-being and offering flexible work arrangements and time off when needed.
By adapting these strategies, we have created a motivated and supportive work environment that drives our team’s success and contributes to the organization’s overall growth.
What keeps your company moving forward even during challenges?
We always learn from our past experiences and use those lessons to better ourselves when facing present challenges. We believe that every challenge presents an opportunity, and this is how we move forward. We are amenable and adaptable. We constantly upgrade ourselves with market developments and technological changes, and we keep our customers informed of new updates from time to time.
Our project team has a robust service network that provides quick, reliable, and efficient service, which our customers rely on. We design the right services and measure customer satisfaction. In reality, there are very few companies like ours. We not only fulfill our customers’ requirements by focusing our efforts on “response time” and “add-on services” but also share risks with customers at times, which puts us at the forefront and persuades customers to seek our services.
The regions in which we operate have some challenges, but we are still committed to investing notwithstanding the limitations. We put much more dedicated effort into offering projects in the pipeline with our aggressive approach and, of course, with visible backing from our investors, which makes our task easy.
We also believe in being proactive, continuously improving our processes and systems, and investing in the latest technologies and equipment to ensure that we are always at the forefront of the industry. Our team of highly educated, talented, and dynamic young professionals, along with our in-depth understanding of business processes, keeps us moving forward.
How do you think technology is leading to changes in businesses? Do you feel it’s helping your company grow?
Technology has had a tremendous impact on the way we do business, especially in the digital age. Adapting to the times or employing someone to help navigate today’s technology is very important. We use technology to streamline our processes, improve efficiency, and enhance our customer service. It has helped us grow and reach more clients in different parts of the world. Technology has revolutionized the way businesses operate and has led to significant changes in areas ranging from marketing, promotion, and sales to accounting.
Moreover, technology has become integral to human life, facilitating communication, enhancing productivity, and streamlining various business processes. As a result, businesses are now better equipped to achieve their objectives with greater ease and effectiveness.
With the advancement of technology, we aim to utilize more innovative systems to make our interactions seamless and enhance our clients’ experience.
How is your company adapting to digitalization?
Overall, our approach to digitalization is focused on embracing change, investing in technology, and empowering our employees to drive growth and improvement. By doing so, we are positioning ourselves for long-term success in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Innovation is key today, and embracing and applying innovative changes in the workplace makes our lives easy and smooth.
We ensure that our team is up to date with technological advances. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly arranged for our team to work from home. In other words, we embraced this change as part of our ongoing digitalization efforts and are further focusing on cutting-edge technology to improve our processes, enhance our customer experience, and reach more clients online.
With the advent of technology, digitalization is bound to be inexorable and will certainly penetrate all production and services sectors.
Do you use innovative ideas to be unique?
Innovation plays an important role in our day-to-day activities. We believe in constantly improving our processes and systems and investing in the latest technologies and equipment to ensure we always provide the best project deliverables and the highest service to our customers. People, clients, and consumers want to see something that will attract them and differentiate us from others, which keeps us focused on improving productivity through predictive decision-making.
The management agenda for any maturing organization should focus on the real requirements and come up with unique, innovative ideas that will motivate customers to seek their products and services. We have utilized collaborative tools from our principals to engage and connect with all stakeholders to implement exceptional practices compared with our peers.
What are the services/solutions or products offered by your company as par with the current industry standards? Tell us something about your upcoming products or services.
Our range of activities includes, but is not limited to:
- Execution of power plants on BOO & BOOT basis from feasibility study to implementation & operations (EPC basis)
- Implementation of substations and switchyards (power transformers and low, medium & high voltage switch gears)
- Large transmission & distribution networks (T&D)
- Bidding on several tenders to provide public utility corporations, other government & private affiliates, industrial houses, etc., with all related power equipment and services.
- Supply of all types of BOP equipment, power & control cables, panels, power system protections, etc.
- I&C systems, system engineering, and SCADA
- System strengthening covering voltage regulations, load flow studies, and schemes for obviating unbalanced loads.
- Energy audit & demand-side management
- Project management & development
We offer these services and supplies either solely or in close cooperation with the best-in-class international business associates that we work with. Recently, we have entered into an MOU with Chint related to renewable energy, such as on-grid solar solutions, off-grid/hybrid solar solutions, and energy storage. This includes solar PV modules, inverters, BOS equipment, LV, MV, HV products, systems, etc.
We are trying to lead the public-private partnership in power and exploring the possibility of establishing a few energy projects in the MENA region in renewable and non-renewable areas of development. We are also pursuing to establish and support the building of new energy projects in excess of 100 MW in some governorates in the underdeveloped regions of MENA, where there is a very high demand for power and limited public resources available.
We are poised to take advantage of this, as we will be adding substantial capacities while there may be laggards with other suppliers vying for the same.
Would you like to say anything else to our viewers?
Stay disciplined in life, which will take you a long way forward. Hard work, perseverance, and determination can help you reach your desired destination and lead a content and fulfilling life. Never give up, and always be optimistic about whatever life has to offer. Prioritize your family, friends, relationships, and health, which are paramount. Remember one thing: hard work will never go unrewarded, and therefore you should keep striving and move ahead by performing your duties diligently, and that will pay you in the long run.
Nothing comes easy; there will always be ups and downs, but it is most important to learn from everything. Take the mistakes, generate solutions and wins, and level up to something greater.
One should responsibly conduct business activities which can assure people’s health, safety, and security, preservation of the environment, and compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements in the regions where they operate.