We interviewed Mr. Ajit Urath, who is among the Board of Directors of Thermilate Middle East. Throughout the interview, he talks about his career journey and how he continues to steer Store Makers towards success.
Thermilate is a 20 years old trusted manufacturer of energy saving and waterproofing products utilized in the protection, maintenance and energy saving of roofs and walls. They are one among the fastest growing energy saving innovators within the world today offering a big range of advanced, yet simple to use energy saving products.
Learn more about it through our interview below.
Tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur and what led you to starting your business.
I started my career at Thermilate, UK as an employee in 2000. My passion for technology and its application in the field of energy conservation led me to be in quest of learning more about this domain. Further down the lane, I became a member of the Board of Directors. I am grateful to the Directors of the company for their support, trust, and encouragement that helped me make it all the way to where we are today: a team of 35 experts in our field providing best-in-class and innovative solutions that save energy and save money.
What are your goals? What motivates you?
I have been in this industry for a long time, and I have always been motivated by the opportunity to help people find solutions to their roofing problems. What inspires me most is when we can create a solution that will last a lifetime. This is why I am so excited about what we are doing here at Thermilate. We’re developing products that will help people keep their facilities and buildings safe and comfortable for years to come.
Our immediate goal is to expand our scope to other functional coatings like Intumescent coatings, Concrete waterproofing, Fire retardant coatings and Rust Arrestor coatings by next year. It is the zeal and support of my team which motivates me to look for a brighter tomorrow. It is their confidence which motivates me to expand further.
What strengths does your company bring to its work?
We have been present in the GCC region for the last 20 years. Our core strength is the experience in working on projects all over the region and having a big list of satisfied clients. We also have an extensive network of partners, which we can use to leverage our work and deliver quality products on time.
Can you describe the steps (or path) that brought you to your current position?
As a result, the company’s 22-year track record has been built on delivering high quality work, taking a slow and steady approach while ensuring that they focus on sustainable and certified products which save energy and their waterproofing problems. This has come to benefit them in terms of repeat business as well customer satisfaction.
What has been your greatest career disappointment? What did you learn from it?
Disappointments are part of this journey we call life. Despite that, we go through these impediments by taking risks and trying out new things in order to grow. I have always believed that learning from my failure is more important than learning from other people’s success.
In my 35 years of career path, I enjoyed every job I was attached to and learned a lot from the team around. Even today I learn from my team and friends around me on subjects not limited to finance, coating applications techniques and new products.
Tell us the word that best describes you.
COMMITTED
What makes Mondays special to you?
More than Mondays it is Saturdays that are special to me. I enjoy our weekly meeting where we exchange notes with all team heads. We plan for the week ahead and organise ourselves to meet the challenges ahead.
It’s a great time of the week, where we sit together and plan out how we’re going to get through the week ahead, who needs what and so on. It’s very important to me because it helps me make sure that everyone is on track with their goals, and I love being able to take part in this planning process.
How do you prepare for major industry or company changes? Support your answer with examples.
In order to prepare for major industry or company changes, we need to understand our clients’ requirements. This is a vital part of our business and helps us to offer economical and lasting solutions that meet their needs.
We also keep up to date by reading about the coatings industry through exhibitions and magazines related to coatings. This helps to be acquainted with what’s happening in the industry, as well as how we can best serve our clients.
What major threats/opportunities do you foresee for this business? How do you plan to handle them?
The major threat I see is that there are a lot of companies in the market offering solutions which do not have any technical backing. If you offer a waterproofing system, least expected is your products tested for waterproofing performance. When this does not happen, the price for services being offered is sometimes not profitable. We are forced to take projects at a very low profit just to retain our clients.
Thermilate takes its clients’ requirement of quality and safety and security products and solutions seriously. Consequently, we plan to handle threats by backing up our products and systems with rigorous testing that will ensure product quality and performance.
What do you offer that is different or innovative? What new products or services does your company have coming out soon?
Our after sales service is often appreciated by existing clients. In the market today, there are many who chose to commit out of the box just for the sake of getting an order. They try different tactics to avoid any maintenance related costs on them later.
In today’s market, many companies try to lure customers by offering low prices and then shift responsibility for any maintenance work onto client’s shoulders later on. But that is not the case with Thermilate’s contracting services. For 22 years we have remained committed to the service of our existing customers even after their warranties expired. Many of our clients appreciate the fact that we offer outstanding after-sales service. This is a testament to both the quality and trustworthiness of our products, as well as recognition for past services rendered.