Mr. Goenka’s relentless vision and exquisite finesse for detail have earned him the most prominent position in India’s iron and steel business. He holds a B.Com. (Hons.) from St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata, India. As the Managing Director of Devashree Ispat, he is making giant leaps in the sector with great agility, which is evidenced by the company’s 500% growth over the last 15 years. Making Shree Xtra TMT the most trusted brand was a shining moment for Mr. Goenka. The brand is regarded as a premium one, with the biggest market share in Telangana’s secondary steel market. The goal of the focused leader has always been to create the highest amount of product at the lowest manufacturing cost & with the least amount of investment while maintaining the highest quality. Under his direction, the existing plant of the firm was renovated rather than being discarded or shut down as part of the modernization & capacity expansion. This is a historic exercise in & of itself!
A MAN OF PRINCIPLES
Mr. Goenka has not only preserved the ethos of the company but has also strengthened it with time. His steadfast adherence to the company’s values & ethics has laid the groundwork for his successful journey besides helping him win the hearts of his coworkers, associates, & clients. Because of his ceaseless efforts, Devashree Ispat is currently revered as a leader by his peers. It has been possible due to the leader’s vision for futuristic development, a positive and aggressive approach to modifications, modernization, & innovation in the areas of cost-cutting, production enhancement, & quality improvement. He attributes the success of his firm to the vision & guidance of his uncle Shri Sajjan Kumar Goenka & unflinching support & hard work of his brother Shri Neeraj Goenka, his son Siddhartha & nephew Karan. He also owes it to the employees & workers who have been giving their best to the firm. Mr. Goenka, like a true leader, believes in learning from his mistakes and not repeating them. “Mistakes are bad, but failing to learn from them is even worse”, he says. Failures are embraced as pillars of success by the daring and optimistic leader. In failures, he is never despondent or depressed. “Accepting failure drives me to explore different things I’ve never tried before, paving the way for me to win big.”
QUALITY COMES FIRST
For Mr. Goenka quality is of paramount importance. He leverages innovations in quality improvement and perfection to help the company climb the ladder of success. For example, he pushed the firm to move from traditional rib patterns in TMT bars to “XXX” in order to make the company’s TMT bars 10% stronger than regular TMT bars. He is a responsible & honest entrepreneur, employer, & citizen. Sound corporate governance, he believes, is vital to enhancing & maintaining investor trust, as it reflects the firm’s culture, policies & values commitment. He says, “Corporate governance’s significance in today’s dynamic & cutthroat business environment cannot be overstated. Thus, we have a solid corporate governance framework in place & we strictly adhere to the principles of transparency & accountability in our firm.” The leader adds, “Whether it’s financial institutions or our suppliers, the firm has never failed to pay its financial commitments. This reflects the company’s greatest level of morality & integrity.”
SAILING SMOOTHLY THROUGH ODDS
Mr. Goenka has the readiness and flexibility to cope with new circumstances regardless of how challenging they may be. He knows how to tackle challenges sagaciously. The leader has taken some impressive initiatives to address the issues posed by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. As soon as COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, he made sure his organization adheres to the lockdown guidelines issued by the government earnestly and strictly. The organization’s supervisory teams were directed to educate the workers on the necessity of wearing masks, using hand sanitizers, and practicing social distancing. Buses were also provided to make it easier for workers to commute safely and avoid taking public transportation. What’s more, full salaries and wages were paid to all the employees and workers during the Covid-19 lockdown of 45 days in 2020. Under his direction, workers were also provided with private transportation services, allowing them to travel to work from their hometowns & resume their jobs. It was done to reduce rail travel and unnecessary virus exposure.
AN ECO-MINDED ENTREPRENEUR
Mr. Goenka is a proponent of green entrepreneurship. Under his direction, Devashree Ispat has carved out a distinctive niche for itself over the years. There is no tolerance for any kind of pollution, whether it is the pollution of the air, water, or the dumping of waste on the land. He has always blazed the trails in the field of fuel economy. Under his leadership, the firm remained far ahead of its competitors by spearheading the timely shift from furnace oil to the gasifier to coal pulverizer & finally to direct hot charging of billets. It also achieved the rare feat of recycling 100% of its waste products for other commercial activities & value creation. Furthermore, he has pioneered measures to reduce emissions from furnaces.
A BENEVOLENT SOUL
Besides being a successful businessman, Mr. Goenka is a philanthropist who believes in promoting the well-being of humanity. With his CSR initiatives, the leader aspires to have a lasting impact on society besides making his life meaningful and worthy. “We are highly aware of our corporate social responsibilities & are always zealous to fulfil them,” the compassionate leader says. He asserts, “Our villagers admire us because we always come forward to resolve their problems & concerns. For the last 10 years, we have been providing free drinking water on a daily basis to all the residents of Elkatta village & surrounding villages by installing and operating an RO water plant. When bore-wells dry up in the summer, we supply free water to the villagers for the entire summer.” He always makes sure that his firm is conscientious of its social obligations. “We make a sizable monthly contribution to charitable institutions in the state for the education of girls,” he says. He also donates regularly to government entities during disasters such as COVID-19 and helps in raising funds for martyrs’ families
