Tvashtra is an Indian company that designs and manufactures electrical control panels, high mast latching systems, and a lot more. With its unique product offering, the company aims to provide solutions that are best in design and quality.
Team Sociobits connected with the Co-Founder of Tvashtra, Mr. Kaustubh Sharad Phatak to know more about Tvashtra. Here’s what the co-founder shared with us:
Team Sociobits: What is the meaning of Tvashtra and how did you come up with the idea of Tvashtra?
Mr. Kaustubh Phatak: The name Tvashtra is enough to give the company’s introduction. Tvashtra in Sanskrit means ‘creative power’. The meaning justifies our motive to create this company and the way we run it. We started ideating it around eight years ago when all of us completed our engineering. At that time, all of us: (founders), Prathamesh, Aditya, Anuj, and I had identified a problem and thought to ourselves about whether we can do something about it. We had asked an official about this and he told us that the solution for this is imported from China. And we, being extremely patriotic, knew we can also make this.
At Tvashtra, we have two verticals. Our major vertical is control panel systems. So, any building or corporate segmented industry receives power supply from MSEB, and to get or distribute the desired output, they need a control pane, system. This is something that we cater to. Other than that, when we drink water, we first ensure that the water is clean and purified. Similarly, we don’t know if our appliances are working on the correct quality of light. The control panel also ensures that.
The name Tvashtra is enough to give the company’s introduction. Tvashtra in Sanskrit means ‘creative power’. The meaning justifies our motive to create this company and the way we run it. We started ideating it around eight years ago when all of us completed our engineering.
The other vertical is a high mast latching system. This is our patented product and we have been working on it for the last seven years. We are India’s first and globally the fourth company that has launched this product. For this system, our team gets the whole credit under the Make In India initiative.
We cater our product to government bodies as there are certain places like refineries that need
Team Sociobits: When you say we should ensure that we receive ‘the right power supply’, what do you mean by that?
Co-Founder: In a typical home, we have inverters, and stabilizers and these are all a part of the control system. So, some industries receive a three-phase power supply and if the input power given to the appliances is not correct, then they can damage the appliance. This is because it doesn’t get the power that it needs to run it properly and this can also affect the life of the appliance. So it is very important that it comes in the right way or doesn’t come at all. Only then you can maintain the life of an appliance.
Team Sociobits: Can you also explain in easy language what is a high mast model?
Co-Founder: Whenever we travel by the highway, we always come across street lights and control panels are used here too. You may have also seen a big circle with light fittings on a 20-30 meter pole and this pole alone can do the job of illuminating a particular radius that usually requires around 10 – 20 poles. There are lots of high mast supplying companies in India that also export but the only problem is that the whole system depends only on two or three wire ropes. So, around 400 kilos of weight on a few ropes is very risky. If we look at the gulf countries, due to the extreme weather changes, the chance of wire breakage increases, and in that case, the whole system will come down. If someone is standing below it, and it falls on them, it can sometimes lead to death.
To avoid this, we have developed a system that even on failure doesn’t fall down. And when it is in place, it has been designed in a way that removes the tension from the wire, it basically works like a lock system. Every system’s capacity is six metric tons which is much higher than the factor of safety. We have used special material after doing a lot of research to increase its life while keeping the cost competitive.
When we started looking for this solution, we realized that whatever we learnt during engineering is not enough to tackle this issue. We needed industrial knowledge too and so, the four of us identified 2 different industries each and got experience there. While developing this solution, we faced a lot of problems but our engineering college helped and supported us. They offered us a place to work on this and at that time we had established our other vertical so we started getting financial backing.
There are lots of high mast supplying companies in India that also export but the only problem is that the whole system depends only on two or three wire ropes. So, around 400 kilos of weight on a few ropes is very risky.
Team Sociobits: Could you point out some of the challenges that you faced while creating Tvashtra?
Co-Founder: The biggest challenge we faced was finance. For revenue generation, we focused on our control panels. We emphasized the designing part and as we moved forward we did a lot of design projects, hence strengthening it. If you would have seen the new traffic lights, those are Tvashtra’s designs. That’s how we started giving design solutions to many companies, in turn generating revenue. On the other hand, we began exporting our control panel systems to Dubai and Qatar through a third party.
In the beginning, we didn’t focus on creating profit instead we focused on creating a brand and building trust with our clients. That’s why we have as many orders in our second vertical too.
We faced another big challenge during the COVID-19 lockdown. Just before the pandemic hit, we set up our first office and after the end of it, we had to shift to another place. But certain senior people guided us that this is the time for survival and we should focus on gathering more knowledge and developing our system more. We are out of that phase because we followed their guidance.
Team Sociobits: Did your company face any other impact due to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Co-Founder: I have to say that there was a positive impact because we faced too many problems during the beginning. This included the financial crunch, handling and motivating employees, and more. So, we tackled them smartly and I also have to say that our families, friends, and college supported us during this time a lot.
Team Sociobits: Since 2019, how has your journey with Tvashtra been?
Co-Founder: We have grown a lot! Our perspectives have changed, and we have inculcated a drive to build a brand and not just a company through which we can earn money. You may have noticed that today’s generation normally study here and settle abroad. This is because we don’t have as many employment opportunities in our country. We have an extremely biased system here that is kind of hard to change but we can do (and are doing) certain things like creating employment opportunities, and interacting with students through the entrepreneur’s cell available in our engineering college. We try to make them understand what they can do with their ideas instead of sticking to the ‘9-to-5 job’ mindset. There is a lot of difference in the students by these activities.
We have grown a lot! Our perspectives have changed, and we have inculcated a drive to build a brand and not just a company through which we can earn money.
Team Sociobits: Is there anyone else like Tvashtra in the market?
Co-Founder: In India, there is no company that creates a unique product similar to Tvashtra’s but there are companies that have copied the product which is available in China especially when our country was banning Chinese products. But this is not the solution. If you are running a company that has infrastructure which might be better than ours too then you can do a lot. If you don’t do this, then I think it’s a waste.
So, there are companies who are our competitors but they lack the uniqueness that Tvashtra has. When we created our product, we knew that only if we do something different, it will help us stand out from the crowd. And by the time they copy our product, our next product might be ready.
Team Sociobits: What are the future plans of Tvasthra?
Co-Founder: We want to increase our production capacity and we want to figure out how we can focus on other verticles through this. We also want to introduce certain smart features like voice control or look for a way to incorporate AI. For this, we want to focus on research and development.
Science has the solution for everything. We just need to focus. We want to cover India first and then look at global expansion because, for us, the country comes first.
I always say that all of us have seen Marvel movies so we want to build the Stark Industries of India! No matter what problem you have, we have a solution for it. Science has the solution for everything. We just need to focus. We want to cover India first and then look at global expansion because, for us, the country comes first.
With their unique solution, the founders of Tvashtra want to do something revolutionizing in India using technology and innovation.
