• Business air-conditioning solutions
• Company Norfolk Mechanical Launched 1994
• Starting capital Rs 75,000
• Current turnover Rs 10 crore
• Secret of success Quality customised service

When his father refused to finance his Plus 2 in a bid to rope him into the family business in Dubai, Farhan Pettiwala decided to trade in coffee beans to play his fees. He’d pick up stocks from inbound Indians at the Dubai airport and cart them to the marketplace on trolleys instead of taxies to cut costs. He was 14.

Next, he wanted to study engineering but father said ‘nyet’. So Pettiwala upped and left for Pune, where he got admission to Viswakarma Institute of Technology (VIT) and met his fees by giving tuitions.

He graduated with a gold medal in Mechanical Engineering and a passion for cooling systems. A three-year stint at Carrier Aircon gave Pettiwala a fix on the marketing, production, and quality of the cooling business. He quit Carrier to start Intelligent Air Co. (Norfolk Mechanical), an AC dealership, in 1994 with two friends. He was 23. Teething troubles. Pettiwala contributed Rs 25,000 by breaking an FD, Hassan Gangji, added Rs 50,000, while the third offered his premises at a nominal rent. By year-end, Norfolk Mechanical has 15 people and a turnover of Rs 10 lakh. As always, three proved a crowd, and a rent dispute saw the partnership breaking up, forcing Pettiwala and Gangji to move to another lease.

Norfolk Mechanical used an STD booth for faxes, while Pettiwala commuted by motorcycle. Office equipment was added on gradually, and in 1997, Pettiwala bought a used Maruti1000 and a 300 sq. ft office in Jogeshwari, Mumbai. That year Gangji, 70 retired.

The following year, Pettiwala bought another 450 sq. ft in Jogeshwari, an office in Nasik, and leased space in Bangalore, Pune and Surat. With the expansion, Norfolk Mechanical emerged as a leading AC dealer, winning several awards.

The USP: By now, Pettiwala had decided to focus on creating a service brand par excellence. “During my Carrier days, I realised that while Ac manufacturing was organised, after-sales service was chaotic,” he says. Thus was born airFORCE, an AC service specialist, airFORCE would work 24x7and guarantee doorstep within two hours of receiving a complaint. The brand would be owned by subsidiary Air Integrated Resource Force (AIRF), to reflect the group’s makeover from dealer to one-stop solutions provider.

Pettiwala spent Rs 25 lakh over three years-from internal accruals-to build brand equity. He got skilled personnel, and made them profit-centre heads with attractive pay and incentives. The field staff was given uniforms and tool kits, with access to 30 landlines, 100 cellphones, eight mobile vans, and 18 two-wheelers. airFORCE sourced fresh spares from manufactures like Crompton Greaves, Totaline (a Carrier subsidiary) and Crystal Care (Voltas), and eschewed all second-hand or fabricated compress or, coils or Valves.

Corporates, especially those with more than one brand of AC, where quick to sigh on. Between 2000 and 2004, airFORCE had a 40 per cent CAGR and a team of 261 people. AirFORCE also guarantees large consumers a saving on energy bills, and 15 per cent of the contract value if service falls short of the contractual obligation. Pettiwala is also developing a modem to be fitted into the AC, which lets the service engineer fix a problem even before the owner knows he has one.

Total solutions. When Pizza Hut opened its first eatery in Mumbai, team airFIELD studied architectural elevations and identified structural constraints before designing separate air-conditioning layouts to suit the kitchen, dining area, banquet area and office. Air curtains were put in place to restrict the flow of kitchen fumes and odours and sophisticated air-exhaust and ventilation systems were installed to maximise the air-conditioning effect.

As Pettiwala points out, AIRF isn’t just another showroom where a customer simply picks up a machine-each piece is assessed for compatibility with its environment. AirFIELD studies the room, makes heat-load calculations to determine appropriate tonnage, ensures sufficient space for system installation with proper ventilation, and then recommends the brand and capacity. Once the machine is chosen, airFIELD is fully accountable for installation, repair and maintenance during warranty. Thereafter, airFORCE takes over for service.

To build his brand, Pettiwala recruited a senior executive from Fedders Lloyd, and fresh engineering graduated, who could be moulded easily to Pettiwala’s standards. They received technical training from the Indian Society of Heating Refrigeration & Air-conditioning Engineer, and go through self-development programmes conducted by the Landmark Forum. While the core team is 30 strong, airFIELD also has a panel of architects who offer consultancy on project basis.

Today, AIRF operates in 11 cities, with clients ranging from old economy corporates, to software and BPO companies, to discotheques, hospitals and cafes, with names like Lufthansa, HDFC, Cadbury, Citibank, Infosys, Wipro, Marico, Essar, and L&T starring in the list. Its turnover is Rs 10 crore. And Pettiwala is all of 34. II

NAMIT GUPTA