FOCAL POINT

• Farhan Pettiwala started his company with Rs 75,000 and it now has a turnover of Rs 100 crore
• He believes in an informal and open approach, and builds strong communication with employees
• The company is now housed in its own building at jogeshwari

Sulakshana Kalewar
Farhan Pettiwala, the 33-year-old managing director of the Norfolk Mechanical Group, is a man whose attitude towards life is cool – literally. In 1994, he launched International Airconditioning Company with a capital of just Rs, 75000 and a 100 sq. ft rented office at Andheri (W) with a staff of seven, establishing his company as the authorized dealer of Carrier Aircon Ltd. Today, the business enterprise has a staff of 350, and a turnover of Rs 100 crore. The two brands that his company is known for are Airfield, which provides customized solutions to architects, and air-FORCE, a service specialist brand. Customers include Pizza Hut, Lufthansa, Wipro Spectra-mind and Star India Pvt Ltd.

Norfolk Mechanical’s head office is housed in its own building at jogeshwari (w), a mere tenminute walk from the railway station, and there are six offices all over India. The 3,000 sq ft ground plus two-storeyed building with its compound of 100 sq ft accommodates a staff of 250 people, 200 of whom are technical field staff. At any given time, there are 50 people functioning from the office. There is also a 1200 sq ft garage, converted into a conference and training room and a stock yard for their inventory of air conditioning units.

The office, which is American-style, has different storeys dedicated to specific departments, little touches make it unique. For instance, when you register at reception, they ascertain the number of mobile phones you carry; if you lose one, they will help you get it back.

At the ground floor, along with the reception area, there is the accounts department, with a team of seven people. On the other side of the reception area, is the in-house call centers, where company representatives answer customers’ queries and complaints. This call centre area forms the heart of the company’s operations, with five people working on a shift basis, with their fingers constantly on their computers and their ears to their telephones.

There are four sections on the first floor – the marketing section; the project section for engineers and supervisors; the service marketing section, where staff focus on sending renewals, bills, payment follow-ups and public relations calls to customers, and the administration area.

It is on the second floor that senior management officials sit. In addition to the managing director’s cabin-cum-con-ference room, there are three cabins for vice-presidents and two cubicles for senior managers, with two workstations for support staff, toilet and pantry – all this in a space of 750 sq ft.

Architect Ravi Malde points out that a great deal of glass has been used. This has the advantage of enhancing transparency and a sense of openness, besides making small spaces seem large. The colour combination is soothing, and the combination of carpet and vinyl flooring provides a soft look. Compact but functional workstations with low height partitions offer both openness and privacy.

Since Pettiwalla believes in treating his staff with a certain dignity, he does not believe in a call bell system. Instead, he has installed a software on all the computers; when he wants to call someone, he simply types it into his own machine, and the person concerned finds a message flashing on his or her computer. He also makes contact with his clients in the same way online. Pettiwalla’s communication with his staff is also helped by the fact that he knows as many as 13 languages. All his employees also address him by first name; he believes this help to break barriers.

One of the unusual ways in which he builds a sense of them spirit is this: on Saturdays, everyone including him, wears identical T-shirts provided by the company.

What Strikes visitors the most, however, is the many sayings displayed all over the office – on the staircases, out-side the GM’s cabin, in the marketing department … wherever your eyes turn, there are words of wisdom and inspirational sayings. As Pettiwalla points out, “Motivation is an important factor to be kept in mind. After all we have make sure that we harness the potential of our employees to the maximum and ascertain their welfare too.”

The one that Pettiwalla clearly believes the most is the saying outside the marketing department – “People who get places are the ones who keep moving”. It is this belief that has taken this mechanical engineer from Pune University to where he is today.