Sanjay Chadda – A Trusted leader and an achiever.

Selected as Asia’s Most Trusted Leaders 2021 by WCRCLEADERS ASIA, Sanjay Chadda of Stanadyne India is a true gem inspirational leader who has led and guided a very successful organisation based on passion and a pristine achievement path.

In conversation with Sanjay Chadda, Managing Director, Stanadyne India 

What makes a strong leader? What are your key leadership strengths are make the strongest attributes of success. 

A strong leader should improve upon the overall productivity of an organization by creating a positive work environment for all his employees. Attitude of the leader is important & he should stay positive to carryout everyday tasks. A leader should be an inspiration to others & should be confident in his decisions on day to day operations. 

Good leadership qualities involve being able to motivate and encourage your employees to work efficiently and go beyond what they are expected to do. When it comes down to it, a good leader will have a net positive impact in the workplace as a whole. 

A leader should have a clear vision and should work for an achievement. Communication plays a vital role for a leader to fulfill his accomplishments. Profit is the primary goal of achievement but a leader should blend that with performance of his organization to fulfill his goals. How we extract this from the employees is the skill of a strong leader. 

Good leadership starts by listening to others. This also gives opportunity to his employees to share their ideas by expressing their feedback & concerns. Leaders need to be humble to get their plan executed in the organization. Strong leaders have a firm grasp on reality and aren’t easily swayed by criticism. This acceptance allows them to bring a greater sense of objectivity to their work. Good leader must put their egos aside & should strive to their goals determined for their organization. 

My strength as a leader of Stanadyne India was more concerned with team building & better communication in the organization. Not only I was successful in building a strong team to carryout plant operations I personally feel that it makes a lot of difference for all leaders. A leader will have to get things done through his employees. This is the primary requirement for a leader to be successful. At Stanadyne we have a strong work force that run the day to day operations. Identifying the team to perform & carry out these operations is the skill of a leader which I feel I am successful. 

Communication though simple to say is more important for a leader. A strong communication is a basic requirement for a leader to execute his ideas. Decisions taken even on day to day operations to the extent of investments related to business require communication skill to express the views. I should say that the command with which I operate my team has made the organization successful in achieving increased profits & also fetching new businesses. Morale of team plays a vital role in successful operation of an organization. Stanadyne has a system of Weekly & Monthly Review Meeting with Operations team to address the bottlenecks. Resolving the bottlenecks of the team is by itself building the morale of the team. Rest of it comes next. In this aspect I had been successful over the years in providing the solutions to key issues concerning with the plant operations & also new business. 

Stanadyne has produced results in increasing profits every year. Whether it be the goals of the organization or the individual team member’s growth in the organization I should say that I had been successful in striking a balance. This I will always be proud of & would cherish my moments of success with Stanadyne. 

An accomplishment that you consider to be the most significant in your career? What challenges did you face to reach to the success. 

My significant accomplishments as a leader at Stanadyne are many since my joining as Managing Director of the organization. One accomplishment which I will remember all throughout my career is the increased demand from existing customers during the COVID 19 second wave. Operational Challenges during the past 2 yrs of pandemic were more difficult to handle. Lockdown – 2 for the 2nd wave of COVID19 was critical for Stanadyne since the business is dependent more on exports. The World recovered & started increasing the demand for products. Situation in India was severe & very difficult to manage. O2 cylinders required for the process were also critical. Considering the timeline of 11 projects in pipeline & the demand for existing products from the customer which need to be adhered, a cross functional team was organized by the OPERATIONS with other supporting functions to consider all the issues case by case on a 4M based analysis & the actions along with contingencies were listed. Daily Review Meetings through Microsoft Teams include 15 minutes of discussion to discuss the bottlenecks that may arise from the planned activities. All possible ideas from the members were taken to fulfill the customer requirements. Stanadyne saw an increased demand in sales during the 2nd wave & the company was able to fulfill the demands of all the customers during this period. The company made a record sales during the critical situation & the excellent team work of Stanadyne was exhibited during this period. 

What is a role of leader in these challenging times. List 5 in order of priority. 

The role of the leader during critical times is important as the leader should be a role model to his employees. The contribution of the leader in the plant operations & business development should set an example for others to get down & contribute. Leader should have the experience to prioritize the activities to accomplish the end results. The key undertakings to be performed by the leader in order of priority would be, 

– Extract maximum output from the employees – By personally deploying himself at Gemba the leader can pull his employees to stretch more than what they can do. The presence of the leader will also make the employees understand the criticality & make them contribute more. 

– Decisions need to be precise – Leader has to put all his experience in decision making during difficult times. As you know speculation cannot be good during this period. Decisions taken need to be precise & there is no room for changes. Hit the target precisely & achieve with the given resources should be the motive. 

– Contingencies – Leader must be well aware of all the contingencies on a 4M matrix. Man, Machine, Material & Method should be discussed & the possible failures should be discussed with the team in advance to have contingencies. Money is another criteria to be kept in mind. Expenses should be precise & should satisfy the need. 

– Hard Work – Extensive & smart work will give results. This is important during difficult times as you cannot have errors. 

– Boost the morale of the team – Recognize team members with spot awards. This will make others to contribute & perform. Make the team perform & take results. 

What is your vision and how do you share that with your sharehold-ers, employees and others? 

Stanadyne India will cater to all the customers the Rotary Pump & Injector requirements worldwide. The new business from 3 new customers will take Stanadyne India to a turnover of 500 crores by 2024. Opportunities will be open for graduates with Stanadyne extending further with another plant to supply to the increased demand from Chennai Plant. Stanadyne will be the only plant to produce Rotary Pumps & Injectors for all the customers. Moreover Stanadyne is expected to sign off Quality Low Cost Fuel Pumps for Two Wheelers. The new plant will support the development of these pumps in the near future. Common Rail Diesel Injection (CRDI) pumps which prevail in US plant will get transferred to India by 2025. This will pave the way for Stanadyne India to enter the Large Enterprise segment in India targeting a turnover of about 1200 crores. 

How do you drive active business renovations and how does that impact your subordinates? 

Business expansion by moving into 2 wheeler segment followed by Common Rail Diesel Injection (CRDI) pumps and the only plant to supply Rotary Pumps & Injectors by 2025 will increase the production demands to 3 times the existing volume. Stanadyne is to set up another plant in Chennai to compensate the increased supply. Recruitments in the middle & lower management will start in 2023 when the Stanadyne 2nd plant is in place. A cross functional team (CFT) is working on this plan. A 4M based (Man, Machine, Material & Method) plan of action is being devised for the commissioning of the 2nd plant. 

There will be shuffling of manpower between plants initially & it would start once the 2nd plant is commissioned & the machines get installed. People to move are identified. Fresh recruitments are planned as to when to recruit & train. All new projects along with assembly of the existing Rotary Pump will take place in the 2nd plant. All individual parts & sub-assemblies will continue in the existing plant. The expansion planned 3yrs before & the team identified to work with the new plant for the execution of this business renovation will be more systematic & gives room for perfection. 

How do you integrate corporate philanthropy or corporate social responsibility as a part of your business strategies? 

Stanadyne globally has a policy for Corporate Social Responsibility. Stanadyne India has a tie up with local government school & has contributed for the development activities of the school premises. Employee empowerment is another policy of the organization where employees are given freedom to take decisions related to their work environment. Awards and Recognitions form part of the policy of the organization. Token gifts are given in the process for better performance of the team members in following their day to day routines. Best Employee of the month & Best Production Team of the month are given based on evaluation by the department heads on a common forum. Cost Saving suggestions are also recognized with cash awards to encourage people think on improving the process. Other forms of encouragement are through bonus to employees for performance & also for attendance in the organization. 

What has been your driving force or philosophy in life? 

Our Enemy is not within the four walls, but outside this boundary, focus, keep your eyes & ears open for competition. Considering the competition that prevails in the market one must be strong enough to face challenges & overcome tough situations. Hard Work & Perseverance can only make us survive. Whether it be an individual or an organization as a whole until & unless efforts are made in the right direction with a right motive results cannot be achieved. 

Moreover a leader should be vigilant. Driving a team to attain the goals requires more commitment towards the job in hand. Daily reviews with the team, identifying bottlenecks & putting the team on the right track is the primary job of a leader. Ground Work with the team gives lot of ideas to share with the team by applying the expertise. 

Motivation is another aspect which I believe in developing a good team. Everybody works for recognition & incentives. Identifying the performers & felicitating them will not only rejuvenate them but it also makes others perform. 

How do you plan to drive your business at a global level? 

Stanadyne has five plants – US, India, China, Italy & Sharjah. Stanadyne India plays the major part of the total business of the company. Stanadyne India comprises of 65% of the turnover of the company globally. There are about 11 customers for the India plant & it covers the entire business of Rotary pumps globally. 

Moreover there are about 11 projects in the pipeline which has 3 new customers. With the addition of these new business Stanadyne India is expected to touch turnover of 500 crores by 2024. The company is also planning to put up another plant in Chennai to cater to the increase in customer demand. Stanadyne India has plans to enter the two wheeler segment in the near future. Stanadyne India has a separate design & development Center at Chennai & the projects related to domestic customers are designed & developed in India & patented. With the other plants of Stanadyne shifting to other products Stanadyne India will be the only supplier for domestic & international customers for Rotary Pumps, Quality Low Cost Pumps (QLC Pumps) & Injectors. The Company has plans also for CRDI System in its new plant by 2025. 

How do you define success and how do you measure up to your own definition? 

Success is to achieve your target. It is an outcome which you desire to achieve. 

My success prevails in achieving the target sales of the organization. The turnover of Stanadyne India over the past 3yrs is increasing & is also expected to touch 500 crores by 2025. Customer demands have increased for the existing models & that has helped in the increase of sales. Thanks to the in-house team for accomplishing the target sales & satisfying customer requirements. There is a growth in sales by 14.45% compared to last year & 

the expectations in the year 2021- 22 is more considering the customer demand & also the start of production of two new projects. The sales from Apr’21 to Aug’21 is hitting the target & it would finish with 18% growth min. in this financial year. Considering a benchmark of 15% growth in the last financial year which was set as the target, Stanadyne can very well see its achievement in the current financial year too. 

In your opinion what is the most significant aspect of leadership? 

Positive approach is the most important aspect of leadership. For any type of organization leaders play an important role. Any leader to be successful in his assignment he should be positive. The quality of work exhibited by the employees depends on the approach of the leader. When the leader is positive he indicates to his team that every aspect of organizational goals are moving in the right direction. This creates confidence among the employees & makes them enthusiastic. Employees give their best when you build confidence in them. It can even trigger to deliver more than what is expected from them. A sinking ship will make everyone panic. People run pillar to post finally achieving less than what could be. It is very important for the leader to be positive & also make his employees positive in all the assignments they take up to fulfill the organizational goals. 

Your perception of an empowered society.

Empowered Society is a sense of autonomy & self-confidence especially to enable the economically weaker sections, minority groups, tribal belts & women empowerment in rural areas. Stanadyne has a policy for Corporate Social Responsibility activities for its plants throughout the world. Budget allocations include a percentage for CSR activities initiated by the organization. Stanadyne India has a tie up with local government school & has contributed for the development activities of the school premises. Pond cleaning activity is also one of the activity initiated locally by Stanadyne. This was done with a tie up with village development authorities placed at Aranvoyal Village where Stanadyne India plant is situated at Thiruvallur. The company has further plans to sponsor for orphanages towards education & other development activities. 

Espirit de corps: How do bring fairies and equality to all? 

Stanadyne People make the company, we are. We stand out from others not only to build innovative fuel systems but because of our culture. Stanadyne has the passionate collective of the best & brightest people who derive success through collaboration & diversified workforce. Stanadyne People come from many different regions & speak many languages & embrace challenges ahead with a mindset that nothing is impossible. Stanadyne People & Culture is the key for driving innovations that will shape the future of the fuel systems. 

Stanadyne empowers people to push boundaries and always question the possible. When people are empowered to find their own roads and to make decisions and mistakes, Stanadyne is at its best. Stanadyne has a policy for Women Empowerment in the Organization. Equal wages for equal work & experience, fair parental leave policy, establish goals for gender diversity & diversified leadership within the organization are some of the policies followed at Stanadyne.