13
years since the company was formed. How do you feel?
It has been an amazing learning. I feel
proud to say we are the pioneers of Indian Edge banding Manufacturing. To
think, we have come from the struggle to produce a single metre to 3,00,000
metres per day, is unimaginable. And it is not just the business. The
relationships forged along the way, the successes, the failures, the
disappointments, the expectations. It has been a beautiful journey and I have
enjoyed every bit of it.
What
is special about STAR K PLUS?
STAR K PLUS is different from RED STAR in a
way that it caters to a different segment of the market. It is even more
economical than our regular product. It comes in a good beautiful shrink wrap
packing. It comes in small 50 yards roll. All these factors and things like
this are apt to the segment we are looking to tap. If it wasn’t special then it
would not have been so well received in the market. And that is how we can tell
it is special.
What
next for STAR K PLUS?
After the reception we got from Tamil Nadu,
we have made plans to expand it into other markets where our branches are
located. We have added more sizes to cater different regions and in the same
segment. We have put 3 teams in place and 3 team heads in line with the vision
to grow STAR K PLUS
One-on-One with Chairman
“I had not been a dealer of edge banding.
STAR K PLUS was the perfect entry for me into the market.” “A much
needed product. When companies either give bad quality or high price, here is a
company which give good quality for reasonable price.”
I am so happy with their product, price and
service.” “I am able to compete in the market with STAR K PLUS The
price, quality, service, etc. Everything is perfect.” It is an economical
solution but they have not compromised on quality.” “They understand
our requirement and take the time to help in places where they can.”
Expansion
in Production
RED STAR has increased its production
lines. Speaking to the head of production, Mr. Sundaresan, “For the last
few months after the Covid-19, we have received a lot of orders. Our marketing
team has grown in terms of manpower as well as capturing new segments. So we
have increased the production lines and are now preparing for the influx of
orders”.
We also had a chance to talk to some of the
employees of RED STAR. One person we met was Mr. Rahul. Rahul has been with the
company almost since it began and is currently one of the longest serving
ambassador for RED STAR.
“I love working at RED STAR. People
here appreciate the importance of every person and make sure that we feel that
way every single day. The purchase of new machine was decided in a meeting
where they had included me as well. They asked for my inputs as well. Like I
said, people here always respect the opinions of everyone in the
organization.” Mr. Rahul, one of the factory department heads, was
enthusiastic when asked about the expansion.
We also had the chance to talk to Mr.
Pasupathy, who is also a long serving member of the RED STAR family. “I
work in the admin department. I am the senior most in the department and I too
am one of the early joiners of RED STAR.” When asked about the expansion
project of RED STAR, Mr. Pasupathy said, “Here at RED STAR we always think
about incremental growths. We believe in the Kaizen method of habitual growth.
We break down complex problems into simple structures and work on specific
areas until a particular field is mastered. So it is not surprising that
everyone at RED STAR wants to grow every minute.”
Mr. Sreenivasan, Head of the administrative
department and the head for the Centralised warehouse, was present to shed some
light on the expansion of RED STAR. Mr. Sreenivasan said, “It was very clear
from the beginning that we were going to create something special. Now with the
introduction of STAR K PLUS we have ebtered into a new market and to cater
those needs we have increased our production capacity. We are coming for all
segments.”
We are proud to say we are the biggest Indian
Edge banding company and have a majority share in the South Indian market when
compared with Indian Edge Banding manufacturers. We have more than 25 members
in the sales department concentrated mainly in the southern states of India.
We launched STAR K PLUS in January 2022. To
cater the needs of the market for this particular product we have recruited
additional sales force. We have teams in each branch with 4 members in each
team. Two of them working in the retail segment to promote STAR K PLUS and another
two salesmen working with carpenters to educate them on the launch of STAR K
PLUS.
We are really happy to say that STAR K PLUS
is now accessible to every district in Tamil Nadu. Speaking to the Marketing
Director on the progress of STAR K PLUS, Mr. Ravindran said, ” Now STAR K
PLUS is available at every nook and corner in Tamil Nadu. The product is also
well received by all the newly appointed retail outlets and carpenters.”
Mr. Ravindran continued, “Our regular
RED STAR product is growing in leaps and bounds. There has been a continued
effort by our Senior Marketing staff to make sure that we grow every day, every
month and every year.” When asked to be a bit more specific on the growth,
he said “We have appointed in this year alone more than 100 dealers. We
have spread our presence to areas which were not tapped before. We have also
increased our presence in the OEM sector too. I am confident we will add more
the upcoming year. Especially with the introduction of STAR K PLUS.
RED STAR has a very good name and is
recognisable by many dealers and OEMs. They have two factories to satisfy the
market requirements. We the company CEO, Mr. Kanishka. “I have been in the
company since we started. Way back in 2009. It has been a very good experience.
Initially, we struggled a lot but to come to the position we are now, I have to
thank the entire RED STAR team.
He continued, “We have more than 75
employees working at our Sri City factory where the bulk of the production is
made. We have another factory situated in Chennai. This factory produces specifically
white only. We have a team of 10 working at our Chennai Factory.”
We asked Kanishka how was the year of new
normal. “On a business stand point I think post Covid the market has
expanded exponentially. Chinese manufacturer’s presence has reduced
drastically. We have infact produced a product catering for that market
specifically. I would say we have almost doubled our production. And scope for
even more as well next year..
He added, “We have expanded as well in
terms of manpower and machineries. We have added a couple of production lines
in the past year. We are more than 85 as of now. We are looking to increase a
minimum of 15 more people. We have increased our machinery capacity and our
marketing capacity and we have planned to increase manpower capacity in the
next couple months.”
We spoke to one of the employees at RED STAR Sri
City. Mr. Dhanush, speaking on how the work environment is, “It is a very
friendly place to work. The management and our supervisors take care of us like
family and always listen to any issues we face. I have been in the company for
the past 8 years and I have enjoyed every moment working in RED STAR. And not
only that, my career too has grown really well. I came here after I completed
my diploma in plastic extrusion. Now I have enough experience to open my own
factory. That is what I love the most at RED STAR. They encourage and nurture entrepreneurial
spirit in everyone.”
