I’ve enjoyed the excitement of transforming concepts into tangible achievements through practical implementation – Ajit Urath, Board of Director at Thermilate Middle East

Shaneer N Siddiqui : Tell us about your journey as an entrepreneur?

Ajit Urath : My path of entrepreneurship can be described as rewarding yet challenging adventure filled with countless ups and downs. As an entrepreneur, I have experienced the thrill of turning ideas into reality, overcoming obstacles, and witnessing personal and professional growth. In my journey as an entrepreneur, experienced failures initially, lessons learned, and then came the continuous pursuit of success.

My journey began 23 years back with few like-minded individual investors who shared my enthusiasm to start a business without any specific plan. They inspired me armed with a vision. I took the first step by identifying a market gap and formulating a solid business plan. Initially I faced challenges, obstacles and failures in putting my plan into reality. But I managed to build a strong team and network which laid the foundation for success.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : What has been your greatest turning point in your career?

Ajit Urath : Initially, we were depending on sales through Distributor network. 15 years back, we got a big project in Fujairah. It is this project, which helped me to build a team to execute the project. I encountered various challenges that demanded adaptability and perseverance. Each hurdle served as an opportunity for growth, teaching me to embrace failure as a stepping stone towards success. Navigating through market fluctuations, competition, and unforeseen circumstances required constant innovation and resilience.

Feel proud of my team of more than 45 staff combined with a strong network of Distributors and dealers spread all over GCC and few African countries.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : Real estate is exploding in the UAE nowadays. Other related industries like waterproofing, heat management, and fireproofing are also growing. What do you think, about how you are seeing this trend?

Ajit Urath :We diversified from Metal roof waterproofing applications to Liquid applied waterproofing for concrete, Fire retardant coatings, Rust arrestor coatings and Fire stop. It reduced the risk on depending on any one industry. Market is growing and the challenge we have in front of us is to offer timely and practical solutions.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : Before taking any project, what factors do you always keep in mind?

Ajit Urath :We consider on client’s requirements and expectations from us. If we are confident on meeting those expectations, then we plan accordingly for execution. Our Distributors and dealers also follow the same success route. Client’s requirement can put lot of factors like price, time period, other challenges at site etc. We accept a project, if we have solutions to meet the requirements.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : How do you prepare for major industry or company changes?

Ajit Urath :Market information we receive from our sales team and distributor network helps us to prepare for changes from industry.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : What is the business philosophy of Ajit Urath? What are the most important aspects of a company’s culture? What principles do you believe in and how do you build this culture?

1. Clear vision for business – I always keep a clear and inspiring vision for our business. It outlines the long term and short term goals, aspirations and values that the team wants to achieve.

2. Adaptability – We actively seek out innovative solutions and embrace new technologies to stay ahead of the competition.

3. Customer centered – Our focus on understanding Customer needs, requirements and their problems helps us to develop services that solve these problems effectively.

4. Scope for improvement – We constantly seek knowledge and stay upto date with industry trends. Feedback from customers and my team helps us to improve the business processes and offering solutions.

5. Ethical practices – Conducting business with integrity and ethical practices is crucial for our business.

6. Taking risks – Like I mentioned before, each failure provided us a learning opportunity and are not afraid of taking risks.

7. Planning and execution – We as a team plan for each project and on our long term goals. We execute our plans with focus and determination.

8. Discipline – It is vital for us to maintain discipline at work place to maintain a healthy and motivating ambience.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : What do you offer that is different or innovative to your client? What new products or services does your company have come out?

The warranty or after sales service is the factor which helps us in securing projects. We are very few who supply and apply their own products. Other than waterproofing which is our core business, we added services like installing Fire retardant and fire stop for projects. We got Civil Defence installer’s licence. We will be adding more products and services into related field in the coming years.

Shaneer N Siddiqui : What are the plans of the company for 2024?

We remain focused on our long term goals. We build ourselves and increase our coverage to new areas in Africa. We remain positive to achieve our results in 2024.