There Is No End To Learning

Under the youthful leadership of Subodh Agarwalla, Maithan Alloys has become India’s premier purveyor of ferroalloys.

- Daniel Herborn

Promoted to CEO at just 38 years of age, Subodh Agarwalla has been a board member of Maithan Alloys since 2006 and has responsibility across the company’s entire organisational activities. He studied technology at IIT BHU and completed an MBA from IIM Bangalore.

The company produces ferro-manganese, silicon manganese and ferro-silicon. These alloys add to the strength and durability of mild steel and stainless steel, as well as enhancing its anti-corrosive properties. The production of every tonne of steel requires around 10–15 kilograms of manganese alloy, meaning demand for steel is closely linked with demand for the alloys Maithan manufactures and exports.

When Subodh first joined Maithan Alloys, the company was just six years old and was almost an entirely domestic operation. “We were just trying to understand how this business would progress,” he recalls. “Plus, the technical team we had at that time wasn’t much to boast about. As a new business, attracting talent was a challenge. However, I saw multiple opportunities for the company to grow and improve.”

Subodh added value to the company by prioritising efficiency. Before he reshaped its operating model, many systems had been designed with an eye on convenience. “The equipment and the way processes were run were not very efficient,” he explains. “Many things were happening simply because we had tried to copy somebody else. We realised that was not a good way to run the business, so we went in deeper to try and create a competitive advantage.”

With this new direction in place, the company grew quickly and Subodh is now anticipating an even steeper upward trajectory. Maithan expects to double its current capacity over the next three to five years, and it has recently committed to establishing a greenfield ferroalloy manufacturing facility in West Bengal. It is anticipated this site will produce 120,000 tonnes a year.