Back in the mid-1990s, when this correspondent came across GEA Energy Systems, the company that later morphed into BGR Energy Systems, the company’s turnover was delightfully high, for its class of enterprises — it was Rs 20 crore!

GEA Energy Systems used to bag Engineering Export Promotion Council awards consistently. Inevitably, when Business Line bumped into the media-shy founder of the company, B.G. Raghupathy, the first impression was surprising.

First, there was little match between the entrepreneur’s physical appearance and the way he spoke. Built of liberal proportions, Raghupathy inspired a mix of respect and fear. But the moment you spoke to him, the impression melted. Given to speaking with a smile, Raghupathy conversed in a gentle voice, delivered words unhurriedly, and answered your questions, but with an earnest request that nothing be published in the papers.

While the appearance was deceptive, what was not was his burning ambition. It was very clear in the mid-1990s that Raghupathy would not rest until he had achieved something. This defining trait was pointed out by another doyen of the power industry, T. Shankarlingam, a former Chairman and Managing Director of NTPC, who was BGR Energy System’s Managing Director for some years.

For long, BGR, a company that supplied ‘balance of plant’ equipment (equipment in a power plant other than boilers and turbine-generators, such as coal and ash handling systems, electrical systems and civil works), picked up the gauntlet thrown by an NTPC tender to win orders for six turbine-generators, valued in September 2011 at Rs 3,600 crore. A stunned market leader, public sector giant BHEL, then said that it did not need to pick up orders at the throwaway prices quoted by BGR. But later BHEL itself sub-contracted two big turnkey jobs to BGR in 1999.

Perhaps BGR’s fortunes jumped at that time. Till then it was providing sundry manufacturing services, but BHEL’s blessings catapulted it into the big league. Driven by Raghupathy’s unyieldingly hands-on management, the company became a builder of power projects and supplier of ‘balance of plant’. Meanwhile, Raghupathy, in his own capacity had hopes of putting up a 1,320 MW power project at Cuddalore, Tamil Nadu. However, the project did not get going.

Earlier, in May 2010, BGR Energy had entered into a manufacturing joint venture with Hitachi Power Europe GmbH, to set up two manufacturing plants — for boilers and turbines. Last heard, these plants are suffering a time delay. The manufacturing ventures and the Cuddalore power project stand mute testimony to Raghupathy’s unfinished agenda.

Published on July 29, 2013