With EPC on track, M&M bets big on micro irrigation.

When Mahindra & Mahindra acquired EPC Industrie in early 2011, the idea was to get into the micro irrigation space. This, in turn, was identified as one of the growth levers for the newly created agri vertical.

'Water is a scarce commodity and agriculture is a huge consumer. Micro irrigation saves on water use but increases productivity. We needed this in our agri business and this is where EPC came in handy,' says Ashok Sharma, Chief Executive - Auto & Farm Strategy, Agri and Allied Business.

EPC has a manufacturing unit in Nashik for micro irrigation (MI) systems. Its products are supplied across India with a lion's share of sales coming from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Andhra Pradesh.

At the time of the buyout, EPC had reported a marginal profit of Rs. 1 crore on a turnover of Rs. 80 crore. Recently, its profit is Rs. 9 crore and the topline nearly Rs. 200 crore thanks to improvements in quality, customer focus and processes.

The first thing Sharma told the 300-odd employees was that nobody would be removed from their jobs for the next two years. There were only three key people from M&M on board which sent out a clear message that there would be no disruption in the existing system. .


HBL