The craftsman’s toolbox
Adi Engineer is all set to guide Tata Power into new areas
Adi Engineer, head of Tata Power Ltd, loves to talk about expansion and diversification. His company is planning a foray into oil and natural gas, and telecommunications. But can he handle the variety?

The man, who has spent 42 years in the energy sector, says India's problems in the area can be solved with effective steps

Engineer points to an elegant cup on the table. "This ceramic cup is made at one of our units. It is a small business, but we have maintained it to show our ability to handle diversity," he says. Today, this small unit, Tata Ceramics, at Kochi boasts a clientele that includes Wedgewood, Churchill and Queens. As he prepares himself to bid for Delhi Vidyut and Enron's Dabhol Power Corporation, he has an ace up his sleeve: the Tata record of providing uninterrupted power to Mumbai for decades.

"The slogan 'Mumbai power is Tata Power' has been a reassuring one for the city," says Engineer, who believes the Dabhol project can be turned around. High tariff and lack of proper security for the power off-take of Phase II are the major reasons for Dabhol's failure, he feels. He is sure that he can set the record straight on both counts. "The state and Centre should try to revive the project," he says.

Adi Engineer has made Tata Power India's largest private power company. It is much bigger than Dabhol in terms of capacity, and it has erected power plants in 10 countries. It has also taken up other projects, including the construction of a five-star hotel in Tashkent, and has been clocking a compound annual growth rate of 36.55 per cent year upon year.

Engineer, who has been with the Tatas for the past 16 years, began his career in a multinational power company, after taking an engineering degree from Pune University. "In those days, engineers were in demand. I was given my first project within a day of my joining," he recalls. He was part of the Hindustan Construction Company team that built the Bhilai steel plant in 1958.

Bitten by wanderlust, he moved to ICI Companies, setting up many projects, including a detonator plant in Bihar in 1965 and the largest fertiliser plant in Uttar Pradesh. "I spent more than 21 years in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar and about 20 years in Maharashtra," he says. His big break came when he joined the Tata Electric Companies as director. He moved on to become vice-president. Under him, Tatas tapped new businesses and executed big projects, including power stations at Jebel Ali in Dubai.

The 900-foot chimney, which Engineer built for the 500 MW project at Trombay, near the Mumbai coast line, became the talk of the town. The chimney won the American Concrete Institute award for the outstanding structure in Asia, and entered aviation maps of the world. "We put up flashing beacons on top to warn pilots. However, the giant structure was a sign of India's progress in the area of advanced power generation," says Engineer with a broad smile.

The man, who has spent nearly 42 years in the energy sector, says India's problems in the area can be solved with effective measures. "Political will is most important. You also have to make tariffs reflect the cost of generation," he says. The sick state electricity boards should be dismantled. An efficient power distributor, possibly from the private sector must be put in place, and power generation companies must be brought in. "Transmission linkages in inter-regional network need to be strengthened, to move power from surplus areas to the deficient regions," he says.

Punishing power theft is mandatory if the reforms are to succeed. "If proper steps are not taken, the crisis will balloon into a major disaster for the manufacturing sector," warns the veteran. His company's mega expansion plans in oil, natural gas and energy will be spearheaded by Tata Petrodyne, a subsidiary, which is developing oil and gas prospects in Cambay and Cauvery basins.

Engineer also wants to tap the 'right of way' that Tata Power has across the country to lay cables and transmission lines. "The right of way is critical for any player in telecom and we will have fibres ready much ahead of our competitors," he says. Regarding the VSNL takeover, Engineer argues that Tatas have seized the initiative with the move. The company is also looking for more opportunities in the area of power distribution. "Much of the investment in the power sector is moving away due to flawed policies. India has to be pragmatic," he says. "You can't live in the past any more."

The busy chief executive, who has a dozen projects in his hands at any given moment, is at heart a family man. His wife, Pervize, was a kindergarten teacher who slipped into the role of a homemaker gracefully. His son, Cyrus, is an engineer at HCL Technologies in Australia. His daughter, Shehnaz Engineer is a well-known columnist and editor of the magazine, Oomph.

"I am not a workaholic and make it a point to spend weekends with my family," he says. Leisure hours are meant for long drives through the Mumbai-Pune highway and for listening to music, both Indian and western. Engineer loves to swim. "I also do yoga regularly," he says. Tall and lean, he never misses his regular walk and maintains his athletic frame. "I have not put on weight since I was young," he says.

He is essentially a craftsman, and loves to fix every problem himself. His keen eye and sharp instinct give Tata Power the edge in new endeavours. At 64, he is eyeing new vistas with enthusiasm. It will probably be a long haul. However, daunting tasks do not make this engineer nervous. In fact, he loves the tough ones.