Good Luck India Expanding Gujarat GI Mill, Targets INR 3,400 Crore Turnover

Good Luck India has a clear vision of their future, which is attributable to its continuous innovation, R&D, and high-end engineering investments. The family-based company is run by a team of IITians, hence quality, efficiency, and commitment are permanently evident in their operations. In a recent interaction with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. Mahesh Chand Garg, Chairman & Managing Director of Good Luck India, shared the company's journey from catering to agricultural pipe demand in 1987 to supplying to automotive, EPC projects, public sector schemes and projects, and international market. He also shared the expansion plans for the Bhachau-based GI mill.

Tube & Pipe India: Your company has three identified operations; Good Luck India Limited, Good Luck Engineering Co, and Good Luck Industries. Please tell us about your vision behind segmentation, and what each of these operations are aimed at.

Mr. Mahesh Chand Garg: Good Luck India was incorporated in 1987 as a pipe manufacturing company. As of today, we have three operationsbased verticals, namely Good Luck India Limited, Good Luck Engineering Co, and Good Luck Industries. At the time we began our journey, there was a big demand for agricultural pipes, which is a very low technology item. Yet, based on our success in the sector, in 2007, we ventured into customized forging, which is a highly engineered product. Thereafter, in 2008, we started manufacturing specialized precision tubes for auto components, which we call CDW tubes.

During all our technological forays our vision was to fulfill our promise of value addition. It is our business tagline, we do not undertake expansion or volume enhancement, our focus is on value addition, and any expansion and volume addition is happenstance or collateral to it.

TPI: Please tell us about Good Luck's history, overview, major achievements, and crucial milestones.

MCG: The company was initially incorporated in 1987, following which the organization has undergone various enhancements. In 1995, we went public with our first IPO, and in 2005 we started following a structured division business model. In 2007, we started forging, and in 2008 we launched CDW tubes. In 2013, our CDW tubes division went under major expansion, in 2016 we expanded our structure division, and now in 2023, we are discussing a major expansion plan for CDW-2, which will be commissioned in the first quarter of the next year.

The expansion post-execution shall majorly cater to high-end technical hydraulic tubing. It will enhance our current production capacity by nearly 60,000 TPA. The expansion will address the pent-up demand for the product in Europe, the USA, and India.

TPI: Please elaborate on your company's infrastructure, manufacturing capabilities, capacities, and machinery setup.

MCG: We have five units in NCR, one undertakes forging operations, one caters to our pipe manufacturing division, and two units oversee the manufacturing of precision tubes. The last unit serves as our administrative office. We have one more unit in Bhachau, which is about 40 kilometers from Kandla, Gujarat. The site undertakes the manufacturing of GI pipes and tubes and caters primarily to our exports.

Our average production capacity is 340,000 TPA. Last year, we achieved production of 317,000 tonnes and recorded a 20 percent YoY growth against 264,000 tonnes of production. This year, we have already achieved 87 percent of last year's production, and we are aiming for annual production of 380,000 tonnes.

TPI: Can you elaborate on Good Luck's product portfolio and its applications?

MCG: We are traditionally a tubes and pipes manufacturing company. Pipes and tubes are generally considered as low-valued items, however, they are used to transport and distribute liquids, such as water and gas, one of which forms twothirds of our planet. The applications of tubes and pipes are wide, and hence our products enjoy a wide market scope as well. Moreover, we do not manufacture only simple tubes and pipes, but we make specialized, and customized pipes using high-end engineering.

Our product range includes ERW galvanized pipes, black and painted pipes, rectangle and square pipes, CR coils and sheets, CDW tubes, forgings, fabricated steel structures, and electrical conduits. We also make roofing sheets, used in housing construction, customized pipes for buses' steel structures, and precision tubes. We make towers and substations, which widens the scope of our customers and product applications.

TPI: What is Good Luck's USP that ensures you stay ahead of other players in the market?

MCG: Our USP lies in focusing on value addition through high-end engineering. Good Luck India is a group run by IITians, with me, my son, and my nephew being some of the participating engineering professionals. Engineering is incomplete without innovation, which in turn requires research and development investments, and we undertake all these to ensure better solutions for our clients. Furthermore, we manufacture according to our customer's specifications, that is our production is customized to purchase orders, rather than warehouse upkeep. We make for classes, not masses, and it is one of our specialties. We follow three parameters, quality, consistency, and commitment, at all our manufacturing facilities. These qualitative features are behind our quantitative successes, as our clients are highly satisfied and keep collaborating with us. These attributes help us achieve great turnover volumes.

TPI: What are the recent developments that Good Luck has invested in?

MCG: There are simply many, as we are continuously involved with innovation and R&D. Hence, developments are routine for us, and while I have so much to share, the sensitivity of certain developments and their operational stages limit me. However, there are certain which I can easily share.

We have received an order from Larson & Toubro to manufacture railway bridges structure for the Japanese bullet train. The project is already under operation and delivery has also begun. Our Bhachau site is fabricating the order under the strict supervision of L&T and the Japanese team.

We have also received approval from Schlumberger USA for the customized flange forging of specialized steel, which is exotic material. We also have bagged a good order, whose execution shall begin by this month. This order will prove a huge game changer for Good Luck

India and will help us achieve our turnover targets as well.

TPI: Please shed light on your market footprint and your major clientele.

MCG: Since 1992, our focus has been heavily invested in exports, and our annual share averages 25-30 percent of our overall production. This share helps us maintain a positive net foreign exchange, with minimal imports. We export the whole of our product portfolio, with applications in various sectors like auto tubing, water tubing, precision tubing, fabricated steel structures, heavy infrastructure steel structures, etc.

Last year our export turnover was INR 970 crores, and before that, it accounted for 1,050 crores. We export to over 100 countries, including European and US markets. In India, all the major automotive companies, government departments like BHEL and Powergrid, and major groups like L&T, Tata, and Reliance, are included among our repeat clients.

TPI: Please share your company's future plans.

MCG: Our future plans are clear and with the support of my extremely dedicated team, I am sure we will achieve all our plans. We are planning an expansion for the Bhachau-based GI mill, which will be a state-of-the-art grade of expansion. Additionally, we are targeting a turnover of INR 3,400 crores in the next year, which I believe we will exceed if the mill becomes operational before the end of the year.

Lastly, as I mentioned previously, R&D, innovation, and new developments are routine for Good Luck India, hence, our future is always under construction.