Navitas Solar is a solar modules manufacturing Indian company located in Hojiwala Industrial Estate, Sachin near Surat, Gujarat. Their manufacturing plant is spread over a 40,000 sq. ft. campus with very advanced solar PV module manufacturing facilities.
“Navitas” in Latin means “Energy”. This company is an initiative by two young entrepreneurs: Mr. Vineet Mittal (CA, CS, ICWA, MBA in Family Business Management – S. P. Jain, Mumbai) and Mr. Ankit Singhania (Economist, MBA in Marketing – IIM Ranchi) who have several years of experience in finance and real estate respectively and who chose to grab the opportunity available in the renewable energy sector.
An industrial visit to their plant was organised on August 19 2015, Wednesday for the students of class 12 Commerce. The purpose of the trip was to understand the manufacturing process of the solar modules and the business principles in use. This visit further uncovered various aspects of business during the interactive sessions with the founders Mr. Vineet Mittal and Mr. Ankit Singhania. We asked all sorts of questions related to branding of the business, location of the business, financial structure of the business, marketing and distribution channels, HR welfare and also about the future plans of Navitas Solar. The founders candidly shared everything with us as if they were pouring out their entire experience of establishing a company into the minds of budding entrepreneurs, without any hesitation.
We were able to get a detailed insight into the research which was done for about 3 years by these young founders. The company operates as per the codes of ethical and ecological conduct in the society with a very sincere motive of spreading ground level awareness amongst Indians about the need of solar energy in the 21st century.
The entire production process was explained to us by the Chief Engineer of the plant. For this purpose, all the 19 students were divided into 3 groups with some teachers in each group. The production process was divided into two lines – Automatic and Manual. The automatic line was used for the production of larger solar panels with consistent combination whereas the manual line was used for smaller panels with various combinations of its powers.
The production process starts with laser cutting machines where the solar cells are cut and connected using soldering wire to form a belt of 6 solar cells. These belts are then sent to the tabber and stringer machine and then to the pre-lamination EL-tester to check for any fault in their coating. After the test is done, these panels are then sent for lamination. After the lamination is done, the panels were sent for framing. Thereafter, the framed panel is subjected to a performance test. This test is conducted in a Sun-Ray machine where its power generating capacity is tested as per the product specification. After this test, finally the panels were labelled and sent for packaging.
After observing the entire process, the students and teachers were taken to the conference room for interaction with the founders of the company. During this session, students asked a spectrum full of questions, ranging from market research of the business to product promotion and future plans of the company.
The company currently has the best in class manufacturing machinery using which superior quality solar cells are produced for which the company offers a warranty period of 25 years! The company has been well established to provide best quality products & services at nominal rates.
The visit ended with a cap provided to each student as well as the mentors, in order to spread the message of ‘Green energy, Clean energy’. This visit has left its incredible footprints on our minds with a lot of new learning taken place and igniting the entrepreneurial spirit in us.
We heartily thank Navitas Solar and our teachers for arranging such an insightful trip for us.
Abhishek Mandaviya and Hrisshikesh Jariwala (12 Commerce)
