Eskent Tools Private Limited: A Story of First Generation Entrepreneurs
It was a rainy afternoon in July 2016. Mr. Narendra Shah (Mr. Shah), Mr. Sankar Chakraborty(Mr. Chakraborty) and Mr. Sunil Ranjan Talukder (Mr. Talukder), three promoter directors of Eskent Tools Private Limited, Bangalore, were engrossed in a discussion related to the future of their firm. Mr. Chakraborty wanted to retire and settle down with his son at Kolkata. He was taking care of production at Eskent, while Mr. Shah managed sales and Mr. Talukder was in-charge of administration. Though Mr. Shah and Mr. Talukder wanted to continue the business, they were neither technically trained nor confident of managing production in the absence of Mr. Chakraborty. They knew that it was time for taking some tough decisions and were contemplating on various alternatives available.................
Eskent Tools: Inception and Early Days
Since late 70s, Mr. Shah, Mr. Chakraborty and Mr. Talukder were working for a machine tool firm, Embee Tools at Bangalore. They were in sales, production and administrative departments respectively. In 1982, they sensed that Embee was declining and might close down in the near future. They wanted to move out and start a similar firm of their own. However, they were hesitant in taking the bold decision of being entrepreneurs as they hailed from middle class families with no business background. This dilemma continued for two years and they finally took the decision to move out and start on their own in 1984..........
The Journey So Far
Product
The major products of Eskent were High Speed Slitting (HSS) Saws, Miniature Saws, Screw Slotting Cutters and other Cutting Tools. The saws were manufactured in three ................
Employees
Starting with eight workers, the staff strength of Eskent stood at 22 in 2016. The workers in production department were mostly not technically qualified and............
Customers
The first customer for the company was the TVS group. As the product had wide ranging applications, they started getting orders from many companies who had metal cutting...............
Competitors
Embee Tools was the only firm in South India to manufacture HSS slitting saws and cutting tools during 1980s. The closure of Embee and the inception of Eskent coincided in 1985...........
Business Strategy
Eskent started at a time when the demand for metal slitting saws was on a rise in India. The company could develop various products for metal slitting based on customer specifications during the initial years. The range of products remained more or less similar to the products of Embee Tools. These products generated...............
Financial Performance
The revenue of Eskent continued to grow till 2013, after which, it started declining every year. On the other hand, the total expenses continued to increase every year during the last six years...........
The Current Dilemma
Since January 2016, Mr. Chakraborty was keen on quitting and moving to Kolkata. Mr. Shah and Mr. Talukder convinced Mr. Chakraborty to continue at least till the end of the financial year. Since neither Mr. Shah nor Mr. Talukder was involved in production anytime,..................
Assignment Questions
I. What are the various entrepreneurial competencies? Evaluate the competencies exhibited by the promoters of Eskent.
II. What are the challenges faced by first generation entrepreneurs? In the light of the case, identify the challenges faced by the promoters of Eskent and critically evaluate their responses to those challenges.
III. ...............
Exhibits
Exhibit I: Background of the Promoters at the Time of Eskent’s Inception
Exhibit II: Product Profile
Exhibit III: Competitors of Eskent Tools
Exhibit IV: Income Statement (Summary) (In INR Lakh)
Exhibit V: Balance Sheet (Summary) (In INR Lakh)
