MD - Atlas Copco Pakistan

EVOLVE: Please share something about yourself, a brief overview of your professional journey? 

Sohail Shahzad: After completing my degree in business administration, I tried my luck in the construction business. Soon I came to know that this is a different world. Then, after a careful assessment, I found that I could have my career in Compressed Air Solutions. Since then, it has been about thirteen years that I have been in this business. I had the opportunity to see all the aspects and dimensions of this field. I started my career from a door to door B2B sales person. In 2006, Atlas Copco Pakistan started its direct functioning in Pakistan. I was one of the very few founding team members of Atlas Copco Pakistan. I started off as a Business Line Manager for the Industrial Air division. I developed this division to the best of my efforts. Industrial air division is basically addressing 80% of the industry in Pakistan and we have over 35 – 40% market share, with status of one of the most preferred manufacturer and supplier whose products are designed with a futuristic approach, on the lines of energy efficiency, reliability and friendly environment. 

EVOLVE: Kindly share with our readers about Atlas Copco Pakistan and its continuous and consistent growth in Pakistan? 

Sohail Shahzad: Pakistan was not a new market for Atlas Copco. We are one of those organizations which came to Pakistan by customers’ choice. We already had almost 4000 installations here and it was really very exciting and challenging for us to come here and interact with our customers directly and to learn more about the dynamics of the market. We are the only ISO certified organization for the food grade compressed air solutions globally. We take pride in saying that almost all quality conscious food manufacturers of Pakistan like Engro, Nestle, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Fauji Food are relying on Atlas Copco and we take pride in giving them innovative solutions as for us, healthy food products are key to a healthy generation. Textile is undoubtedly one of our mainstream customers just because we understand their language. We understand how important it is to develop or manufacture a jean, a fabric or a yarn for a local and international buyer. Moreover, every single Automobile manufacturer in Pakistan is using our compressed air solutions. We have grown by many folds within a very short span of time despite the global recession in 2008-09. 

EVOLVE: Atlas Copco is serving a diverse and specialized range of industries around the world. What are your focus areas in Pakistan? 

Sohail Shahzad: We know the value of our products and their worthwhile contribution to the local industry. I am proud to share that Atlas Copco is the only organization in Pakistan whose focus is on the needs of industry, no matter if it is home based industry or large scale manufacturing, Atlas Copco Pakistan with all the responsibility, is contributing in the Health Care Sector. May it be Aga Khan University Hospital or Children Hospital Lahore, our contribution in the health sector is visible; to add the value we are partnering with the Government of the Punjab to upgrade 40 DHQ (District Headquarter) hospitals as per International Health Technical Memorandum Solutions in the first phase. Our Energy efficient compressed air, Gases and Vacuum solutions are recognized in every industry, may it be top line textile exporter or yarn manufacturer, or dyeing and finishing industry, our partnering organizations are very active in construction, mining, and road construction. Moreover, our drilling rigs are the major feature of the Neelum Jhelum Project, Dasu Project, Reko Diq Project and Thar Coal Project. Cement Manufacturers are using our diverse equipment starting from quarry drilling rigs, Portable Air Compressors to manufacturing site stationary compressors. As far as construction industry equipment is concerned, you must have observed Dynapac machinery is widely working on the roads for compacting roads’ surfaces for easy commuting. We are one window solution providers and have contributed a lot towards the development of Pakistan.

EVOLVE: What kind of culture have you maintained at Atlas Copco Pakistan and how would you throw light in its significance? 

Sohail Shahzad: Atlas Copco is a very innovative, adoptive and progressive organization by its nature. We are a glocal (Global reach, Local people) organization. Despite the fact that we have more than 40-50 thousand employees worldwide, over 60% of the employees know each other by their personal names and we still address our President or Chief Executive with their own first names. We don’t even write dear this or dear that. If I have to send a note to my boss, I would simply say “Philip, can you help me with this?” That's a very close one-to-one culture and that’s what I learnt and applied. We have grown wiser and self-responsible. Our teams are self-managing, self-sustaining and self-growing with clean hands, warm hearts, clear mind and conscience. Each member of Atlas Copco works on those lines and consequently, our culture is an open culture. In Atlas Copco we go for people who have a sleeve-up attitude, who want to do something different or evolve into something different. We don’t only go for education or skills but for ATTITUDE. 

EVOLVE: What sets Atlas Copco Pakistan apart from others in the market? 

Sohail Shahzad: It’s mainly the way we see our partners, our customers versus others see their customers. We have a reverse engineering system. Henceforth, we come from inside the process and synergize. We say customers are not obliged to buy our products but we are obliged to provide them with the solutions. That sets Atlas Copco Pakistan apart from anybody else. Many times we said NO to a lot of customers because we genuinely thought their need is not what they are asking for and there is a better solution available. 

EVOLVE: You must be facing a number of business challenges. How do you address them? 

Sohail Shahzad: It is all about how you look at things. We as an organization and I as a person believe that 99.9% people are fair and honest people if you guide them through the honest and fair lines. If you have everything as per local laws and policies, then there is no way you would be having problems working in this country. We really think that this country has a lot of potential, growth opportunities and much better kind of friendly policies than many other places of the world. 

EVOLVE: What are the important benchmarks if kept in the right direction, can help any company climb ladders of success? 

Sohail Shahzad: We were talking about trust and faith. As a Service Provider Company I believe that you will take care of your customer or somebody else will. Sometimes the customer is annoyed because his production is suffering. Do not hide away at that time of need; stand there even if you don’t have a solution. People are the most valuable asset than anything else; trust them, give them empowerment and autonomy. 

EVOLVE: How do you balance pursuing opportunities and maintaining focus?

Sohail Shahzad: Focus brings opportunities. When you are focused towards customer’s services, satisfaction and addressing their problems, those automatically will bring opportunities to you. It is always the focus which works as a reverse engineering and brings opportunities for you. 

EVOLVE: Is there any company that has ever impressed you? 

Sohail Shahzad: I find Atlas Copco a very humane organization. We are present in more than 180 countries with a heritage of more than 140 years. Talking about any organization other than Atlas Copco, there’s a book called “Maverick” by Ricardo Semler which I found really inspiring. It’s a Success Story behind the world’s most unusual workplace SEMCO in Brazil and being a part of ATLAS COPCO, I compare a lot of things with that organization. Here, innovation comes from the people; we reward people by acknowledging their contribution. Every year we introduce some new product, better features in our existing products and also we re-invent our own product which is surpassing its own performance. If I see 140 years of evolution in Atlas Copco, we have never been short of any innovation 

EVOLVE: What is the recipe to achieve long-term success? 

Sohail Shahzad: Long-term success comes from Focus and Future Orientation. Before we offer any new solution, we watch what trends are coming into the market and what would be the need and outlook of an organization from five years from today. 

EVOLVE: Where do you see yourself and your organization in the next 5-10 years? 

Sohail Shahzad: Growth is our oxygen. We want to keep on growing in collaboration with our partners and want to contribute back to the economy. So, in the next 5-10 years Atlas Copco aims to be a truly innovative organization, being present everywhere with its products and future oriented approach, cloud based systems and freely available information. 

EVOLVE: How are you coping with the energy shortfall? 

Sohail Shahzad: Challenge breeds opportunity. Energy shortfall is a challenge and an opportunity for us as well. On our part, we also have a presence in the power sector. We provide diesel generators to the construction sector for remote sites and are developing them in such a way that they should be more energy efficient with less emission, noise and better productivity. 

EVOLVE: Any message for the readers of EVOLVE magazine? 

Sohail Shahzad: I have a very elaborative message for the EVOLVE readers. I would say trust in people. There are 100% people who have the willingness to work and contribute. They have innovative ideas if they have the environment which facilitates them to use those ideas. Let people come up with solutions, which is the right solution because that is the way forward.