Director/Owner - Happilac CONSCHEM

Evolve: What is the idea and the drive behind ‘Happilac CONSCHEM’? Please share your experience since its inception till the date?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: Happilac group has a rich and colorful history, spanning over more than 4 decades, when it was first established as a paint manufacturing company in 1978, under the name, “KARSS Paint Industries” by the late Khawaja Abdul Razak Sikka, my grandfather. Through the decades, Happilac Paints has catered to the coating solutions in both national and international markets. Since our inception, we have been focused on providing top quality products that are in line with the international standards and the ever-changing international trends in the coating industry. We initiated technological advancements in the industry by becoming one of the pioneers of Texture Finishes in Pakistan. Our commitment to innovation and no compromise on quality to provide world class products through constant research and development has not only earned us a position as one of the leading paint manufacturing brands in Pakistan and it has also enabled us to acquire a considerable market share in countries like Qatar, Tajikistan & Afghanistan.

After establishing our name as one of the leading paint brand in the coating industry, in the year 2012, we saw that the construction industry was booming and identified gaps in the quality of the construction chemicals being produced at that time. We saw that several other industries were linked with this one, and wanted to put our share in the construction material manufacturing sector, thus we took this idea as an opportunity and launched “Happilac CONSCHEM”, a specialized division for manufacturing construction chemicals including Tile Bond, Grouts and various water proofing solutions under the leadership of my father, Khawaja Khalid Razak Sikka and group chairman, Khawaja Shahid Razak Sikka, both of them are highly respected in the business community. We began producing high quality products aimed at meeting market and customer requirements. Our motto, “The Right Chemistry” carries a deep meaning, for it has enabled us to establish the right “chemistry” with our employees, our customers, our dealers and other stakeholders. As our slogan, it has motivated us into becoming who we are today.

Evolve: How do you look at the construction sector in Pakistan and its current market trends?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: Despite the economic instability, Pakistan is a developing nation, where construction remains as a booming industry, showing perpetual growth for years. Since it is linked with other industries, it has the power to make others grow along with it. Construction requires a lot of manpower, which helps to provide jobs and overcome employment for a large number of people. Ever since our independence in 1947, there were several challenges faced, especially geopolitical instability, worsening financial and economic conditions in the country and the ever-increasing price of the raw materials but the construction sector has always strived and managed to cope up with these challenges to meet its goals and contribute a positive growth to the national GDP.

Additionally, with the introduction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), we are optimistic that the construction sector will flourish further. With the challenges and milestones achieved so far, I can safely say that the current market trends point toward positive growth.

Evolve: If you look back at the first moment Happilac CONSCHEM initiated in 2012, how has the organization has evolved over the years?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: We started with a manufacturing unit in Faisalabad, a decade ago. We have not only expanded our production capacity at this unit but have also been continuously updating our technology and machinery to keep up with the latest manufacturing processes adopted worldwide. Recently, we have set up another state-of-the-art independent manufacturing unit in Islamabad to cater for the ever-increasing demand for our products. Over the years, as the industry became more demanding, we evolved. Initially we entered the market with the production of just the Tile Bond with the name “Happilac Hi-Bond T-10” and started making our presence in the market. With the overwhelming response we received from the market, we soon launched our Tile Grout with the name “Happilac Hi-Grout G-100”. We have always invested in our R&D by hiring the very best technicians and experts and by providing them with state-of-the-art R&D labs which are fully equipped with the latest technology and equipment. This has enabled us to increase our product line and to modify our products according to the latest trends and international standards. Recently, we have launched Liquid Grout under the name “Happilac Liquid Grout G-200”, this is a specialized tile grout that caters for a niche market. Other than Tile Bond & Grouts, we have further diversified and are providing numerous water proofing solutions and customized solutions.

By the Grace of ALLAH and with trust and support of our valuable customers and brand partners, we have not only expanded our operations across Pakistan but are also exporting our products to the international market as well.

Evolve: What is the essence of “Teamwork” and why is it necessary for organizational success?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: Teamwork is at the center of organizational success. We take pride in how we have trained our employees to function in a way that benefits us in a mutually inclusive manner. A team with synergy can learn and accomplish great thing. We’ve developed a corporate culture where everyone takes ownership and where each teammate is given due respect and importance.

It is a crucial factor in a company’s growth, so we have provided specialized training to our employees to work with inter and intra-departmental harmony, where each team takes accountability, grows together, and where all departments are beneficial to one another. We have worked hard to ingrain these qualities in our employees, who are treated as long-term investments and trained to be valuable assets to the company.

Evolve: What measures do you take for keeping your organization “politics free”?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka :Being an “equal opportunity employer”, we have formed a very open, flexible and welcoming corporate culture in our company, where there is no leg pulling involved and we try to provide an environment and culture where every employee can learn, grow and excel in his/her domain.

Most of our staff consists of long-term employees, ranging from those that joined 5 years ago to those that joined 20 years ago with defined job descriptions and parameters.

However, we’ve a parallel HR mechanism to induct new talent in our company and thus playing our social role not only in providing jobs to the fresh graduates and but also to provide on-job training to them to enable them to become successful professionals. This mix of fresh and experienced talent enables us to keep our organization “politics free”. Additionally, we are also providing our team members with several essential benefits that include health insurance, professional trainings, recreational activities, employee welfare, set career paths that increase motivation and to top it all off, excellent remuneration. We solely offer good performance-based promotions with equal opportunities for everyone. With this open environment, everyone works in harmony.

Evolve: With the continuous growth and development in the preparatory duration; where do you see yourself and Happilac CONSCHEM in next five-ten years?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: By the Grace of ALLAH, we aim to open a state-of-the-art manufacturing Unit, equipped with the latest technology and machinery, in Lahore to speed up our processes and to achieve timely deliveries. We tend to establish a similar production facility in south as well to facilitate the supplies and meet the demands of internal Sindh and Balochistan more effectively and efficiently. Furthermore, we are continuously upgrading our machinery and technology to optimize automation in our business processes. Next, we aim to be the #1 in the construction chemicals business and are going towards tapping more of the export market in Central Asia and Africa, as our R&D makes it possible for us to continue meeting international standards and demand.

Evolve: How do you manage a rapidly growing company while focusing on operations?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: We have worked on and formed smooth systems in our hierarchy, from the lowest to the highest, and made use of good, efficient and speedy reporting mechanisms that keep everyone updated. With our hiring, we have been extremely careful, our focus primarily being on getting the right person for the right job, to whom we can delegate tasks and ownership to. This boosts their leadership qualities, boost their motivation to perform with a sense of accountability. This in turn, helps us trust them with delegated duties and in running their areas of operations independently without the top management getting too much involved in the day-to-day processes.

Recently, with the introduction of customized ERP system within our organization we have streamlined our processes, improved our internal controls and optimized our internal and external reporting. With this efficiency in monitoring, I’m able to work free of any petty issues in the company. With a competent and expert team on board and through implementation of modern technology, I stay updated on everything all the time, everything is on my fingertips, so I have more time to focus on business and market strategies.

Evolve: Are there any exciting upcoming projects in the company that you want to tell us about or give a sneak peek?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: We have been manufacturing the best quality Grey Tile Bond, Happilac Hi-Bond T-10. We continuously work hard to uncover more market segments and to tap the unexplored market segments. We are one of the very few local manufacturers producing White Tile Bond to cater a niche high-end customer group. We are manufacturing it for projects and on demand. Being scarcely available in market currently, we are in the process of launching White Tile Bond commercially for an easier access in the market very soon.

Evolve: How do you see the quality of your Product and Customer Service in a highly competitive market?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: Both of these are key elements for functioning and surviving in today’s quality conscious market, we have continuously worked throughout time to make sure both our quality and customer service stay at the top, for these are the backbone of the entire company’s sales and every customer is very conscious when deciding what construction chemicals may be needed. We focus on these points and in this competitive market, we can quantify it to be in the successful range due to the amount of returning customers we have.

To make things even more convenient for our valued customers, we have recently introduced ecommerce platform for our customers through which they can now visit our website, www.happilacpaints.com or call our Toll Free Customer Service No: 08000-1978 from anywhere at any time to buy our products, take advise from an expert, request a call back and avail many more such services. Once a query is received, our representative visits the customer in person to assist them with their query at the time and place of customer’s preference.

Evolve: As we all know that COVID-19 has made devastating changeovers among the economies. What factors are responsible for economic growth and parameters set by your company to take a leap?

Mr. Kh. Fahad Sikka: Operating the business during the COVID-19 pandemic was immensely difficult, as production stopped for a while as per government directives. We saw several companies shut down, face heavy losses or off-loading employees. Our first priority as the top management was the safety of our employees, vendors and all associates by facilitating them in every possible manner.