A French connection always works wonders in the Indian automotive industry, whether they are cars from Renault, tyres from Michelin, lubricants from Total, auto components from Valeo, or even automation management by Schneider Electric. This time around, MOTORINDIA decided to get an overview of a leading French removal company, AGS Four Winds, which has carved its niche in its industry. Helmed by Mrs. Payal Singh, the Indian arm of the Paris-based firm, has become one of the leading players in the international moving and storage services in the country.
The AGS Group has become one of the leading relocation service providers in the world, through commitment to providing professional service and workmanship of consistent high quality to meet its customers’ requirements. It offers a suite of solutions and services like packers & movers for residences and commercial sectors, automobiles, custom clearing and forwarding services, warehousing and insurance of goods which are in the movement, etc.
In a tête-à-tête with MOTORINDIA, Mrs. Payal Singh, India Country Manager & AGS Four Winds’ New Delhi Branch Manager, stated: “Security, Reliability, Responsiveness, Availability, Courtesy, Empathy and Communication are the hallmarks of our business. We are a specialist in quality international removal and relocations and have grown over 13-14 times over the last decade in terms of turnover. Although we had our own set of initial challenges, the customer responsiveness has changed over the years. Eventually, it is the quality for which we are recognized in the industry. We have set up stringent management systems, which allow for better control of processes, including client communications, packing/loading, import/export, storage services, and client follow-up. The result is improved control of operational resources, materials and subcontracting.”
The AGS Group is the largest international removals service provider in France and a leader in Europe. The group is represented in all major cities in France via a network of 18 offices. It has also established a network of subsidiaries that covers Europe and Africa.
Present in almost every country in Africa, AGS is the largest removal group on the African continent. The group President Mr. Alain Taieb, takes pride in the fact that by October 2016, the AGS Group will be the first company to have an office in practically every country in Africa, from any business whatsoever. In India, AGS has five branches, in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi, and an operational office in Pune as well.
The group forayed into India by taking over Trinity Removals (Pvt.) Ltd. in 2006. This acquisition granted AGS immediate presence in India with fully operational and equipped branches in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Within two years, it expanded its market in India with the opening of new branches – in Chennai in 2008 and in Hyderabad in 2009 – and eventually in Pune as well. Other cities will also be covered in due course.
AGS Four Winds New Delhi is FAIM accredited, making it one of 28 such subsidiaries within the AGS Group. “This expansion marks a new chapter in the group’s development and illustrates its determination to become an important player in the international removals business in Asia. FAIM is the quality hallmark of the international removals industry and, as a result, has become one of our strengths. That is why we are dedicated to ensuring the growth of AGS Four Winds in India,” said Mrs. Singh, who incidentally founded Trinity Removals in India in January 2000.
Talking about the USP of its existing business, Mrs. Singh shared: “With over 100 staff and approximately 32,300 sq. ft. (3,000 m²) of storage space at our disposal, we offer world-class services such as door-to-door removal of household, personal and office effects, customised solutions for local, national and international moves, to and from anywhere in the world, packing and crating services, handling of air, road and sea shipments, storage of short- and long-term shipments, motor vehicle transportation and storage services, and receiving, handling and storage of steamship containers. Every branch has its own packing crews, vehicles and warehouses, and all removal team leaders speak English. Our subsidiaries in India have the full financial, technical and human resource support of the group at all times; any resource can be made readily available to a specific branch within 24 hours.”
Talking about its fleet operations, Mrs. Singh observed: “We are subcontracting the transportation bit for inter-city movement of goods. For Intra-city, we have Eicher 709s. Even though we don’t own our fleet for inter-city transport, we make sure that we work with recognised players in the transportation industry. In order to maintain our level of service we send our escorts travelling all the way from one location to another. But now things have changed as most of the vehicles are GPS-enabled. We are open to the idea of having a larger fleet of vehicles as margins are better, but there are some challenges involved like lack of skilled drivers, dearth of roads of international standard, inter-city taxes and barriers, and the unorganised transport industry, to name a few. Moreover, it’s not a uniform decision that we take for every country (for fleet operations). In Africa, we do own the trucks that we run. In France, we have European liftvans which are actually placed on trailers that traverse all over Europe. They are 100 per cent owned by our group, and the number is in excess of 800 and is basically running intra-country. We would love to replicate that if the road conditions and the country’s infrastructure improve, coupled with the fact that there are skilled drivers (using hi-end trucks) available who can ply the vehicle across the entire length and breadth of the country without any obstruction.”
It is to be noted that AGS Four Winds India’s corporate clients include Adidas, Coca Cola India, Eli Lilly & Co., JCB, GE Capital, National Panasonic, Nestle, Ogilvy & Mather, Ranbaxy, STAR TV, Wipro Spectramind, Bharti, Citibank, GlaxoSmithKline, Star, Alcatel, Lucent and Whirlpool. Diplomatic clients include the embassies of France, Israel, Germany, the US, Brazil and Tunisia, as well as the British, Australian, Namibian and South African High Commissions. Talks are now on with a handful of automotive clients too.
“As part of an international removals company, our branch in India not only benefits from the AGS Group’s large network of 129 locations in 82 countries, but also its experience. The strategic vision of the group is to provide a professional solution for international removals between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, in particular between Europe and Africa. The group has focused on providing relocation solutions for developing countries in Eastern Europe and Africa, often some of the most difficult markets in the world. Our Indian operations have been registering a double-digit growth, and we are hopeful of doubling or even tripling our current revenues of Rs. 30 crores,” concluded Mrs. Payal Singh who also happens to be an ardent admirer of the Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, as a ‘doer’ and appreciates his business acumen.