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MOTORINDIA
l
September 2012
ages and good relationship with the
driver community, the industry is
in a spot of bother when it comes
to drivers. Expressing his views on
the issue, he says: “The number of
drivers needed is twice the vehicle
production count and currently there
is a 40 per cent driver shortage in In-
dia. The vehicle manufacturers and
the government need to act quickly
as the dearth might rise to 80 per
cent and result in making the indus-
try come to a standstill.” The exist-
ing rule that a driver could drive a
heavy vehicle only after a period of
three years after obtaining a light ve-
hicle license is far from justified and
as a result, poses a big threat to dis-
suading people from taking to com-
mercial vehicle driving.
IPO deferred
Despite
fluctuating
market conditions, VRL
has maintained a growth
of 15 per cent in the last
year. The company has
been constantly expand-
ing its fleet strength and
network size and in a
move to fuel further ex-
pansion, the company
decided to go for an IPO
four years ago. However
as the public issue dates
neared, the market was badly hit,
forcing the IPO to be shelved. A
second IPO bid in March 2011 did
not fructify either, after which the
company dropped the decision of
going public.
Following the IPO deferral, New
Silk Route (NSR), an American
company had invested Rs. 175 crore
in VRL few months ago which came
as a shot in the arm for the com-
pany’s growth prospects. Says Mr.
Sankeshwar: “We are not worried
about the financial factor because
we always follow a fair policy and
our relationship with finance com-
panies is very good. We have about
25 banking companies, NBFCs and
co-operative companies who of-
fer us good support. Following the
recent Rs. 175 crore investment by
NSR, we are not looking at IPO for
the next three years.”
Warehousing solutions
Third-party logistics and ware-
housing solutions offered by VRL
are tailor-made and cater to unique
needs of various customers of the
industry. With the largest network
in India, the VRL parcel service is
indispensable for a large number
of corporate houses. The compa-
ny’s network spans the length and
breadth of the country and is sup-
ported by large number of tranship-
ment hubs.
VRL has a 43-acre transport-cum-
warehouse complex at Varur, Hubli.
The unique facility has all the essen-
tial back-up services under one roof,
including a transhipment godown,
workshop, canteen, drivers’ rest
room, own diesel bunk and parking
area. The company has a total of 42
warehouses at different locations
catering to different regions across
India.
Focal point of activity
VRL has a warehouse in Banga-
lore which acts as a connectivity hub
for the north, east, west and south
regions. The three lakh sq. feet large
warehouse, spread over seven acres
of land is the company’s largest
and perhaps the country’s too. The
warehouse is buzzing with activity,
more during the nights and towards
the wee hours of the morning when
most of the transaction takes place.
Being one of VRL’s largest ware-
houses, it receives consignments
from across the country which are
segregated for dispatch according to
the region and as per priority. The
Express Cargo division, whose ve-
hicles are given first priority, has a
dedicated team servicing the entire
country through 15 primary routes.
The division is known for its prompt
service, with vehicles departing ex-
actly on time immaterial of condi-
tions and circumstances.
Operational since October 2008,
logistics