Built To Last

By growing in a gradual and measured manner, SP Singla has managed to retain full ownership of his eponymous specialist bridge-building company

- Samar SrivaStava

The first project Sat Paul Singla, 57, completed as an entrepreneur was a small bridge over the Yamuna in 1996, valued at a mere ₹10 lakh. A first-generation entrepreneur, he started with no capital and worked his way up, going from project to project, gradually building the company named after him—SP Singla Constructions.

Today, SP Singla specialises in constructing river bridges across the country. The company is present in 15 states and has posted revenues of ₹1,150 crore in the year ended March 2017. What’s impressive is that the company has managed to do this without diluting any equity (it is still 100 percent owned by Sat Paul Singla) and without taking on an excessive amount of debt. (Total debt stands at ₹52 crore taken for financing equipment purchases.)

How did Singla manage to build a large construction company with little capital? What is it about the industry structure that allowed him to grow without taking on significant debt? And how has an entrepreneur, who employs about 5,000 people, still managed to retain full ownership?

Until 1996, Singla, a civil engineer, had been working with small construction companies in Punjab and Haryana for 12 years, constructing river bridges in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The work was challenging and helped him hone his skills. The only problem was he would have to stay at a particular location, complete the project and move on to the next location. “Shifting my family was an issue and shifting schools frequently for my two sons was difficult,” recalls Singla.