Munjal Rangwala took his family business forward by adding a new dimension to it in 2010, when he founded Harsha Abakus Solar Private Limited as a joint venture between Abakus Solar AG, a German photovoltaic company with about 20 years of experience in the European market, and Harsha Engineers, an India-based bearing cage manufacturer. Today, the company offers comprehensive solar power plant execution services, with a professional project management team, an innovative design philosophy and reliable project monitoring systems. The company has completed projects of over 200 MW capacity across India.
Rangwala obtained a B.Tech. in mechanical engineering from Nirma University, Ahmedabad, and followed it up with a master’s in industrial engineering from Texas A&M University. He worked with Accenture for over six years in Texas, and then returned to India in 2010 to join the family business and set up Harsha Abakus.
Rangwala believes that the solar industry holds much promise and will continue to see accelerated growth in the next decade. Unlike wind, solar is fairly well established in India, with the presence of a large number of competing players, the availability of technologically advanced and diversified solutions and relatively high investment inflows from both domestic and international players. Although there is some policy and regulatory uncertainty on various issues, such as the recent goods and services tax, the segment has high potential for growth.
At Harsha Abakus, Rangwala is responsible for all major corporate decisions and the overall operations of the company. He has taken up several interesting projects, one of them being a 110 MW project at a single location in Tamil Nadu, and another being a project at a farmland using a single-axis tracker with a 10 degree tilt. But the most interesting and satisfying for him is perhaps the rooftop installation at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Rangwala feels adapting to prevailing trends is the key to success. As such, he follows an adaptive management style. One of his strengths is commitment to his word and maintaining ethical values. All of this has served the company well, as is borne out by the fact that most of its clients are lifetime clients and most of the orders are repeat orders.
Rangwala is a biking enthusiast and he is the proud owner of a Harley-Davidson, which he enjoys riding from Ahmedabad to Goa at least once a year.