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Mahalaxmi Group takes delivery of the 1000th Volvo Truck.
A family that works together stays together. Mahalaxmi Group has proved this with the resounding success of their business. An inspiring story of 4 brothers Shri. Abhji Bhai, Shri. Mohan Bhai, Shri. Shivji Bhai and Shri. Hira Bhai, who started with a single farm tractor in 1985 to an INR 1,400 Cr. Mining Group today. Read on about the grit, determination, passion, and a shared vision that has made Mahalaxmi Group what it is today. Volvo Trucks has been a part of this successful journey since 2005. Mahalaxmi Group, one of the leaders in the industry took delivery of the 1000th Volvo Tipper in their fleet on 19 July 2021. Volvo is proud to be their partner in progress.
Mahalaxmi Group is the shared dream of the Dholu brothers since 1985 when they decided to move from “farming to mining”. With a single farm tractor, they began their journey to build a mining company. In the year 1994, having learned the technical knowhow of earthwork transportation in mining operation, decided to start Mahalaxmi Engineering Co. to leverage more opportunities in Coal & Lignite Mining, They got the opportunity to work on several earthwork projects like the Vanakbori Thermal Power Plant Construction, Sabarmati River earthwork and the lignite mines of Panadro & Rajpardi. The company clocked a turnover of INR 25 Cr.
In 2005, the second generation of the Dholu family has started entering the business. A young and energetic team that wanted to grow the business at a faster pace. They landed a project which was challenging to deliver and after detailed evaluation and deliberation, Mahalaxmi invested in the first 5 FM9 Tippers. A brave move that paid off for Mahalaxmi who could complete the work successfully and ahead of schedule. The first lot of Volvo Tippers spelled a paradigm shift and they realized the importance of having technologically advanced trucks in their fleet. They were ready for growth and it was time to leap. It was in 2007 when Mahalaxmi got the opportunity to work on a project in NCL Bina. The project demanded Mahalaxmi to deliver in a day what they were delivering in a month. A challenge that Mahalaxmi and Volvo stood up to and they invested in 50 Volvo Tippers. The next 3 years saw VolvoTrucks and Mahalaxmi Group work in perfect harmony to achieve a target of 4 crores 70 lakh cu. meter of material transportation.
Volvo and Mahalaxmi Group have grown together and I look forward to the journey ahead. I hope the second generation of Mahalaxmi continues towork with the same passion.
The secret of the success of the Mahalaxmi family is that all the members of the family took on different roles and responsibilities with a strict commitment to systems and practices. “We have ensured that everyone follows the systems and processes and ensure the quality. We work like a well-oiled machine to ensure that all projects across the country deliver the same high results.” In the year 2009, the business grew beyond Gujarat. Mahalaxmi Group took on projects in various states and clocked a revenue of INR 100+Cr. There was no looking back, it was onward and upward. Mahalaxmi Group continued investments into technologically advanced Volvo Trucks & continued to spread its wings across India, setting new benchmarks with meticulous planning, good maintenance infrastructure & extremely good haul road maintenance. This led to very high utilization of trucks delivering superior uptime, productivity & efficiency.
2015 was an eventful year for both organizations. Volvo Trucks had reached the 10,000th Truck and Mahalaxmi was adding the 500th Volvo Truck to its fleet. Always open to new ideas, Mahalaxmi Group continuously improved operations with innovative solutions. They also invested in the first-of-its-kind advanced 10x4 dump trucks & 33 Cu.M Coal Tippers to their fleet in subsequent years. The growth in the next 5 years has been quick and consistent. Despite the downturn in the industry as a whole due to the pandemic, Mahalaxmi Group continued to inch their growth and in July 2021 took delivery of the 1000th Volvo Truck.
The handover ceremony was held in Ahmedabad, home of the Dholu family. The venue was the Courtyard by Marriott in Ahmedabad. It was a closed solemn affair with the two generations of the Dholu family, Shri. Abhji Bhai, Shri. Mohan Bhai, Shri. Shivji Bhai and Shri. Hira Bhai and Shri. Jagdish Bhai, Shri. Rahul Bhai, Shri. Vinesh Bhai, Shri. Ashwin Bhai, Shri. Kalpesh Bhai, Shri. Upesh Bhai & Shri. Omkumar Bhai of the second generation and key team members of Volvo Trucks.
The event was graced by Mr. Vinod Aggarwal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of VE Commercial Vehicles India Ltd., who logged in virtually from Gurgaon and it was attended by all the regional heads of Volvo Trucks, Mr. Dimitrov Krishnan, Head of Volvo Construction Equipment in India and Mr. Prithiviraj Ghosh of Volvo Financial Services. The participation was virtual following the Covid protocols.
The ceremony began with an invocation to the Lord Ganesha and a lamp lighting ceremony. Mr. Vinod Aggarwal also commenced the event by lighting a lamp in his office before addressing the gathering. Speaking at the event, Mr. Aggarwal said, that he is glad to partner with the Mahalaxmi Group. “Mahalaxmi Group is the ideal example where a family has worked together with professional business management skills. I congratulate every member of the Dholu family who has contributed to this growth. We have learned from you every time we introduced a new product.”
The meeting was addressed by Mr. Dinakar Boddapati and Mr. Suresh Chandel. “It has been a journey together. And we are grateful to you for the partnership. The first 500 trucks happened in 10 years and the next 500 happened in 5 years. I look forward to the next 500. We will continue to support you so that we both continue to progress.” said Mr. Dinakar Boddapatti.
Following this address, there was a key handover and flag-off ceremony of the 1000th Truck handed over to the Mahalaxmi Group. The family received the key of the 1000th truck and the truck was flagged off by Mr. V Venkateswaralu, Head, Aftermarket, Volvo Trucks India, and Mr. Upesh Bhai of Mahalaxmi Group.
Addressed the gathering after the flag-off. “Volvo and Mahalaxmi Group have grown together and I look forward to the journey ahead. I hope the second generation of Mahalaxmi continues to work with the same passion.”
Volvo Trucks handed over a silver plaque to the Dholu family to commemorate the 1000th Volvo Truck. Later the members of Speaking at the event, Mr. Jagdish Bhai & Mr. Rahul Bhai of the Mahalaxmi Group said that Volvo Trucks are known for their high uptime and reliability. The first truck bought in 2005, was still being used in the mines after 50,000 engine hours. This is the testimony of the reliability and long life cycle of the Volvo Trucks.
The event concluded with a cake-cutting ceremony at the venue and across all the mining sites of Mahalaxmi, where employees cut a cake and celebrated this milestone of their company.
