From Pioneers To Defaulters: Su-Kam, The Downfall Of A 600 Crore Company That Revolutionised The Power Backup Industry In India

"Su-Kam, the company that revolutionized the power backup Industry, what happened to it? What happened to the founder: Mr Kunwer Sachdev?"

Well, the founder of Su-Kam, Mr.Kunwer Sachdev Is now back as the mentor of the technology-driven power solution company Su-vastika Solar. Kunwer Sachdev is ready to shake up the energy sector in India with more sustainable and green power storage solutions.

Who is Kunwer Sachdev?

Mr. Kunwer Sachdev is the Founder of One of the most well-known brands in the Power Back-up Industry – Su-Kam Power Systems Limited. Kunwer is an entrepreneur, marketer, innovator, motivational speaker, thinker, and leader. He revolutionized the power back up the sector in India with his innovative and user-friendly products that made Indian inverters a household name not just in his home country but also in the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asian countries such as, Bangladesh and Nepal.

His valuable contributions to the inverter/UPS and solar sector have earned him titles such as ‘The Inverter Man of India’ and ‘The Solar man of India’.

The Story starts in 1990

In the 1990s when India was grappling with electricity problems, Mr. Kunwer Sachdev was quick to analyze the unorganized market in the power backup industry, which was in complete disarray at the time with substandard products and local players dominating the market. He was instrumental in transforming the power backup industry into an organized sector by training his team, hiring professionals to organize the products and systems, and creating a service setup that was spread all across India, the Middle East, Africa, and Southeast Asia.  

He always goes by the mantra – “The decisions are not right or wrong. It’s the outcome of those decisions which are right or wrong.” That is why he always makes decisions considering them to be the important parameter to succeed in life. He was able to see the possibilities in even the most mundane things in life and find innovative ways of making them useful to mankind.

A life full of achievements.

Most of the breakthrough innovations you see in the power backup sector are his brainchild. He invented the world’s first plastic-body inverter which was adjudged as ‘Innovation of the Decade’ by India Today. He even introduced world-class technologies such as MOSFET, Microcontrollers based, and DSP Sine Wave into inverters. He also gave ‘Home UPS’ to India, which combined the features of UPS and an inverter into a single piece of equipment. Always looking for avenues to up his game and create better technology, he introduced World’s first touch-screen UPS, which is Bluetooth enabled so that users can monitor it from their phones. He created the first 100 KVA inverter in 2005 when nobody used to believe it, and he made a truck with a 100 KVA inverter and it used to travel all across India to showcase the Indian technology called Power on wheels. He also created the service network having service vans moving all across India to give door-to-door service.

In his own words “I envisioned the ‘Make in India’ company to make an indelible mark in the global market, and so did when in 2003 my company became the first in India to export power electronic products to foreign markets. This was no small feat. It was the first time that I toured various countries with hospitable and inhospitable environments, and faced many issues since there was no precedence from the industry. The civil situation in many African nations was unstable, still, I persevered on to make a mark for my products and my country.”

And what a journey it was. He swept the international markets in the Middle East, Africa, Bangladesh and Nepal where my products are loved for their quality and reliability — so much so that Chinese and American products are completely ousted from these markets. Even today Indian inverters and UPS are preferred over Chinese – a huge credit goes to his efforts and of course his team. The products built by Mr. Sachdev outsmart many others due to their easy handling and ruggedness. His products do not need any artificial environment like air conditioning, they can work from sub-zero to 55-degree centigrade.

An unfortunate break in progress

Somehow due to Mr. Kunwer Sachdev’s personal problems at home, his beloved company Su-Kam went into bankruptcy and the banks filed legal cases against him which was a big challenge for him to handle.

Especially because the money owed to the banks and the assets owned by the company were sufficient to pay back the loan amount. However, due to the mishandling of the banks the company was closed down by the financial institutions and all the services of customers were also closed down overnight. He was under depression for quite some time as the strong brand that he built over the last 32 years of his career went away with a single stroke. He was slapped one case after another by the banks as they wanted to save their skin and they had no interest in saving either company nor an entrepreneur who revolutionized the power sector in India. His beloved brand Su-kam was taken from him. A brand that he built alone by traveling to each and every corner of India, from big metropolitan cities to small cities and towns. He educated so many people like a true teacher, spreading awareness to every nook and corner of India. He successfully competed against the big players of China and Europe, instilling faith in the Indian power storage sector that they are no less than any other foreign competitors but he was not able to save his own brand from being taken from him.

In the words of Mr. Kunwer Sachdev “All the reputation that I built for the brand Su-kam went for a sudden toss without any fault of mine. What pained me immensely was seeing my distributors, dealers and customers being left in a lurch by banks. Stakeholders were unable to get the same quality service that Su-kam was famous for providing, putting them in a state of shock and disbelief. Dealers and distributors were unable to honor the warranties, while the materials were left lying with them, unsold, tying up their resources. No matter how hard I tried, I was not able to come for their aid, as all the assets of the company and properties belonging to the company were under the control of these financial institutions.  I desperately wanted to help them but my hands were tied in legal issues. That is when my wife came out to help with the idea of Su-vastika.”

About Su-Vastika

The comeback and becoming the first Indian to file technology patents in Inverter UPS and solar field.

After a lot of help from friends and distributors and employees, Mr. Kunwer Sachdev's wife Khushbhoo Sachdev started this new venture Su-vastika and since then the company has been able to give a lot of services and help to the employees, dealers and distributors.

Kunwer is working as a mentor for Suvastika and started developing world-class, cutting-edge products backed with the latest technological innovations. Some of the breakthrough solutions Mr. Kunwer has developed for Su-vastika include Energy Storage Systems, Lifts/Escalators Backup, Online UPS with Galvanic Solution, Tubular Battery, VRLA Battery, Lithium Battery solutions, EV Chargers, Automatic Testing Setup and many more.

Today, Su-vastika is constantly building new technologies and filing patents, especially in the field of Lithium batteries, Emergency Rescue devices for lifts.  

With the speed at which his team and Mr. Sachdev were building new technologies, he knew he had to do something to protect them. Thus, he started filing patents and in doing so became the first Indian entrepreneur to file for technology and design patents in the Indian power backup Industry. His company made a record for being the only company in the power backup industry to file over 60 patents with nearly 2 technology patents filed in a month. He is continuously coming up with newer patent ideas and not just in the inverter industry but in many other fields related to energy, artificial intelligence, communications and many more.

Future is bright for the Inverter Man of India 

Mr. Kunwer Sachdev’s strong business acumen and foresightedness helped him to gauge the vast opportunities in the solar sector and he immersed himself in it. He started working passionately in building world-class solar products and developed some unique solar products that suit the needs of everyone from a small house in a remote village to big industries. Today, his dream is to see every household in India getting powered by solar energy. He wants every business, big or small, to invest in solar energy and reap the seamless benefits of this natural resource.