Sheltech thrives on ethical business
Integrity, quality construction and timely delivery of projects can bring lasting success and reliability in the true estate business, said Tanvir Ahmed, managing director of Sheltech Group, among the leading realtors in Bangladesh.
"Taking shortcut running a business isn't sustainable and ethical. Integrity is best policy for attaining outstanding success running a business," the young businessman said.
Sheltech is one of the pioneers in the true estate and housing marketplace in Bangladesh and has been delivering quality projects since its inception in 1988. It develops residential flats, shopping centres and commercial buildings.
Till date, Sheltech has completed 170 projects and paid more than 4,200 flats to customers. It has 25 ongoing projects in various parts of the administrative centre city.
Ahmed took the helm of the company eight months ago following its founder and managing director Toufiq M Seraj passed away in June.
He's also a director of Envoy Group, which has interests in textile and garment business and boasts the first denim factory on the globe that obtained LEED Platinum certification, the best certification awarded by the united states Green Building Council.
"Since the beginning, Sheltech has been focused on quality design and construction. All of the buildings of Sheltech have been designed according to the national building codes," Ahmed told The Daily Star within an interview at their corporate office at the Envoy Building on Panthapath recently.
"We have emphasised building structures with quality raw materials and maintaining integrity. The business has been focused on providing quality homes solution from the beginning. This is actually the strength of the business."
Each building is capable of withstanding code-specified natural disasters such as earthquake. Not just that, each building has a crisis fire exit to safeguard residents from an unlikely event of fire.
In its 32-year business history, Sheltech hasn't received complaints from clients and does not have any history of lengthy procedure for delivering projects or flats, Ahmed said.
Sheltech's flat size ranges between 1,300 and 1,500 square feet with prices from Tk 5,500 to Tk 6,000 per square feet, or Tk 80 lakh to Tk 1.5 crore in total.
The company, which caters to the center income and higher middle-income people, also constructs high-end flats priced Tk 10 crore to Tk 12 crore, although their number is low.
Sheltech can be the pioneer in flat-sharing concept with land-owners in Bangladesh, said Ahmed, who holds a master's degree from Cardiff University, a Bachelor of Arts degree with honours from Kingston University and a diploma from the London School of Economics, all located in the UK.
His specialization is business management, administration and finance, while his entrepreneurship involves not merely property, textiles and garments but also hospitality service, financial trading, aviation and ceramics.
Sheltech started its journey when the true estate business was at a nascent stage in the united states, however the sector has flourished a lot in the last three decades.
Before undertaking a project, its authorities conduct market survey to determine if the project will be feasible.
The realtor will not choose small projects such as for example those on a land of five katha - rather it prefers at least 10-katha plot to ensure quality and make the projects environment-friendly.
However, it is determined by location. For instance, in Gulshan and Banani, where land is very scarce and expensive, it builds projects on seven to eight kathas of land, he said.
He described his father, Kutubuddin Ahmed, also the chairman and co-founder of Sheltech in addition to the founder of Envoy Group, with regards to giving somebody a steer on entrepreneurship or how to start out a business.
"My dad had no business experience but he previously a dream. He worked hard and lastly he became successful. Success in business results from effort, integrity, big dream and idea," he said.
According to Ahmed, if somebody does not have any capital to start a business but has guidelines or strong mentality to work hard, he will surely come out successful. "Capital isn't a major factor for conducting business."
New entrepreneurs should find out home based business ideas or the scope in the prevailing business, he noted.
As a businessman, he too faced challenges as he cannot perform like his predecessor or his father who developed the group.
"I had to work hard and learn a lot for further improvement," Ahmed said.
"If a businessman thinks that he knows everything, he'll never succeed. A businessman always must learn."
Success of a business also depends upon team work, as an individual can't run an enterprise, Ahmed said.
Businessmen need to mix with a wide variety of folks and treat employees as members of the family so that a sense of ownership grows within the staff.
"Punctuality, connection with stakeholders and treating employees well help grow businesses from strength to strength."
Sheltech celebrated its founding anniversary on March 12. On the occasion, it has organised Sheltech Anniversary Housing Fair 2020.
The business is giving special deals to possible buyers. Clients who will buy flats in Dhaka are certain to get land for free in different sites of Sheltech located beyond the capital through the month-long fair.
Although Sheltech started as a developer, it has branched out to other related businesses such as construction and property consultancy.
It employs a lot more than 300 professionals, including architects and engineers, who have been picked based on excellent technical and management skills. Additionally, a well-trained pool of 3,000 employees is utilized at various projects of Sheltech.
"Dedication, effort and connection with the Sheltech team have made it one of the top property companies in Bangladesh," said Ahmed, currently an executive committee person in the Bangladesh Employers' Federation and a director of the India-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Sheltech is also one of the founding members of the true Estate & Housing Association of Bangladesh.
