The Entrepreneur's Dilemma: Case of TMT Toughened Glass Pvt. Ltd.

Abstract

TMT Toughened Glass Company is in the glass processing industry. This industry requires a high level of innovation and expertise to process glass which is a very fragile and unworkable material. Customers typically want complete and technically sound solutions to their security, structural, design and architectural needs where glass is a material of choice. Shiv Prasad, the Managing Director of TMT Toughened Glass Company Pvt. Ltd., likes to call himself a “Glass Fabricator” and has been the pioneer in finding innovative solutions to glass processing needs in India. Tempering is the core process in this. Manufacturers of float glass are the suppliers and real estate developers and builders, automobile manufacturers and industrial appliance manufacturers are its buyers. Growth in this industry has been fuelled by the economic boom in India. The industry is largely unregulated. The number of players in the industry has increased to 40 in the same period from a mere 10. While the demand in the glass processing industry is growing at a steady rate of 30%, the capacity is growing at a compound annual growth rate of almost 80%. Prasad's competence is in engineering and design innovation. The dilemma he faces is whether to carry on with his time-tested strategy of innovation led growth or follow what other industry players are doing. Prasad has the option of concentrating his resources on doing what he does best — finding innovative solutions to the glass processing needs of his customers. The central question for Prasad is how to ensure that TMT Toughened Glass outperforms others on a sustained basis. Out of several options, this case explores the option of expanding the product line to include processed glass for the passenger car segment.