I picked up my local Oulu newspaper the other day, and on the front page was the story of an Indian Company BUYING the majority stake in a top-flight Oulu based company.
The Indian Media was not far behind with the news.
Sterling Infotech Group forays into renewable energy space 2006-09-01 18:15 
After another Chennai product, Isaac Sundarajan followed my footsteps as the CEO of a Finnish Company (15 years after my foray into the world of Finnish companies) Codenomicon Oy, here was a bold step of a Chennai based company, Sterling Infotech Ltd., a company which was just starting when I was making my name as Findians, buying a 40% stake in a prestigious Oulu based company, WinWind Oy, in the business of Wind Energy and the manufacturer of 1 and 3 MW wind turbines.
While 15 years ago I was telling Finnish companies to take a stake in Indian companies, here was someone doing just the reverse!!! The wind between developed and developing countries certainly seems to blowing in the opposite direction today.
Strange that all this happens in a small unknown town, my home town for the last 23 years, way up in the north - Oulu, a word most people do not know how to even pronounce!
Although Finland is not known as well as the other Scandinavian countries (Denmark and Sweden in particular) in the field of Wind Energy, an Oulu based company WinWind Oy has been slowly and steadily making its presence felt in several markets around the world.
Sterling Infotech Ltd. is a relative newcomer in the field of international business (history of just 15 years), but it has made very steady growth by following a lateral development strategy. Apart from Softwatre development and telecommunications, it recently went ahead with a massive investment in the coffee distribution business, especially when the world and Indian coffee market is in a slump.
Sivasankaran was rated as a top Non-Resident Indian entrepreneur. He was conferred with the President of India award twice as testimony for his achievements in the technology arena. His strength appears to lie in his ability to identify business opportunities well ahead of other competitors, so seizing the first mover advantage. He is the group chairman of 33 companies.
His vision is "to discover the unfulfilled but vital needs of the society and to turn them into viable business opportunities. The goal of the Sterling Group is consumerism of advanced technologies for the benefit of many, and to create a future model for businesses committee to community welfare."
The Sterling Infotech Group (SIG) promoted by Mr. Sivasankaran, has over the past decade and a half grown rapidly in size and stature into a professionally managed group with interests in telecom services and in high growth / mass consumption food & beverages business. The Group has been in operations for over 2 decades and has built leadership positions across its GSM Cellular and Internet Services businesses. The Group commenced operations in 1988 through Sterling Computers Limited. It assembled and marketed Personal Computers, when computer penetration was very low given high street prices of computers. The company developed into one of the largest players in this sector primarily based on unmatched value proposition. In later discontinued this business to enter the next wave of technology – mobile telephony.
A diversified business conglomerate, the Sterling Group business interests include Telecommunications (Aircel – Cellular network operator in Chennai & Tamil Nadu; Dishnet Wireless in North/East India), Internet services (Dishnet Wireless - Category A Internet Service Provider), Agri Exports (Sterling Agro), Broadcasting (Education to Home by DTH), Coffee vending (Fresh & Honest Café), Coffee chain (Barista – the premium coffee chain) and certified wellness (Aiwo Spa and Restaurant).
And now into what has been a blowing hot topic in Tamil Nadu for over 15 years - Wind Energy!
So it was no surprise when this cash-rich company made a foray into yet another new area - Wind Energy. By pumping in fresh capital into the Finnish company to the tune of around Euro 20 million, and acquiring about 3+% of the present shareholder stock, it took a majority share of 40% in the Finnish company.
This is a rather surprising development, as Sterling Infotech Ltd. has always tried to acquire complete ownership of any company it acquires.
However, it probably sees the present management structure of WinWinD Oy as sound and in the right mode for a major thrust into the European market for small sized Wind Turbine systems. As WinWind has a good networking operation in Europe as well as Cjhina, it is likely that the Sterling Infotech mmanagement is going to capitalise on this established structure.
But not much can be said of the present large stakeholders of the company, and it would be well for Sterling to unload that baggage as soon as possible.
What of the present staff in the Finnish company?
It is obvious that they will have to understand the Indian management style, which is completely different from the style followed in Finland. New Indian companies are hard taskmasters and will quickly cut away any dwead-wood they find in any organisation.
Oulu is going to get a taste of the more feroicious style of Indian management, much like Isaac is bringing to Codenomicon in a more gentler gentlemanly fashion.
Watch out as we will see some radical moves as this Indian company will not stand by and accept a slow growth policy - it will demand a more dynamic strategy than at present and it is likely that the production will be moved to more economic centres while the R&D will be left untouched in Finland!
This bold move by Sivaramakrishnan is in an attempt to jump over the present Indian leader in Wind Energy.
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