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THE BILLION DOLLAR IDEAL VISIONARY – NALIN WELGAMA, CHAIRMAN OF IDEAL GROUP – THE  CEO MAGAZINE SRI LANKA

Had he so wished, Nalin Jayaraj Welgama could well have cruised comfortably for life on the family road his father had cut, paved, and carpeted for him. But the beaten track of his illustrious sire was not the smooth path the fates had planned for him. Instead, it was the rugged road the intrepid perforce must tread to gain Fortune’s favor, and, triumphing vicissitudes, realize the lofty goals one has ambitiously set for oneself. An early exit from the family highway had to be made, a new untrodden route through unchartered territory had to be cut to reach the envisioned destination, destiny had ordained for him. The break came in the year 1986, on the threshold of turning thirty.

But first, a brief backgrounder. Born the youngest son of ‘King of the Road’ S. A. Welgama – the famed Kalutara philanthropist who had pioneered road haulage in Lanka – and Beatrice Welgama, Nalin had been schooled at S. Thomas College Mount Lavinia. Leaving college after his A’levels, he headed for England in September 1976 to pursue his higher studies. He would remain in Britain for eleven years. During this period, he would finish his university degree. He would, thereafter, join a firm of chartered accountants and complete his mandated articles. Earn his professional qualifications. Specialize in the field of auditing, taxation, and insolvency: And win, with his recognized mastery of this complex triad in accountancy’s field, the prized right to report directly to the firm’s senior partner whose confidence he would gain, to such an extent, that he would finally be tasked with the responsibility of managing the firm itself.

But that was not all that kept him busy. Something of the sire’s blood stirred in the scion’s veins. Amid rising career prospects, his thoughts turned to entrepreneurship. The chosen field to traverse bold lay in the family realm of automobiles. And by an amazing coincidence, his next-door neighbor in England, a fellow Sri Lankan, Gamini Vitharana, was, also, in the same line. 

In May 1986, they founded Ideal Plant & Vehicles Ltd in England. It was the first company he founded. A casual glance at an old Ideal Homes and Gardening magazine years ago had suggested the name Ideal, and the name had been etched on his mind ever since as the ideal name to baptize any company he would one day start. And the business of the new company: dealing in high-end cars.

He says: ‘Our idea was to export premium cars from the UK worldwide, particularly Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Porches and so on. We sourced from European dealers right-hand drive cars and mainly brand-new cars from franchise-holders and then we exported to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, and Africa – in short, throughout the right-hand drive world and also some to Sri Lanka at the time.

The company took off. The business was brisk. And with optimistic projections dispelling initial doubts, he often contemplated settling down and making it good in England. But the seeds of his destiny had long been sown on home turf; and the call of its buds was blowing in the wind, summoning his return to bloom. It resounded in the far-flung fields of a foreign clime where he listened to its bidding and made haste to return home to Lanka to answer its summons. 

During this time, he received a letter from his father which said “Look – you have a daughter. I don’t want you raising your daughter in the UK. You should raise her here in Sri Lanka. You know, out of your two brothers, Nimal might move on and join the Upali Group and Kumar is now well into politics and there is no line of succession for S A Welgama. Son, you are my only choice. Please come back – please return.” That did it. The father’s moving letter finally nailed his decision to the mast. Little did the ‘returning prodigal’ know then that his decision to place filial duty above all else and work for the family firm would inexorably lead him to his meteoric rise, which would be the turning point. The year was 1996. He was thirty-nine.

‘’It involved some soul searching as I was very comfortable in London,’’ Nalin recalls, ‘’but then I realized that I couldn’t just brush aside my father’s request. I had a duty to the family business. So I took my dad’s advice and I returned to Sri Lanka. I thank him for his wisdom at the time. I have never looked back.’’ The stage was set for the curtain to lift on the most important phase of Nalin’s business life, a momentous time when his long-held vision began to crystallize. During this period, with one hand steering the family firm S.A Welgama and Sons Ltd, he embarked on his mission to conquer the automobile world of Lanka. 

As a first step toward laying the foundation upon which his Ideal Group of Companies would soon come to rest, he formed his first local company, Ideal Automotive Parts Ltd, and used it as his vehicle to make his bold foray into the very heart of Panchikawatte’s jealously protected spare parts business. He even dared to park it right in the hub on a prime property facing Sri Sangarajah Mawatha donated to him by his father. ‘’I thought to myself, ‘’ he says, reminiscing on his modest beginnings, ‘’that I must make use of this opportunity that came with the building, and I engaged some staff who were involved in the spare parts business. First I started selling Peugeot parts – genuine and ‘Original Equipment Manufacturer’ Peugeot parts.’’         

Nalin Welgama was now in business, amidst the throng of the spare parts market where it is said, all auto accessories meet. With his star in the ascendant, success flowed without stint or blush. But the stuff of ambition is not easily sated; and knows no boundaries but seeks to extend horizons no sooner one is reached. The frontier was extended further when, in 2005, he clinched the SsangYong Sri Lanka franchise to represent exclusively one of South Korea’s leading automobile manufacturers. He had now gained entry to another level; and being the accredited agent of a major automobile firm would stand him in good stead, and would prove to be a providential blessing, as the unfolding years would show, 

In 2009, the fates moved in mysterious ways to make Nalin keep his anointed rendezvous with destiny by turning a prospect, which had once seemed beyond even his infinite optimism to hold as tenable to realize, into sudden reality. India’s automobile giant Mahindra and Mahindra were searching for a new local dealer to stamp their brand’s global footprint on the Lankan terrain since their existing franchisee had virtually given up the ghost after a vain struggle to carve a niche in the market for the Mahindra brand. With the lucrative franchise up for grabs, soon an intermediary approached Nalin with the Mahindra calling card. 

The opportunity was knocking on Ideal Group’s door. The much-coveted franchise, hitherto thought betrothed, was now free of all contractual ties, the visitor disclosed; and said the quest to find a new suitor had now begun. And, after confiding these unsolicited tidings, he urged Nalin to make his pitch and lay claim to Mahindra’s business bonanza. 

Nalin duly reached out to Mahindra and Mahindra and he was invited to India to present his credentials and prove worthy of his claim. But he was not alone. In the battle arena, stood two Goliaths, two formidable heavyweights adorned with all the trappings of stock-listed blue-chip companies, whose reputations had preceded their early entrance. 

“Mahindra had shortlisted three firms and had invited its chairmen to India to make their presentation,’’ Nalin says, recounting the crucial acid test. ‘Apart from my Ideal Automobile Group, the other two were well-established companies, both quoted on the stock exchange and held to be in the blue-chip bracket. The chairmen of these two companies had gone ahead of me, I was the late arrival. We all had to face a decisive interview with Dr. Pavan Goenkar – now President of Mahindra’s Automotive and Farm Equipment sectors – and his team.”