ECONOMICS PROJECT

QUALITATIVE INTERVIEW: AFI ALUMINIUM ARCHITECTS

REPORT

CE4004 ECONOMICS & MANAGEMENT

Submitted by
GOVIND VENUGOPAL B160018CE
JEFF THOMSON AKKARA B160457CE
FENIL P WILSON B150141CE
FAZIL P B160325CE
ARJUN P B160426CE

Department of Civil Engineering

National Institute of Technology Calicut

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 DECLARATION

We hereby declare that the project report entitled "A Qualitative Interview with
the entrepreneur of “Afi Aluminium Architects" submitted by us to Dr. Rekha of
NIT Calicut in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of the B.Tech
degree in Civil Engineering is a record of bonafide work done by us. We further
declare that the interview conducted by us is a genuine one carried out through
the exchange of E-Mail. The screenshots submitted as part of this project are that
of the original E-mail sent by Mr. C.G Venugopal. The information provided in the
transcripts is true to the best of our knowledge.

Date: 11-05-2020

Submitted by: Jeff Thomson B160457CE

Govind Venugopal B160018CE

Fazil P B160325CE

Arjun P B160426CE

Fenil P Wilson B150141CE

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 INTRODUCTION

Afi Aluminum Architects L.L.C , is an Aluminium Fabrication Located in Barka,

Muscat, Sultanate of Oman which was established in the year 2014. They have
been the leading aluminum fabrication company in Barka, Muscat. The company’s
workforce includes 10 skilled technicians, 15 helpers, 2 supervisors, 1 purchaser, 1
accountant, 2 Engineers and one General Manager. The company is funded by four
partners who has invested equal capitals. We interviewed the General Manager,
Mr. C.G. Venugopal by sending him a Questionnaire. It was appreciable of him to
take time and effort to answer the questions which were applicable to his company.

Address : P.O Box:388,Postal Code : 115,

Barka, Sultanate of Oman
Email : afialuminium@gmail.com, mctfab@gmail.com

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 TRANSCRIPT
1. Student: What are the major products manufactured by your firm?

Owner: Aluminium Architectural products like Curtain walling ,Point fix

Glazing, Revolving Doors, Automatic Sliding Doors, Sand Trap louvers, Fixed
louvers, Pergola's Sky light, Dome, Canopies, Aluminum composite Panel /Stain
less Steel Cladding etc.

2. Student: Are there any substitute material for aluminium in construction?

Owner: Yes, Wood, UPVC & WPC. But in all cases especially high
strength and performance required, these materials cannot be recommend due to
less value of Modules of Elasticity of these materials.

3. Student: What are the major influence on cost?

Owner: Materials and Labor

4. Student: What makes your Company stand out from your competitors?

Owner: Evidently, it is our promptness in completing a project, which is the

most important aspect a client expects from you. Also, it is the quality of our
work. Our products have always adhered to the specifications of the client
and we have maintained a great standard in our work throughout the years.

5. Student: What are the factors that influence your price setting process?

Owner: Materials, labour, taxes, Government expenses, employees welfare,

marketing expenses, interest on loan provision for negotiation and other overheads
like, administrative expenses ,rent, bank charges etc.

6. Student: Who are your major consumers/ customers?

Owner: Civil Construction Industries-Malls, show rooms, High raised

buildings, Hospitals, Universities, Industrial Buildings etc.

7. Student: Do your customers have significant bargaining power?

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 Owner: definitely

8. Student: Do your suppliers have significant bargaining power?

Owner: Of Course

9. Student: Is there middle man problem?

Owner: Not Yet.

10.Student: Do you order any raw material from abroad? If so, why?

Owner: Yes, we order glass from Dubai. Its because high performance
glasses can be processed in Dubai at a cheap price. This helps us to
maximize our profit.

11.Student: Is there intense rivalry among competitors in the market?

Owner: Yes

12.Student: How did recession affect you?

Owner: Our business is purely based on construction industry. When the

construction industry get sick due to recession, automatically we will also get
effected. Suppliers payment, salaries, rent and other over heads will struck due to
slow process in cash flow.

13.Student: What are the preliminary action plan to attack this recession?

Owner: Reduce the overheads of the company which should not affect
the production/Day, Reduce the profit margin for existence of the company., Find
out the new market which will be less production cost and high profit
margin etc....

14.Student: How did inflation affect you?

Owner: Not much in our industry

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 15.Student: Do you observe a cyclic/seasonal pattern on your output?

Owner: Slightly during Fasting time - Month of Ramadan

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 REFLECTION

This project has made us realize how hard it is to start and maintain a bussiness
firm. We have learned that maintaining a good client friendly relationship is the
key to making more profit in the market and inorder to stand against many
competitors in the market is by providing them with satisfying quality of work and
providing alternatives according to the budget they offer.
Apart from a number of factors that affect a business, factors that mainly affect an
aluminium fabrication firm are :
• Land
• Capital
• Labour
Land being the area available to set up a workshop, capital being the investment to
support labours and for purchasing materials and labour being the skilled and
unskilled workforce.
We have also learnt about the major consumers to this firm, the effect of recession
period and how to tackle recession. These overall informations thereby gave us a
brief idea about how a fabrication company works.

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 PROOFS OF THE INTERVIEW

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