HISTORY & MILESTONES
Shibam Ventures and Building Materials Private Limited is proud of its founders and history.The foundation of Shibam was laid when Yusuf Kamruddin Saboowala was pushed to expand his horizons and seek a new direction due to personal and socio-economic factors in his environment. Having set up his ancestral business by the name of Kamruddin Hakimji Saboowala in the food and confectionery business and owning 14 shops and warehouses in the city’s foremost trading centre, Crawford Market in the early 1900s,Yusuf Kamruddin Saboowala next saw great scope and future business possibilities in the waterproofing industry. He worked in the industry for 20 long years and finally founded his own distribution business of waterproofing materials in 1975 in Thane. A hardworking and sincere businessman, it was not unusual to hear of him take it upon himself to visit clients and nearby industries on a bicycle, to promote the venture’s waterproofing products. He continues to be our role model and the fruits of his labour are a privilege we enjoy even today.
His son, Shabbir Yusuf Saboowala, was inducted to the business in 1981. Although the son of the company’s founder and Director, Shabbir Yusuf Saboowala learnt the ropes of his father’s business the hard way by personally supervising the sites. Seeing his natural ability to connect with laborers as well as top clients with equal ease, his father put him in charge of client services, especially those connected with the waterproofing projects. Shabbir Saboowala’s in-depth knowledge of the waterproofing business and his ability to make quick decisions meant that the company’s client base grew rapidly. Never one to sit on his laurels, Shabbir Saboowala ensured that he constantly mentored the people under him so that the company acquired a strong base of competent managers and staff. The support that he showed them earned him their respect and the committed, customer centric approach towards his clients earned him their loyalty. His vision and entrepreneurial skills have made the company the story of success that it is today. His motto is transparency, consistency and honesty in business. It is at the core of the ethics practiced at Shibam and is carried forward by his son, Adnan Shabbir Saboowala who joined the business in 2007.
Having graduated with a Commerce degree from the University of Mumbai, Adnan Saboowala also holds an MBA in Family Managed Businesses from S. P. Jain Institute of Research and Management, Mumbai. He has brought Shibam on a global platform by initiating professional alliances with global suppliers. He is responsible for product development and he heads the marketing team of Shibam. With his knowledge and skills in management, he is working towards taking the business to the next level under the guidance of his mentors.
In the 43 years since its inception, Shibam has achieved many milestones.
Some of our proudest moments are listed below:
– We struck a deal with STP Ltd, a member of Turner Morrison Group which has been serving India primarily in waterproofing and protective coatings since 1935, for distribution of Bituminous Waterproofing Products.
2000- We became dealers for various Waterproofing Brands such as Texsa and Pidilite Industries among others.
The company name was changed to Shibam Ventures. Shibam, a mountain in Yemen means ‘the highest peak’. Our mission and goal at Shibam Ventures is to similarly reach the height of success. We aim to be the biggest specialty building materials Distribution Company in India.
We secured the distributorship of Roofing Shingles from GAF, USA for PAN India, our first import transaction. GAF has been a leading roofing manufacturer in North America since 1886 with plants strategically located across the U.S. A member of the Standard Industries family of companies, GAF is part of the largest roofing and waterproofing businesses in the world.
We started importing Waterproofing Membranes from Bitunil, Egypt, one of the leading APP Membrane manufacturers in the world. Importing from Bitunil gave us a competitive edge in terms of quality and price which we could offer to our customers.
We bagged the biggest Roofing Shingles contract in our history – 2,50,000 Sq. ft from Forest Trails, Paranjape Schemes Construction Ltd.
We started sales activities PAN India, recruited salesstaff in different states and appointed Channel Partners under us.
We secured distributorship of BASF Construction Chemicals, a global leader in chemicals. The Master Builders Solutions brand brings all of BASF’s expertise together to create chemical solutions for new construction, maintenance, repair and renovation of structures. Master Builders Solutions is built on the experience gained from more than a century in the construction industry.
We won the second place in the PAN India Distributor Sales League for BASF Construction Chemicals.
We began engaging in spray application of 2-component PU waterproofing system and invested in a state of the art high pressure spray machine.
We secured exclusive PAN India distributorship for Stone Coated Metal Roofing from Roser, one of the leading manufacturers of High Quality Stone Coated Metal Roofing Tiles in the world, headquartered in South Korea
We signed an exclusive distribution contract with GAF, USA for West, Central and South India comprising 11 states and 3 Union Territories.
We continue to push ourselves to perform to the best of our ability to be able to offer services that ensure complete customer satisfaction.