B2B unicorn Zetwerk to induct ITC veteran Sanjiv Rangrass to its board

Business-to-business (B2B) contract manufacturing unicorn Zetwerk Manufacturing Businesses, on September 1, said it will appoint Sanjiv Rangrass, an angel investor in the company, to its board. Zetwerk, in a statement, said Rangrass will join as an independent director and board member.

The B2B startup added that Rangrass, who is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of ITC Ltd Agribusiness division, will be instrumental in shaping the company’s culture and policies.

Interestingly, most of Zetwerk's co-founders have a background at ITC Ltd, where they worked under Rangrass' leadership.

In a letter shared internally with the company’s employees, Amrit Acharya, co-founder, and CEO of Zetwerk said Rangrass, who has been "a teacher and a guide to Srinath, Vishal, Fateh and me", will join the company as its first independent board member.

Srinath Ramakkrushnan, Vishal Chaudhary, and Ankit Fatehpuria are among the five co-founders of the company that was founded in 2018. Rahul Sharma is also a co-founder at Zetwerk.

Acharya, in the letter, shared his first experience working with Rangrass back when he joined ITC Ltd. fresh out of college.  He said his first project with Rangrass was to build a compound wall for the company’s office in Guntur, a city in Andhra Pradesh.

“I was a freshly minted electrical engineer and my initial reaction was to protest! I knew nothing about building a wall,” he said. However, he recalled the project helped him learn a lot.

He added, “Once I finished, Rangy sir said ‘You now know how to build a wall, now go build a full factory!’ and I started my next assignment of helping set up a factory for ITC in Mysore. I was managing spends of 100s of crores and people double my age - I was just 22 years old. I fell in love with manufacturing for the first time back then.”

Acharya’s B2B unicorn Zetwerk provides manufacturing services such as fabrication, machining, casting, and forging from small and medium companies. The company marked its entrance into the coveted unicorn club in August, last year, raising $150 million led by D1 Capital Partners, valuing it at $1.33 billion. A unicorn is a startup valued at over a billion dollars.

Currently, the company said it is valued at $2.7 billion.

Also Read: Profitable and capitalised, it is business as usual for us: Zetwerk CEO Amrit Acharya

"I am thrilled to share that I will join Zetwerk’s incredible team as an Independent director and board member. I am thankful for working with a brilliant and talented team and a sharp set of investors. It is an opportunity to be a part of transforming a growth-stage startup into a world-class institution," said Rangrass, in the statement shared by the company.

Interestingly, Rangrass had joined ITC Ltd as a trainee and worked in the company for 40 years before he became the CEO of the company’s agribusiness unit. Notably, Zetwerk, today, is known for hiring many of its employees from ITC Ltd.

Rangrass retired from the company in June 2022 as the conglomerate’s group head for research and development (R&D), sustainability, and projects. Zetwerk added that Rangrass is also an active investor and has made angel investments in several startups including the B2B manufacturing unicorn.

Recent developments at Zetwerk

Recently, Zetwerk announced acquisitions in three companies for a cumulative sum of Rs 100 crore. The company acquired a majority stake in Pinaka Aerospace Solution, a cash plus equity deal, and SharpTanks, an engineering and construction company.

Zetwerk also purchased the Wardha fabrication unit of Wheels India, in a bid to gain market share in the $1.5-billion market for the manufacture of critical fabricated parts used in power, roads, and railway projects.

In July, the company also announced the elevation of Ankit Fatehpuria, who joined Zetwerk in 2019, as the fifth co-founder.

A few months back, the Bengaluru-based startup also inaugurated a manufacturing facility in Noida spanning 50,000 square feet to ramp up production in the domestic smart technology space.