With brotherly camaraderie and their father’s experience, Bharat and Hitendra Joshi are set to grow the family firm.

Bharat Joshi (BJ): Our roles are clearly defined. If there’s something that involves both of us, we try to arrive at a consensus. Once that’s done, our final go-ahead comes from our father. We have grown up together and know each other well so there’s a sense of shared purpose that we bring. Of course, we have our set of disagreements. Every once in a while, Hiten will let me have my say, probably because of my seniority (or as he puts it, because I am old!). 

Usually, the rules are clear—either you convince me or I do. Not that business decisions are made because we agree—it’s because we have a strong professional management team. If we come up with an idea, the team needs to get on board as well —believe in it as strongly as we do. We’ve never felt we have the upper-hand because we are the “scions”. Both of us joined at different stages and our father let us find our space. We went through the same training—essentially to understand all aspects and then to identify areas where we could add maximum value. 

Eventually, how we found our way to our respective domains within the company was more emergent than prescriptive. In 2004, after working for Maersk for three years, I joined ACTL as director of business development. I’m responsible for growth, investment strategies and new ventures. Hitendra is more involved in the day-to-day operations—handling terminal operations, marketing and being our interface with government, railways and customs. 

When you work with your siblings, it’s best to have clear rules. Be prepared to convince the other with logic, and then support the decision reached. 

Hitendra Joshi: We work well together. In fact, it’s good that we have each other as we take on the task of expanding the company. People might think that the second generation doesn’t need to struggle, but we do. Challenges are different for every generation. We have a firm foundation but running things efficiently is a challenge. When our father began, the business environment—licences, rules and policies—was harsh. Things are more business-friendly now but there’s a lot of competition from emerging entrepreneurs and logistic giants both in the domestic and international markets. These companies have deep pockets and great management. Thankfully, we have our father’s experiences to learn from. Books can’t match the wisdom that comes from three decades of experience. Our father often tells us—the biggest risks one can take is to set a low benchmark and the greatest threat is that you might achieve it. We work hard to make sure we don’t make that mistake. 

BJ: We need to demonstrate that we are here because we are good. When you are a member of the promoter family, your successes and failures are much more visible.

Though I studied logistics and supply chain, and worked with Maersk, I had to work harder when I joined ACTL. When my father began, he had little capital with him and he didn’t have a guide: Hitendra and I have both. However, we don’t enjoy the complete autonomy he probably had as he built this. 

If I had my own business, I’d make mistakes, learn and hopefully, make better decisions. Right now, I make fewer mistakes but if I have a new idea, it needs to go through an internal process. I have to sell it internally—to my father and the management. Yet, I don’t think I can do without business. I’m good at it. I’m as passionate about it as my other interests—photography, writing and doing radio shows.  

Company Profile | ACTL
 Associated Container Terminals Limited (ACTL) was founded by R.R. Joshi in 1997. Today, the company manages inland container depots, freight stations and storage yards, and built the first private inland container depot in north India. ACTL also built a rail siding that can carry export or import containers to and from gateway ports. The company handles close to 75,000 TEUs (twenty feet equivalent units) per annum, and counts big firms like Goodyear, Paharpur Cooling Towers, Esprit, Gap and WalMart as its clients.