Celebrating 50 years of its journey, ABBE Group, the parent company of Parveen Travels, is in talks to raise private equity funding.
Story & photos: Ramya Srinivasan
Chennai-based Parveen Travels is planning to raise private equity funding of Rs.250 crore towards expanding its operations. Specialising in the transport of people and goods, the company, under the aegis of AB Business Enterprises (ABBE), which is celebrating 50 years of its journey, and having a fleet of over 1500 vehicles, is in talks with leading investment banks to raise private equity funding. Confident of securing it on the basis of its popularity and loyalty, the company is looking at scaling new heights. Tracing its roots to the purchase of a metered taxi in 1967 for Rs.15,000 by Janab Haji Allah Baksh, Parveen Travels came into being in 1980. The establishment of Parveen Travels also marked the entry of Baksh’ two sons – Aslam and Afzal – into the business. The company purchased two inter-city coaches and started operating them on the Chennai and Bangalore route. With an emphasis on driver training and special tour packages, the company also started a parcel service on the route that its buses plied on. A logistics business was thus born.
The modern buses that Parveen Travels deployed in 1990 transformed its image. The buses offered modern seating, good audio-visual systems, and lay emphasis on safety. The company began air-conditioned tourist bus services in 1991. This was exactly a year after the company suffered a setback. Its buses, stationed at its hub, caught fire at night. Undeterred, the company tapped new growth opportunities to get back in form. The IT revolution and growth of a modern auto industry in India helped the company to carve out a role of major travel service provider. The company’s bus fleet grew from 100 to 500. Catering to the travel needs of 40 blue chip companies, Parveen Travels turned out to be the first operator in Asia to adopt electronic ticketing. It was provided only by airlines then. With the presence of the company spanning across five verticals – cargo, transport, staff, tour operations, driver training academy and professional consultancy, the company cultivated a strong presence in logistics, fuel, restaurants, automobiles, tourism and automotive spare parts.
Launching an e-commerce website in 2004, Parveen Travels procured Mercedes-Benz multi-axle buses in India in 2010. It was one of the first companies in India to purchase this coach. It also introduced buses in Chennai with facilities to conduct business conferences while travelling. Serving 600 destinations and conducting 75 services per day spanning South India, the company has come to transport up to 35000 passengers over a distance of 225,000 km per day. Established in 2010, the Motorzone business vertical – born out of the need to maintain the fleet, has grown into a powerful entity that is addressing the servicing needs of major vehicle brands. Apart from an integrated service facility for medium and heavy commercial vehicles, motorzone operates authorised service centres for Ashok Leyland, AMW Trucks, Daimler and Volvo.
Under the aegis of ABBE Group, which employs over 3600 people, and is working towards becoming a Rs.1000 crore company by 2020 (it is currently Rs.450 crore worth), Parveen Travels, to grow and stay ahead of the competition, is implementing new and innovative ideas. It is confident that these will positively influence the organisational culture. Investing in an exotic car service company, Parveen Travels, through AB Trucks (an authorised partner of AMW), Parveen Express Lines and Parveen Logistix, is catering to the needs of several corporate companies. It is ensuring a high level of customer satisfaction. Creating an unified integrated service centre chain with one centre every 250 Km away, the company is hoping to ride on the industry standards it has created in terms of infrastructure, client services, etc. Addressing the customer need for a low cost per km, the company is emerging as a one-stop-shop for vehicle owners where their service, spares, accessories, insurance, and warranty needs are taken care of under one roof.
Staying true to its motto of ‘Service before oneself’, Parveen Travels, as part of the ABBE Group, is emphasising upon customer comfort at every stage of the business. Set to play a key role in the endeavours of its parent company, the ABBE Group, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hungary-based Csepel Holding Plc., recently, Parveen Travels is preparing to deploy electric buses. As per the MoU, Parveen Travels, will put 100 battery operated inter-city luxury buses on Indian roads for the transportation of passengers.
