“It probably makes business sense to draft service terms on the basis of bottom line, however, at Sterling Pest Control, we strongly believe in delivering our services from the heart and in never letting commercial terms influence our standards,”
– Veejai Ahluwalia
Managing Director
Pest Management is an equally challenging service as Facility Management. How has Sterling’s journey been?
Sterling’s journey has been a thrilling experience like riding on a roller coaster. There is an old saying “if you are satisfied tell others, if not, tell us”. Our work substantiates our motto of not letting commercial terms dictate our services. Again, we are not perturbed by our competitors’ ability or inability to undertake a project. Instead, we formulate the proposal of our services to reflect the actual merits of each project & the quality of our work. We strongly believe that our quality of work substantiates our reluctance to match the price of our competitors.
Each industry is unique and requires specific solutions. Which are the industrial segments Sterling is providing services to?
Pest control involves dealing with living organisms. Pest control industry offers the most exciting and challenging atmosphere. All sites are not similar and every site or facility requires a distinct approach/method to deliver. For example, the challenges of a restaurant would be totally different from that of a school or a food processing unit.
Sterling provides customised solutions based on the in depth onsite report of an industry. Many a time, similar industries require different solutions. Every site / industry is different and based on the survey of the site, we customise a solution to match the needs. We service commercial accounts including hotels, restaurants, office complexes, food processing plants, hospitals and sensitive accounts. We also service the residential sector – homes, apartments, fiats and condominiums.
It may take a few hours to treat a premise but will take several hours to get the desired results. Pest control goes hand in hand with hygiene and sanitation.
How do you decide on the duration and course of action for pest management in a particular premise?
It may take a few hours to treat a premise but will take several hours to get the desired results. Pest control goes hand in hand with hygiene and sanitation.
It might be difficult treating the premises for roaches as you cannot get rid of them in a few or several hours. It would take several weeks to get the desired results. One of the main reasons behind cockroaches preferring grease to bait is that liquid or dust applications can get tied up with grease. Very often food particles too get mixed with grease leading cockroaches away from baits. This results in delay in getting desired results.
How different is your approach towards pest control programmes healthcare, food processing and pharma industries?
When it comes to handling sensitive situations, we take a holistic approach or an integrated approach. We need to work even more closely with our clients to ensure good control. It becomes very important that in such sensitive situations, pests are denied food and shelter. Strict hygiene needs to be ensured, cracks and crevices are to be sealed and all food material to be kept in well-sealed containers. The use of pesticides for example is minimised but impact on pests are maximised by limiting applications to outside breeding sites and using non-volatile baits, for example, in the premises.
In the case of a pharmaceutical plant, we would use only physical traps like glue and electric light traps. We would inspect and monitor the premises more frequently than we do with other non-sensitive situations. So in short, less reliance on pesticides and a greater reliance on physical measures, inspections and monitoring.
Market awareness for Integrated Pest Management needs to be improved. People are still demanding a quick fix instead of having the patience for a long term effective control. We try to educate our clients from the time they contact us.
What about the market awareness about Integrated Pest Management Solutions?
Yes, market awareness for Integrated Pest Management needs to be improved. People are still demanding quick solutions. We try to educate our clients from the time they contact us, during inspections and when carrying out the work. We also try educating through magazines such as Clean India Journal to convey this message. We intend doing this through events in schools/malls and media releases as well.
Some of the ingredients in pest control solutions are toxic, be it Glycol ethers, Phosphates, Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), Ammonia, Chlorine etc.
We do not use organophosphate like chlorpyrifos or volatile organic compounds like dichlorvos (DDVP) inside premises. Also, we do not use Emusifiable Concentrates with solvents, for example. Instead, we use water based suspension concentrates and gel applications where volatility is not an issue. As explained earlier, we place our clients above profits and so use the least toxic of not non-toxic products wherever possible.
What is the size of pest control services market in India and globally?
I firmly believe the current market size is just the tip of the ice berg. India is developing and evolving and in the next few years, it might be the biggest pest control market in the world. We are preparing for the future market.
What is your future marketing strategy going to be?
We are overwhelmed by the response we have been getting. Market truly believes in delivery and size really does not matter at all. There is no substitute to quality.
We have plans of panning across to various parts of India and South Asia in the next five years. India is fast emerging as a power to reckon with. We aspire to be the Apple of the Pest Control Industry and become a truly Indian multi-national company.
What are the other services, Sterling has expanded into?
Many love fast cars but I love fogging vehicles. This may sound crazy but I see immense growth and potential in vector control and this would drive our growth and become our main revenue earner in the years to come. Sterling has also expanded into the cleaning industry.
Established in the year 1993, Sterling Pest Control Services is a proficient commercial service provider of a wide range services & solutions for pest management covering pigeon, termite, cockroach, mosquito, rodent and bedbugs’ control. The services are offered by the company in compliance with set norms of the industry and are in demand by residential, commercial and industrial customers. With its team of experts, it ensures that the clients’ requirements are met to the fullest.
An ISO 9001, 14001 and 18001 certified company, Sterling conducts relevant market surveys to study the current market trends and incorporate the same in its working. This enables the company to maintain its services on par with the international quality standards.
