Kalatmak Spatial Systems - True To Design

Back in the 1980s, the furniture industry in India was an unorganised sector, with carpenters and contractors managing the entire industry. There was a massive gap in the demand and supply of the furniture industry.

Understanding the need for high-quality products, four friends commenced their journey of creating an interior contracting firm handling all the furniture requirements of the retail segment. And in 1989, Kalatmak was incepted.

Kalatmak is an interior contracting firm based out of Bangalore which manufactures furniture for its clients in the retail segment. At Kalatmak Spatial Systems, they believe in creating a transformational and ecstatic experience for all their stakeholders, be it employees, clients or vendors.

They are a one-stop, affordable luxury furniture solution provider in the retail, residential, hospitality, institutions and office sectors with a focused ethical and socially responsible approach to business.

Initially, Kalatmak was founded as a partnership company. It was converted to a private limited company in 2000. In 2014, the company underwent a major revamp when it switched entirely to factory-made furniture instead of doing on-site work. With the revamp, Kalatmak Interiors was renamed Kalatmak Spatial Sytems.

Warren Bennis once famously said, “Leadership is the quality to translate a vision into reality.”

Staying true to the words is Mr Rajesh Sharma, CEO of Kalatmak Spatial Systems. With his integrity, resilience, inquisitiveness and zeal to strive for the best, he is an inspiration for the whole team at Kalatmak Spatial Systems. Under his leadership, the company thrives.

An alumnus of R V college of architecture, Bengaluru, Mr Rajesh is an architect by profession. At the start of his career, Mr Rajesh worked with several architects and architectural firms for almost a decade before joining the family business in 2014.

He started off at the lower level doing client servicing and production-related jobs and slowly moved his way up the ladder. Within eight years, he learnt the processes and grew as a leader and in 2021, he took charge as the CEO of Kalatmak Spatial Systems.

The Journey of Kalatmak began with four partners, Mr Ramesh Sharma, his brother Jasmender Sharma and two others. Two of them moved out over time, and they had to split the partnership creating a risk of the company breaking down.

Hailing from the northern part of India, Haryana to be specific, moving to Banglore, Karnataka and setting up an entire business there, the journey has not been easy for the founders.

The language itself was a huge challenge. Starting off from a grassroots level, setting up an entire business was difficult. Given the industry was unorganised, there was no proper guidance, and they had to learn everything from scratch.

However, with the right sources and the right people helping them combined with their dedication and perseverance, Mr Ramesh and Jasmender Sharma built an empire with Kalatmak.

Kalatmak Spatial Systems promotes an employee-centric culture. Kalatmak has over 300 people working with them at present. Following a growth for all approach, Mr Rajesh shares, “Kalatmak is centric on its clients, employees, and vendor partners, and we want them to grow with us.”

Even during the uncertainty of the covid pandemic, Kalatmak managed to sustain all their people. When covid was at its peak, and the whole country went on an indefinite lockdown, they provided accommodation and food to all their employees housing in their factory for three months. Mr Rajesh shared,

At Kalatmak Spatial Systems, they believe that presentation is paramount and never compromises on aesthetics. Their highly skilled craftsmen are armed with only the most advanced machinery and technology, so their clients have all the right ingredients needed to create the space of their dreams.

“True To Design” - Kalatmak Spatial Systems

Kalatmak Spatial Systems offer the best in furniture manufacturing by combining their specialised capabilities, including

Complete Customisation Services: From raw materials like metal, wood and glass to finishes such as gloss, matte, and antique, Kalatmak offer a wide range of options in crafted furniture to bring any space to life.

Exceptional Technology: Their world-class equipment gives them the capability and versatility to manufacture even the most challenging of designs using technology.

Timely Delivery: Kalatmak Spatial Systems has delivered 2000 projects in the last five years without a single day’s delay.

Eco-friendly Processes: Their manufacturing follows eco-friendly practices like waste recycling and rainwater harvesting to ensure their contribution towards a greener future.

Over their 30+ years-long journey, Kalatmak Spatial Systems has worked on thousands of projects for a plethora of clients, including some of the Industry leaders. They have been associated with Titan for the past 30+ years, manufacturing furniture for all their verticals. Their imminent clientele includes Samsung, Xiaomi, Indian Terrain, Levi’s, and Arrow, among others.

The furniture industry is diverse, from furniture manufacturing companies and contractors to sole carpenters working on their own. The diversity also makes the sector very unorganised. Since the founders of Kalatmak started off as carpenters themselves, they have hands-on experience in making furniture which gives Kalatmak an upper hand over its competitors.

Kalatmak Spatial Systems offer a complete range of furniture products, which include solid wood, metalwork, upholstery, sofas, in-house painting segments, and carpenters. Usually, furniture factories focus on one product, be it solid wood, modular or something else. Mr Rajesh explains, -

“A company who specialises in modular can handle modular kitchen or wardrobe, but they can not do solid wood or metalwork.”

Being the jack of all trades is the differentiator of Kalatmak Spatial Systems. A fully integrated company, Kalatmak Spatial Systems, takes care of all segments instead of focusing on a specific vertical. They have an integrated division where they do metal work, solid wood, panel-based and upholstery all in-house.

And simultaneously, Kalatmak follows a socially responsible approach in its manufacturing to avoid any harmful impact on the environment.

Kalatmak Spatial Systems had a humble beginning, with its founders starting off as carpenters themselves. Moving to a new city to a different culture altogether, establishing themselves there and starting a company is a milestone in itself.

Over their 30+ years of journey, Kalatmak Spatial Systems have had the chance to work with some of the prominent brands and are a preferred partner for most of them. They have been associated with Titan right from their very first store, and even today, after more than 30 years, Kalatmak is the preferred partner for any of the premium showrooms of Titan.

In recent times, the furniture industry has seen a switch in people preferring factory-made furniture over getting them made on-site. Architects are also opening up to getting furniture from factories. Factory-made furniture is in demand, not just in the local market but also for export, with a lot of international clients coming to India.

Mr Rajesh is focused on creating an entire business vertical around residential furniture. His vision is to move Kalatmak Spatial Systems from a service to a product-based company.

Talking about his plans for the company, Mr Rajesh Sharma shares, “At present, the revenue of Kalatmak is close to about 30 crores. In the next five years, we have plans to scale our business to a level where we do 250+ crores.”

Currently, Kalatmak deals only with retail segment clients, but in the coming future, they have plans to venture into residential segment products as well. The team at Kalatmak is working on a business plan to create a brand around residential furniture that would cater to the high-end segment of society, with quality at par with global brands.

Sharing his words of advice for young entrepreneurs, Mr Rajesh says, -