Project Secure is a leading manufacturer of industrial safety and personal protective equipment (PPE)
A certified industrial safety equipment manufacturer seeking a partner for a 51% equity investment and plant restart.
Executive summary
Project Secure is a certified manufacturer of industrial safety equipment with a base of large industrial and public-sector accounts. Production is paused, and the promoters are seeking a partner to fund the restart and the export, tender and defence plan that follows. This summary sets out the facts a buyer needs before deciding to sign the NDA.
Combined sales were ₹24.2 Cr in FY22, ₹11.0 Cr in FY23 and ₹13.6 Cr in FY24, the last year of production. Combined net profit fell from ₹1.38 Cr to ₹0.43 Cr over the same period. Management states a fixed-asset base of ₹26 Cr and an average gross margin of about 40%. The offer is 51% equity for ₹15 Cr, which is a restart investment and not a purchase of current earnings.
Basis of preparation. All figures are management-provided, stated in ₹ crore and not verified by the adviser. FY22 to FY24 add together a proprietorship and a private limited company; audit status by year will be confirmed in the data room.
FY25 and FY26 carry no sales because production was paused. FY24 is the latest operating year and ended about thirty months ago.
Investment highlights
The case rests on certified assets and existing customer relationships, not on current earnings. Each point below is management's statement and has not been independently verified.
Four certification regimes
BIS, DGMS, CE and ISO cover the Indian standard mark, mining-safety approval, European market access and quality management. Management states that uncertified competitors cannot bid for government and PSU tenders.
Idle but intact asset base
Land, buildings and machinery are stated at ₹26 Cr and have not been sold. Management describes them as maintained and ready. The valuation basis follows in the data room.
Large-account base
Management lists seven large industrial and public-sector customers across seven categories. Billing by account is not yet supplied (see section 07).
Margin on technical lines
Management reports an average gross margin of about 40% and positions fall protection and breathing apparatus as the higher-margin products. Year-wise margins are not supplied.
Restart readiness
Management states production can resume within 30 days of funding, using existing machinery and workforce. Working capital, not plant, is the stated constraint.
Business overview
The company makes personal protective equipment for industrial users. Its range runs from volume products to technical lines that need certification, and a defence line is at an early stage.
Technical lines
Fall protection and self-contained breathing apparatus. Management positions these as higher-margin products and as cross-sell into existing accounts.
Volume lines
Commoditised PPE sold in volume. Product-level volumes and prices are not supplied and will be in the data room.
Defence line
Lightweight ballistic vests and chemical-warfare protection, to be developed with a research collaborator. In development; no revenue is reported for it.
The chips above are the seven customer categories in management's account list. A product-mix split is not supplied.
Business model & economics
Revenue has historically come from supply to large industrial accounts out of the company's own plant. Management's plan adds three routes: more products to existing accounts, tender supply and exports. Only the first draws on current relationships.
Fall protection and breathing apparatus offered into existing accounts. Management cites near-zero acquisition cost; no order is attached.
Management states these approvals bar uncertified bidders from government and PSU tenders. No tender pipeline or past win is supplied.
OEM white-label to North America, UK, EU and Australia; own brand to the GCC and Africa. Current export share is not supplied.
Pricing, credit terms and the working-capital cycle are not in the documents supplied and will be in the data room.
The table sets each route to market against its buyer and its status today.
| Route | Buyer | Lead products | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anchor accounts | Large industrial and PSU customers | Existing range; fall protection, breathing apparatus | Existing relationships |
| Domestic distribution | Distributors, eastern India first | Volume lines | To be expanded |
| Government / PSU tenders | Government and PSU buyers | Certified lines | Plan |
| Export, OEM white-label | Buyers in North America, UK, EU, Australia | Volume and technical lines | Plan |
| Export, own brand | Distributors in the GCC and Africa | Own-brand range | Plan |
| Defence | Defence procurement | Ballistic, chemical protection | In development |
Operations & capacity
The plant is idle at present. Management describes it as vertically integrated and maintained for restart.
Capacity cannot yet be sized. Without installed capacity or past utilisation, neither the restart date nor the growth plan can be tied to output. A plant inspection and a capacity statement are the first requests a buyer should make.
Quality systems & certifications
Certification is the barrier the growth plan relies on. Four regimes are held, and each opens a different market.
The table sets each regime against the market it gates.
| Regime | What it gates | Status |
|---|---|---|
| BIS | Indian standard mark; domestic sales and tenders | Held, per management |
| DGMS | Mining-safety approval; coal and mining buyers | Held, per management |
| CE | European market access | Held, per management |
| ISO | Quality-management credential for supplier approval | Held, per management |
A pause is not neutral for certificates. Product approvals and management-system certificates normally carry renewal and audit conditions. Whether each is current after two years without production is the buyer's first check.
No defence qualification is reported; the defence line depends on a research collaborator.
Customer mix & concentration
Customers are large industrial and public-sector buyers across seven categories. Repeat orders for safety equipment turn on certification, product approval and delivery reliability.
No customer-level billing was supplied. The masked top-twenty table, concentration tiers and year-on-year movement chart will be provided in the data room; nothing is estimated here.
Concentration cannot be tested. Whether the seven listed accounts remain approved vendors after a two-year gap in supply is the first diligence question, because it decides whether the restart has an order base.
Dependence would be reduced by tenders, distributors and exports, but none of these carries an order today.
Financial snapshot
Results come from two entities that traded in parallel until the proprietorship was folded into the company. Sales declined over the period and then stopped.
The table gives the five-year record on the same combined basis.
| Particulars | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combined sales | 24.20 | 11.00 | 13.60 | Nil | Nil |
| of which proprietorship | 12.10 | 6.45 | 6.80 | – | – |
| of which company | 12.10 | 4.55 | 6.80 | Nil | Nil |
| Sales change on prior year | – | −54.5% | +23.6% | −100.0% | n/a |
| Combined net profit | 1.38 | 0.94 | 0.43 | Nil | Nil |
| Net margin | 5.7% | 8.5% | 3.2% | n/a | n/a |
- Net profit in FY24 was 68.8% below FY22 while sales were 43.8% below, so profit fell faster than sales.
- Nil sales in FY25 and FY26 leave no current earnings base to value.
- With no debt or working-capital data, net debt cannot be computed.
Weakest metric: revenue. Two full years with nil sales leave FY24 as the last operating evidence. Any valuation will rest on assets and certifications, not on trading history.
Quality of earnings
Earnings here means combined net profit as reported by management, with one average gross-margin figure; no EBITDA, add-back schedule or cash-flow statement was supplied.
The table repeats the chart values with the profit behind them.
| Particulars | FY22 | FY23 | FY24 | FY25 | FY26 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combined net profit, ₹ crore | 1.38 | 0.94 | 0.43 | Nil | Nil |
| Net margin | 5.7% | 8.5% | 3.2% | n/a | n/a |
Margin bridge
Gross margin averages about 40% while net margin ranged from 3.2% to 8.5%. The gap of roughly 31 to 37 points is operating cost and tax; no cost split is supplied.
Add-backs
None have been presented, so none are included in any figure here.
Cash conversion
No cash-flow statement was supplied, so operating cash flow cannot be set against earnings.
Debt position
Net debt, finance cost and debt mix are not supplied; net debt to EBITDA cannot be computed.
Capex cycle
No capex schedule was supplied. Restart spend is not separated from working capital in the use of funds (see section 11).
Perimeter
FY22 to FY24 add together two legal entities, and FY22 and FY24 each show an identical split between them. Entity-level accounts are needed to confirm.
Related parties
Not supplied. Whether the proprietorship's results belong inside the acquired perimeter is open.
Recency
The latest operating year ended about thirty months ago, and two full years have since closed with no sales. This is the largest single gap in the file.
Management & organisation
A small senior team combines founder technical depth with exports, finance and legal experience. The founder holds the certification and factory knowledge.
The table lists each role with experience and remit, without names.
| Role | Experience | Remit |
|---|---|---|
| Founder & Managing Director | 40 years | Technical, certification, factory setup |
| Chief Executive Officer | Overseas-educated; consulting background | Built the international network |
| Head, Exports & Business Development | 25 years | Product development at a market-leading PPE manufacturer |
| Head, Finance & Legal | 30 years | Cost accountant and lawyer; large manufacturing groups |
| Board | Former CMDs and CEOs | Operations, finance and sales across Asia-Pacific and Europe |
The board is described as former chairmen, managing directors and chief executives. Board size, independence and committee structure are not stated, and neither is whether the team remains engaged during the pause.
Founder dependence. Technical, certification and factory-setup knowledge sits with the founder, who has the longest experience on the team at 40 years. Management offers promoter transition support; its length, scope and terms are not yet defined.
M&A proposition
The promoters offer a majority stake to a partner who will fund the restart and the growth plan. The proposition is a restart with a control partner, not a purchase of current earnings.
The entry point is a restart, so a buyer prices idle capacity and certifications rather than earnings.
Management states machinery is maintained and the workforce is in place. Condition is to be verified on inspection.
Offered with promoter transition support. Scope and duration are not yet defined.
Strategic buyer
A safety-equipment or industrial manufacturer that wants certified capacity, tender eligibility or access to the listed accounts.
Financial buyer
An investor comfortable with a restart thesis, able to fund working capital and hold a control stake beside a transitioning promoter.
Management's plan rests on five levers.
Exports
OEM white-label to North America, UK, EU and Australia; own brand to the GCC and Africa, one segment per country.
Anchor penetration
Cross-sell fall protection and breathing apparatus into the seven listed accounts.
Tenders
Use BIS and DGMS certification to bid for government and PSU volumes.
Domestic distribution
Expand distributors, with eastern India as the stated priority.
Defence
Develop lightweight ballistic vests and chemical-warfare protection with a research collaborator.
Use of proceeds. The ₹15 Cr is earmarked for working capital, export infrastructure, marketing and product development; the split between them is not supplied.
Management's ambition is revenue of ₹180–200 Cr within five years at a 70:30 export-to-domestic mix. This is management's own figure, not a forecast, not validated by the adviser, and carries no weight in valuation until tested against an order book.
Risks & mitigants
The risks below are stated plainly. Several arise directly from the pause in production.
Process & next steps
Interested parties proceed in four steps, each released by the adviser.