HOW A TEAM OF VISIONARIES TURNED SMALL BEGINNINGS INTO INDIA’S EMERGING INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE FORCE

Some stories in business don’t begin with boardrooms or capital. They begin with people, with encounters that quietly steer the course of a company’s destiny. For Ahmedabad-based Godwitt Construction, one of India’s rising names in industrial and logistics real estate, that story began with a handful of professionals whose individual journeys converged into a collective vision to create institutional-grade industrial infrastructure rooted in trust, execution, and long-term value.

The Seed of an Idea

For Dhaval Mehta, the idea of Godwitt took flight long before the company did. A theatre practitioner by passion and an entrepreneur by instinct, Dhaval was pursuing his Master’s in Communication at MICA when he came across the migratory bird Godwit. The bird’s endurance and instinct for navigation resonated deeply with him. “Whatever I build in the future,” he decided, “will carry that name.”

After an early stint with Bakeri Developers, where he gained hands-on experience in the real estate industry, Dhaval began his entrepreneurial journey in 2014 with his first project, the Marathon Electric Motors India Private Limited at Gallops Industrial Park, Rajoda. With no capital but an abundance of resolve, he managed to deliver the project successfully.

In 2016, as Suzuki Motors established its massive plant in the Mandal–Becharaji belt of Gujarat, Dhaval sensed an opportunity. He put up a simple board with ‘Soko’ written in Japanese - a word meaning “warehouse.” That small gesture sparked conversations with Japanese occupiers, ultimately evolving into Soko by Godwitt, the company’s flagship vertical for industrial parks and warehousing.

The Connector and the Catalyst

Nirav Kothary’s journey with Godwitt is as much about people as it is about projects. When Dhaval was working on his first venture, Nirav was there in the background, not in an official role, but as a steady source of advice and support. By then, Nirav was already a well-known name in real estate. At JLL, he had led large consulting teams, helped shape India’s industrial real estate practice, and mentored several professionals who would eventually join him at Godwitt. His blend of expertise, mentorship, and genuine relationship-building became a defining part of the company’s culture.

Nirav first met Varun Sharma in 2007, when he interviewed him for a consulting role in Delhi. Two years later, after hearing Varun’s daily tales of battling Noida–Gurgaon traffic, Nirav suggested he move to Kolkata and join his team at JLL. Varun took the offer and relocated in 2010. Around the same time, Nirav’s connection with Anup Shah was also taking root. They met in 2011, when Anup was with Bakeri Developers. Nirav saw potential and often nudged him to consider JLL. Anup first chose CBRE, but he eventually made the leap. By 2018, both Nirav and Varun decided it was time for a new chapter. Nirav joined Dhaval at Godwitt and Varun started working independently.

How Relationships Became the Company

Godwitt’s early growth was driven less by hierarchy and more by a series of personal connections that gradually evolved into a strong professional network. While Dhaval’s ideas took shape, Riddhi Shah was charting her own course. In 2016, Riddhi Shah was working at a well-regarded CA firm, she was assigned at the behest of Dhaval’s father to manage compliance, bookkeeping, and finance for Dhaval’s first venture, Entrepot Developers at Bavla. The professional association soon turned into a deeper alignment. “I realised I could add more value by being part of the journey, not just an observer,” she recalls.

By 2018, Riddhi joined Godwitt full-time, becoming one of its earliest team members. She helped lay the financial and compliance frameworks that would support the company’s rapid growth in the years ahead. “Those early days were about structure and discipline,” she says, “about ensuring that every dream had a balance sheet to back it.” Nirav Kothary entered the story differently. Not just as a colleague, but as a friend, a scout, and a connector. His bond with Dhaval began years ago on a trip to Ranthambore, where Dhaval had promised him a tiger sighting and actually delivered. It’s a small story, but it says a lot. What started as a casual promise on a holiday turned into the beginning of a partnership grounded in trust, quiet confidence, and a shared instinct for taking calculated risks.

Nirav’s early involvement was informal. He helped with the Marathon Electric Motors India Private Limited project behind the scenes and gradually formalised his role. He has a knack for spotting talent and for flipping relationships into institutional capability. At a housewarming in 2017 he noticed Ankit Patel, someone who spoke in numbers and percentages; two meetings later Ankit became a hire who would run procurement and construction. Nirav’s network is threaded through almost every consequential hire and connection that followed.

While working independently, Varun built one of the strongest networks in India’s industrial real estate sector, earning the trust of occupiers, developers, and investors alike. He also played an indirect but pivotal role in Godwitt’s early story. It was Varun who first mentioned Suzuki Motors’ Gujarat plans to Nirav, a conversation that set off a chain of events leading Dhaval to the Mandal–Becharaji belt and, eventually, to the creation of Soko by Godwitt at Naviyani. Varun joined Nirav and Dhaval at Godwitt, bringing with him years of hard-won experience, credibility, and a vast web of relationships.

Anup Shah’s path with Godwitt mirrors Dhaval Mehta’s in more ways than one. Both began their careers at Bakeri Developers, unknowingly laying the groundwork for a future partnership. Over the years, Anup built a strong reputation in real estate, moving from Bakeri to CBRE. In 2014, he found himself on the opposite side of Dhaval’s first major project, representing Marathon Electric Motors India Private Limited building deal, a transaction now seen as the spark that ignited Godwitt’s journey. By the end of 2017, Anup moved away from CBRE and went on to build a CAT– II AIF fund over the next two years. In 2019, he joined JLL, where he brought together strategic insights and operational depth. By 2023, he transitioned to Godwitt, bringing decades of experience, an institutional perspective, and an entrepreneurial drive. Long before anyone talked about brand divisions or precast manufacturing, the company had built its first real capabilities: finance and compliance (Riddhi), deal-making and networked distribution (Varun, Nirav), managing institutions (Anup), and on-site execution (Ankit).

Execution Meets Engineering

As Godwitt expanded, it needed a steady hand in operations, someone who could translate design into delivery. That role was filled by Ankit Patel, a computer science engineer with a background in manufacturing projects. In 2019, Nirav brought him in as his f irst hire at Godwitt. His first project, Soko by Godwitt - Naviyani tested his ability to manage procurement and site execution. His precision, calm demeanour, and data-driven mindset made him indispensable. Ankit’s technical acuity, data-driven approach and calmness under pressure made him the operational axis of delivery: from procurement timelines to on-site construction logistics, he is the person who turns spreadsheets into slabs and shuttering into usable logistics floors. His profile is representative of a recurring Godwitt theme: technical people migrating into real estate delivery and turning cross-disciplinary skills into speed and quality. “Ankit brings engineering logic to real estate,” says Dhaval. “He ensures that our vision on paper translates seamlessly into reality.”

Persistence and New Voices

Himanshu Agarwal’s path to Godwitt is one of resilience. Twice rejected by Anup Shah for roles at CBRE, he instead carved his path in corporate real estate with Claris, before later joining JLL, this time under Anup himself. By 2023, after pursuing law alongside his real estate work, Himanshu joined Godwitt to lead land acquisition and legal strategy. His story, as Nirav often jokes, is one of “rejections that turned into destiny.” Himanshu’s story underlines the company’s capital (patience and second chances) as much as it highlights the practical need for someone to wrestle with Indian land markets and the legal frictions that can stall delivery. Newer voices continue to join this growing ecosystem. Prachi Shonu joins this cohort as someone who knew Godwitt from the outside before she joined it. Having handled two land-acquisition assignments where Godwitt was the client, Prachi later moved into independent advisory work and, after a fortuitous conversation with Nirav in 2024, formally joined the company three months before this profile. Her transition from collaborator to colleague brings into the core team someone who has seen Godwitt’s delivery from both client and supplier perspectives - valuable in a sector where the ‘last mile’ of land and permissions can make or break a project.

The Business Behind the Bonds

While these individual journeys give Godwitt its human dimension, the company’s growth narrative is equally anchored in data, delivery, and disciplined execution. The Godwitt industrial park currently spans 2.25 million square feet and features India’s first temperature-controlled storage facility equipped with an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS), a cutting-edge setup with space for 18,000 pallets. Another 4.3 million square feet of industrial space is under development, along with worker accommodation for 2,500 people. Today, the company has a strong presence along India’s busiest industrial corridors: Becharaji and Mehsana in Gujarat and is now expanding its footprint to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

The next phase of growth includes new industrial parks, developed plots, advanced temperature-controlled storage, and expanded housing for workers. Around 900 acres of additional land are also in the process of being acquired, setting the stage for the park’s next chapter of expansion. Its three business verticals, Soko (Plug and Play Manufacturing and Warehousing Facilities), Reiz? (Temperature Controlled Storage Facilities), and Ikoi (Housing Solution for the Human Capital), address the full spectrum of industrial real estate demand. Each vertical, Dhaval notes, was born from “a visible gap in the market and a proven need from occupiers.”

The Road Ahead

As India’s industrial and logistics real estate sector continues to accelerate, driven by manufacturing expansion, policy incentives, and the formalisation of supply chains, Godwitt’s approach remains steadfast: to blend institutional rigour with entrepreneurial agility. For Dhaval, the journey from a bird’s name to a brand is symbolic. “A Godwit knows when to take flight and where to land,” he says. “That’s how we have built this company, guided by instinct, trust, and a clear direction.”