Mr. Nilesh Sali
Director, NNIT (Car Parking Systems)
Nilesh Sali – He gives a lift to cars — quite literally — and he’s been doing it for close to a decade now. An engineer by education and an innovator by instinct, Nilesh is the one bringing a quiet (but crucial) urban revolution: mechanized vehicle parking systems. With Indian cities exploding at the seams and parking being a standing nightmare throughout the day, he’s crafting solutions that create space where there seems none.
While India is going upwards in every respect, Nilesh is helping it keep pace with logic, order, and technology when it comes to vehicle parking. From vertical stackers and underground bays to AI-integrated robotic systems, he’s rethinking (and re-drawing) the idea of parking- not as a nuisance, but as a design challenge!
Workshop Floors to the Highest Floor in Parking
A BE Mechanical of the 1997 batch from Pune’s SSPMS College, his dreams were once quite modest, though his skills told a different story. Early years saw him work with reputed names including Tata Motors and MNCs. A decade later, besides an impressive resume across sectors, he had gained a great understanding of manufacturing and industrial systems. But deep down, he wanted more — not just to execute orders, but to engineer and manufacture products of his own.
Year 2009 saw him take the entrepreneurial plunge with a machining unit in partnership. Sometime later he catered to defence manufacturing supplying components to DRDO, L&T, and defence factories. This phase pushed him toward high-precision manufacturing and taught him the importance of quality, deadlines, and design integrity.
Parking: The Problem That Sparked an idea!
While business went along, Nilesh observed the first signs of a looming crises. Cars grew in numbers but not parking space.By 2014, he was convinced that mechanized parking systems — widely adopted in Europe and East Asia — would have to be introduced in India in order to stem the mess in the making. “The number of cars was rising, but parking remained almost an afterthought,” he recalls.
With no knowledge of the field, other than an itch to learn, Nilesh turned to self-learning. He studied international models online, watched countless demo videos, and began sketching his own versions. Slowly, he started building prototypes — testing movements, designing layouts, and checking feasibility with civil engineers.
From Drawing Board to Getting Cars on Board
By 2018, he had readied a few working models, and in a year, it was installation time. Thus was born Nilesh Nirman Innovative Technologies, his baby focused exclusively on building and deploying customized parking systems.
Their USP?
Each system is tailored ground-up & never a plug-and-play unit mentioned in a catalogue. “No two buildings are the same, so why do they need parking needs?” he says. His team visits the site, measures constraints, studies load-bearing capacities, and begins designing. Their products include:
• Tower-style stackers for builders
• Underground modules for urban hotels
• Flat-panel platforms with sliding mechanisms for narrow plots
• Fully customized vertical units for commercial campuses.
With name came fame. One that truly stands out was from the world’s two-wheeler giant, Bajaj Auto that wanted a parking system for over 800 two-wheelers within a tight industrial layout!
Challenges other than Parking!
Theirs being a tight niche with few players, challenge came from a very different source. Covid 19. When installations paused, projects got shelved, and supply chains broke down, Nileshdid what he has always been good at: redesigning, optimizing costs, and pushing for new client relationships. By 2023, they were back, this time with larger projects and more clarity.
And helping them- like always despite the presence of MNCs and deeply entrenched players is their ability to customize products according to need. Like a metro rail parking contract that came their way due to their design’s efficiency and economy. “It’s about understanding Indian conditions and solving for real-world complexity,” he says.
Parking the future with Robotics
The day won’t be far when all you would need to do is leave your vehicle at the parking area’s doors with robots taking it to its designated bay- without human intervention anywhere! A medley of smart sensors, machine learning, and motion-tracking, this system is aimed at high-density, quick turnaround areas.
Parking with the right team!
A 15-member team spread across engineering, marketing, and operations;they do things differently with manufacturing being done through a hybrid model.Prototyping takes place in-house and fabrication is through trusted partners. Plans are underway to expand into a dedicated manufacturing facility for large-volume fabrication and automation.
His workplace values are simple: accountability, speed, and ingenuity. “We’re not a giant but we’re sharp, we cut clean, and deliver fast,” he says.
Success Mantra? “Don’t delay the start. The rest falls in line.”
A man of few words but plenty of action, his success mantra truly inspires! He says, “Don’t wait for expertise to fall into your lap. Start with what you know and learn the rest on the go,”. He believes innovation is not about fancy tech, but about persistent problem-solving rooted in practical engineering, site-readiness, and end-user satisfaction.
And where’s the future parked?
With 35+ projects delivered, the future would include:
• Expanding operations across Maharashtra and tier-2 cities
• Launching a product line for the hospitality and smart-home sector
• Developing export-ready robotic parking systems under the Make-in-India initiative
• Explore partnerships for metro rail and government infrastructure parking
Now that’s what you call parking your ideas in the right place for the right outcome!
info@nnitcarparking.in
www.nnitcarparking.in
+919518377159
