An Arts graduate, Bam worked in a bank for 16 years and as an administration manager for a Muscat-based construction company for another six. Consequently in 1991, he returned to Pune and started his own business. "My wife and I used to collect any new thing we saw while we were in the Gulf," he recalls. "We saw this product and decided to manufacture it here in India."
Active in the Student's Federation of India while at college, Bam still believes in creating employment in the rural areas. He returned to Pune in 1986 and surveyed the market for two-and-a-half years. He searched for a place where there was no industry, and bought land at Gauddara off the Bangalore Highway. He says, "I have a strong belief in the upliftment of rural areas. I put my ideals into practice. To help the locals derive the best benefit, I picked workers from that village itself. Thereby I developed a committed workforce of 50 technicians. Today, all my employees are locals."

He set up Ajay Windecor Products Private Limited in 1991 to manufacture a range of products for interiors and curtain systems, chief among them the Decorail range. The annual turnover of the company touched Rs 2 crores in the last financial year. His composite project is to make curtain rods, tapes and hooks.

Lack of knowledge of either textile or engineering proved to be a plus point. "I might not have ventured into it had I been an engineer," he adds.

His concern for his employees and the environment made him take up this project. He says, "In the beginning, the villagers were very enthusiastic. As the business grew, we set up facilities for the benefit of the workers. We set up a bulletin board, which had the headlines of the day, a library for the workers and their families."

Elaborating on his pet theme, he says, "Concern for the worker must be foremost on the entrepreneur's agenda, as this is the panacea of all problems afflicting the business. If the workers are aware that employer is interested in their well being, they give the job their very best. This is a win win situation for both sides."

The concern for employees has paid rich dividends. But that is not the only reason for the popularity of Decorail, the company's product. Mr. Bam went on to say, "From the very beginning I realised that the middle class was my principal target. Hence the product's price is low. The low margins are made up by the larger volume."

He has always been very media savvy. He was amongst the first in the country to realise the importance of the net revolution and the emerging concept of E-commerce. His company set up its own website two years ago, when the net revolution had just started in India. The coming years will be guided by technology, and the nurturing of human resources. These factors will make all the difference between the underdog and the winner."

The company has been awarded a number of accolades - the Parkhe Award in 1991 by the Maratha Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Best Small Scale Industry in Pune District by the Government of Maharashtra in 1994.

Mr. Bam concludes, "The man behind the company is not important. The company is. So tomorrow, if I am not there, the company and the ideals behind it are still there for years to come."

Rahul Surkund