‘My childhood was very simple. I grew up in an environment where a government job, like my Dad’s, was thought of as prestigious. As a child, I too wanted to be like my father.’
Rajendra was born and raised in Mumbai, where he completed his matriculation and his college degree.
‘After my matriculation, I got into Jai Hind college, an esteemed junior college at the time. There, I met a lot of rich but humble kids, and that stirred something. I started thinking, “Rich doesn’t necessarily mean spoiled, as was the common belief. I, too, can be rich and like them.” So there! There I started deviating from the conventional mould, you know, get good grades, then a job, then get married, and your life is all set. The Jai Hind College made me think differently.’
This different thinking led him to dabble in business in his engineering years.
‘Me and my two friends, Devendra Bapat and Amol Chitnis, started thinking that we should get some business experience.’
Each of them had a relative who ran a business. They all asked for jobs and worked in those businesses for a while. Soon enough, they realised that business means manufacturing, and manufacturing requires space. (In those days, there weren’t any software companies. So there wasn’t the concept of ‘offices’. There were only workshops.)
After their graduation, all three landed jobs easily. Rajendra took up a job in Mahindra. But the trio wanted to do something different. Something out of the mould.
‘We used to meet after our jobs in a park and discuss our ideas. But we didn’t know what exactly we wanted to do. We just knew we wanted to do business, and doing business meant we’d need space. So we just sent an application to MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) stating that we required a piece of land to start our business.’
A year later, a letter came from the MIDC. MIDC was allocating them a plot of land. They were surprised to see the letter – the trio had forgotten about their application!
MIDC had offered them a choice – either a plot at Ambernath or a plot in Nashik.
‘The plot in Ambernath was out of our pocket’s reach, so we came to Nashik. Till then, we didn’t even know where Nashik was.’
They came, but did they conquer?
Not so fast!
The MIDC officer in Nashik said that they didn’t have any plots to offer! They showed him the letter but to no avail. Luckily again, the trio had a friend who knew how to ‘manage’ such officers, which he did. The officer, then, showed them four plots.
‘We were inexperienced enough to know nothing about property. So we just pointed to a plot and said, “We want that one.” He said okay but asked us to pay 18,000₹ immediately.’
They had saved enough stipend from their jobs to buy the plot. They bought it. Still, they had no idea what to do in that plot!
‘We went back to Mumbai, got busy with our jobs, and conveniently forgot about our plot.’
A year later, MIDC reminded them again.
‘We received a notice, saying that if we didn’t construct anything on the plot, it’ll be sealed.’
By then, the three of them had collectively saved a decent sum of 1 lakh Rupees.
‘We had 1 lakh and we took a loan of 2 lakh rupees to construct a tiny little building of a thousand sq.ft.’
Surely now they knew what they were doing, right? Nope, they still didn’t know why they’d constructed the building! Still, they didn’t know what business they were going to do. The only thing they knew was that they’d do something related to engineering. So they named the company ‘Reliable Engineers.’
Meanwhile, Rajendra was transferred to Nashik. Now, he would be close to their ‘company.’
‘I told my boss at Mahindra that I wanted to quit and start my own business. I asked him to give us business. He agreed. He talked to a company called Spicer India about giving us business.’
‘Spicer gave us a job of dismantling rejected clutch plates and asked us if we’d do it.’
Basically, the job was to sort out reusable waste from non-reusable waste of the automotive industry. But they never said no.
‘We said we’d do it, which we did. After that, they asked if we’d make washers. We said we’d do that too, which we did. Then, a relationship started.’
One such enquiry from Spicer India was to make a spring, which, again the trio said yes to. Little did they know how tough a challenge it was going to be.
‘We struggled for six hard months. In these six months, we learned many elements of engineering – real engineering – something very different from our college education. Finally, we made it. In fact, before us, Spicer India was taking that very same spring from Germany at a cost of 8 Rupees a piece. We did it in 1.8 Rupees, and the quality was just as good as the Germans.’
Then the reliability of the Reliable Engineers grew, and a lot of business started coming from Spicer.
‘We did any work we were offered and then somewhere along the road, we decided a direction that we are going to do sheet metal pressing.’
Their direction was set, and this time, even fortune favored them.
Till then, Mahindra & Mahindra was doing all the sheet metal pressing, but it now decided that they wanted to offload it to suppliers, which meant that the field was open. He who grabbed the chance had tremendous opportunity for growth. Speed was what mattered, and speed was what they had.
‘We knew that if we wanted to grow our business, we’d need bigger and better machinery. To buy it, I went abroad for the first time and landed in Germany.’
The Germans were honest in their deal. They showed him the machines in and out.
‘I knew nothing about machines either. The Germans said, “We have three machines to offer. Which one do you want?” I simply pointed my finger to one and said, “I want that one.”’
It was a ridiculously big gamble. The total cost of the machine, and that too, of a 50-year-old machine, was more than their annual turnover.
‘It seems madness if we think about it now.’
Had the machine not worked, they were doomed. Luckily, it worked, but not without a twist.
‘The machine was HUGE. It was supposed to come in nine containers. Eight came, one didn’t. It got stuck somewhere in the Western Ghats. We somehow got it back, assembled the machine, and it worked. It worked! I’ll never forget the relief when the machine first made some noise, any noise!’
From then on, Reliable Autotech has slowly but surely conquered the market of sheet metal pressing.
Today, they are amongst the top five manufacturers in the country with more than a thousand employees at seven locations and a turnover of more than 600 crore Rupees per year.
Rajendra’s story appears lucky. But he was not lucky – he was brave. Brave enough to stay the course, to execute, and to allow luck to present itself. We too can be as lucky as Rajendra, but we have to be brave like him. We have to dare to take the risk of execution. And life rewards not those who dare to plan but those who dare to execute, even if they’re without a plan. And Rajendra did dare to execute!
Advice for the youth:
‘We grew because we took risks. I mean, risk was the main theme for us. So, take risks.’ He chuckles. ‘You know, even risk-taking has a formula. Knowledge/ignorance = Risk. The closer you get the ratio to 1:1, the smaller the risk. Minimize the risks, but take them.’
‘Do what you like, yaar. And try to get better each day. Success means nothing but a step towards your goal. Set goals and try to inch your way closer each day. That’s it.’