Durable plastic pipes are an inevitable part of every home plan. Apart from a home plan, these pipes are required for various agricultural and industrial purposes. However, there are very few local companies in Odisha, who provide good quality durable pipes. But there is one company in Odisha that is nurturing the locals’ vocal culture in this durable plastic pipes field. The company provides the best quality durable plastic pipes throughout the state. The company is none other than MK Plast PVT LTD. Interview Times had a great conversation with the MD of the organization, Mr M.K.Patnaik, and know more about him and the company.
This is how the Interview went-
Can Your Brief About Yourself To Our Readers?
Born to humble parents in Kharagpur, I grew up in Odisha’s different places, mostly in the Balasore district, where I finished my school education. I became a graduate in Commerce at the Utkal University. Later in my life, I obtained a Masters Degree in Business Administration with a specialization in Finance. Thereafter, I joined one of the highly reputed Ferro Alloys Companies, where I served in various capacities for 20 years- rising from a very rank officer to Sr General Manager, Finance.
Who or what influenced you to become an entrepreneur despite having a lucrative and respectable job?
The keen desire to become an employer’ compelled me to set up the enterprise. I am disciplined and focused on the goals I set for myself. Moreover, I believe any business activity with sizeable employment potential is a dedicated social service.
How did the idea of setting up a plastic pipe plant come to your mind?
Having been enormously inspired by the Hon’ble Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik’s call to provide deprived rural folks with safe and adequate drinking water, I chose this project, which was close to my heart. I found out earlier that to provide water across Odisha’s vast rural regions; there were not enough pipes produced locally. So that created an ample opportunity. Moreover, I had noticed the manufacturing outfits that have come up over the years are not careful about quality standards for several reasons like making available cheap materials for people and competing with others for business.
Thus, the PVC & HDPE plant under the make in Odisha’ initiative was set up in a record time of only eight months.
A 3-acre plot of land was allotted by the IDCO at Ramdaspur Industrial estate in Cuttack district, located between the twin cities, is now home to a vibrant super-grade pipe-churning plant.
How has been your entrepreneurial journey so far?
A fascinating journey right from the beginning. The state agencies have been beneficial and supportive.
After getting land from the IDCO, I formed a team of enthusiastic professionals who worked in fantastic harmony as I never interfered in their creative approaches. Each was treated as a master. The team has never looked back. The dream project was complete in record time only vec started working towards turning the dream into reality & with a record time of just eight months, we have put the Plant into the operational phase. The dream-come-true project became possible only because the ease of doing business facilities in Odisha’s state is for real and beyond expectation, at least for the small scale industrial units.
Within a short span of fewer than two years, the Plant has developed into a respectable organization giving livelihood to 100 individuals directly and several more indirectly. I feel delighted that water supply facilities in remote rural regions are fast becoming a reality.
Every company goes through highs and lows; while it’s always a pleasure to enjoy the highs, it becomes tough to cope with the lows. How have you kept your calm during difficult times, especially during Covid-19?
Though Covid-19 shook the Country’s backbone and affected the businesses and startups, it welded over well because the team was resilient and brave; the Corona pandemic lockdown period was very challenging but with great lessons. After remaining closed for a month, the employees became restless sitting idle. The moment restrictions were lifted for factories to let people earn a living, our motivated staff started from scratch happily and turned the situation around within a week. During the lockdown phase, the company distributed grocery materials, masks, and other necessary items among communities of the nearby villages. It makes me happy to say there was no ‘pay-cut’ for any employee due to lockdown closure.
An organization’s biggest strength is its employees. What do you do to keep your employees happy and motivated?
I do not come in the way once jobs are given. The section leaders convert jobs into tasks and decide how exactly charges are converted to action to produce the desired results. Absolute trust and noninterference keep the workers at all levels motivated because they do not work under pressure. Their creative best surfaces quickly.
How do you see the future of the plastic pipes business in a developing state like Odisha?
The demand for plastic pipes will keep growing as metal pipes are being phased out at all industrial, public, and domestic domains. The only guarantee to a longtime fruitful survival can be achieved only if the quality of products is ensured. Fair pricing is the other factor that keeps an enterprise going healthily. Reputation climbs high when the consumer is satisfied that good ‘value for money’ is assured.
What can be the possible contribution of MK Plast to make high durable plastic even a bigger economic sector in Odisha?
By giving the taste of quality materials for a fair price, MK Plast can develop a whole culture of ‘love for own state products’ rather than trusting ‘out of state’ goods among Odisha consumers.
Even today, several outside products are sold in Odisha only for assurance of quality. Slowly and surely, every non-quality product manufacturer will be forced to improve quality to survive. As a result, local consumers will buy more from them, and plastic pipe revenue will grow hugely within the state.
