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| Mohan Nair, Al-Gayatri Trading Company, Ernakulam |
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After 25 years of service in a food products export company in UAE, when Mohan Nair started the Al-Gayatri trading company, he had the export possibilities of Sri Lankan tea in mind. And as he waited for the 1st order, the price of tea rose steeply to Rs.90-110 per kg. During this inopportune moment, he received an order to export 500 tons of tea to Libya. As everyone advised him against the possible Rs.30 lakhs loss, Mohan Nair stood his ground. Suddenly the price dipped by Rs.15 and in the 1st transaction he netted a profit of Rs.10 lakhs.
10 years hence, Al-Gayatri has grown into a Rs.21 crore annual turnover company. It is one of the 5 or 6 companies in India manufacturing tea bags. These bags are fully exported to UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Doha, Oman, Kuwait, USA and New Zealand.
Now Al-Gayatri is not merely a middleman in the tea trade but has its own blending plant at Kakkanad, Kochi. This Rs.5 crore plant has facilities for tea tasting, blending and packing.
He attributes his success to the constant exposure to different trends in the trade through international tea festivals. Another secret of his success is the ability to foresee the needs of the workers and to deal with them almost like a friend. And it is for the 2nd reason that he has kept the blending plant labour-intensive with a workforce of about 25 instead of going for a fully automatic set up employing hardly 2 persons. He is trying to fulfil his social obligation by giving employment to 25 families.
Mohan Nair lives in Kochi with his wife Sreekumari and daughters Kavitha and Sangeetha. While Kavitha has completed M.B.A from Cardiff University, UK, Sangeetha is a Plus 2 student.
Courtesy: Baiju N.Nair, Mathrubhumi, September 15, 2003
Contributed by: Administrator
