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Welded to victory

Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

In Control Getting things done in her own style is Lakshmi’s forte

As you engage her in a tête-À-tête, you realize conversations can be inspiring.

As you enter the empire of K. Bhagya Lakshmi, the proprietor of Modern Arc Welding Works, tucked in the sleepy town of Gudivada on the city outskirts, a warm welcome awaits you. And the welcome is literally warm, courtesy the oxy-flame used to weld iron. Set up in 1946 by Kurumaddali Venkata Chalapathy Rao, Lakshmi’s father-in-law, the plant is the first of its kind in south India.

The multi-tasking woman entrepreneur greets you with a smile, as she talks over the phone concurrently giving instructions to the workers. It was purely by chance that she began to ink her tale of success by doing what was necessary at that point in time. Then she began to do what was possible and soon found herself doing what she once thought was impossible. Her foray into agricultural implements industry was thrust on her by circumstances. The lady was happy grooming her home, spouse K. Sudhakar, a faculty in the V.K.R and V.N.B polytechnic college at Gudivada and their only daughter until 2000 when her father-in-law fell ill leaving her with no other choice but to take charge of the workshop.

“It was tough. I was just a housewife and had no clue about the work”. But Lakshmi was determined to turn obstacles into stepping-stones. Ironically, dealing with ironware seemingly was helpful in transforming her into an Iron Lady. She was supplied hard iron, adulterated with carbon. “The suppliers were tough nuts to crack. They gave us hard iron, which couldn’t be welded. Only when I threatened them of legal action through the consumer’s court they succumbed,” she recollects the initial days of struggle. Field trips are a must in this business, as that’s the only exposure to the farmers’ problems.

It did not take her long to learn the tricks of trade. With an innovative mind, she made things easy for farmers. They don’t come to her for the implements any more. With a phone call they have the equipment delivered through parcel service.

“Most of the agricultural implements used in the country are designed at our workshop,” she says with a sense of pride. “Those days, we were completely unaware of patenting our products”. Today, her company manufactures nearly 20 farm implements. The use of implements varies from soil to soil. Accuracy is important because even a minor error in the angle of tilling can spell failure. “Common sense plays vital role,” she says referring to some of her ignorant customers who complain of malfunction of the tools. “The actual problem may be a small adjustment of the hydraulic system or a loose or tight nut. But they simply declare the tool a failure. Trying to understand their problem and offering a solution to them over the phone is a real task. I cannot send my workers to them every time, as it would cost me a big sum. Nevertheless, we never compromise on quality” she hastens to add. The number of awards on the mantle piece speaks of her standing in the field. The prestigious national award given to her in 2001, and the Best Entrepreneur award bestowed on her by the Rotary Inner wheel Club in 2005 are a few among the lot.

The tight ropewalk of balancing family life with the business became a cakewalk thanks to the spousal support. Lakshmi has a message for budding women entrepreneurs: To taste success one needs to be patient and never shun morality under any circumstances”.

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