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Honey bee publish details |
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Profile |
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Creativity in Customization: Saga of Mr Shamrao Parhate |
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Shamrao Parhate is the patriarch of a family of thirteen including his wife, sons and their families. Two of his sons are running a fabrication workshop, while the third one works in a company that exports small rubber items used in medicinal packing etc.
Parhate regrets not studying enough, but his educational background did not stand as a hurdle in the way of his dreams.
In fact he used to play truant often and one day when his teacher came home and revealed his absence; his father felt that Parhate needed to be put on another learning track. So began his jouney to learn watch repairing from his father. He managed to get a manual in Hindi from the Radio institute and started studying it carefully during his leisure time. In the early 1970s, Mr Parhate wanted to build his own workshop, though he was unable to mobilize substantial resources to purchase the required equipments and machines. He bought 13 acres of land on loan, but later due to financial constraints, he had to sell it.
During this period, he visited a small firm viz.,Capital Engineering and met Mr Satwant Singh. He expressed his interest in purchasing a cheap lathe machine, with only Rs 1900 in his pocket. The machines available at the shop were far costlier than what he could afford at that time. Mr Singh requested him to see a machine that was lying unused due to a faulty component. Mr Parhate decided to purchase the machine, priced at Rs 4500, with an agreement that he would make cash payment of Rs 1500 and then pay the rest in installments. Despite his initial apprehension, Mr Singh was impressed with the passion with which Mr Parhate carried out the negotiation and drew up an agreement. Mr Satwant Singh sensed his passion, and also sincerity of purpose. He tore the agreement into four pieces keeping a piece with him and giving the rest to Mr Parhate. He told Mr Parhate that he could take the machine with him, but he must bring one piece of the agreement along with him each time with the installment amount.
Learning from machines
In spite of not having any formal training in handling machines, Mr Parhate developed his acumen by working on different kinds of machines. He says “I have undergone no formal training at ITI; these machines teach me how to operate them”. He struggled day and night and worked in his shop for about 16 years. Owing to his efforts, in 1969, government sanctioned an area of 68, 661 sq. ft. for an industrial cooperative. He then started his own workshop on an area of 540 square feet.
In 1974, Mr Parhate faced another challenge. An educational institute from USA donated an X-ray machine to Vidharba University, Amrawati. During its transportation from Mumbai to Amrawati, the water circulation force pump of the machine got stolen. Unaware of this happening, the staff tried to operate the machine, and a tube got burnt. The university promptly sent a request to the American company to send another pump and a spare tube. The company didn’t have a spare pump at its disposal. But they sent a complete drawing of the pump with technical specifications so that the same could be manufactured in India. The University requested several big companies to make a similar pump, but in vain.
When big is not better
Mr Poddar from the Physics Department in the University furnished the technical specifications and drawings of the pump, and requested Mr Parhate to prepare a prototype. Mr Parhate, though not very confident, decided to accept this offer. It was a big challenge for him to make the pump for Rs 3900. After three months, he completed the pump and took it for trial to the University. The trial was successful, and the pump was accepted by the University. Mr Parhate still believes that the confidence with which he had embarked upon this venture to prepare the pump without any prior experience gave him lot of strength to face the bigger challenges in his life.
When in trouble, invent!
In 1980, while working in his workshop, Mr Parhate met with an accident. One of his eyes got hurt while welding due to sparks from the welding rod, and he had to undergo treatment for a few months. While recuperating, he realized the threats of working close to a welding machine, and came up with the idea of designing a spark protector system. After working hard for a couple of months, he succeeded in making one. He made several futile attempts to get the technology patented, and finally succeeded in October, 1990. However, because of financial instability, he could not produce his own protector units, and finally had to license the patent to a Mumbai based company. In 1988, when a Soyabean processing plant was started near Pandhurna, a component in the machine stopped functioning, and Mr Parhate was approached by the company’s engineers. He made the component with such efficiency that it worked better than the original ones made in Japan. A Pune based company Thermax, which installed the plant there and also in many countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan gave him bulk orders to manufacture this component for installation at various sites. He supplied the components to Thermax till 1993.
Tilling the land: when income is less
Being a farmer himself, Mr Parhate was familiar with the problems faced by the farmers. As a result of years of continuous efforts and experimentation, he developed various farmer-friendly agricultural implements. Notable amongst them is Shivraj, a bullock drawn multipurpose agricultural equipment that he has named after his eldest son. It can perform many functions such as ploughing, harrowing, weeding, sowing, interculturing etc. What separates his machine from the rest is its ability to maintain the seed rate and the plant to plant distances. A lever is also provided, which ensures no seed drilling at turning. The angle of penetration in the soil can also be adjusted. Mr Parhate has received a lot of acclaim for his work, and has already sold several units in Chhindwara, Nagpur, and Wardha. Mr Kishan learnt about Mr Parhate’s work through a local exhibition, and is appreciative of his innovation. He says “Most of the equipments can plough only two or three lines, but this one can plough four rows and works very effectively”. A local manufacturer Chowdhary Co. in Nagpur has even shown interest in marketing the machine.
Mr Parathe has led a life of constant exploration. His workshop that started in a small plot has now transformed into two workshops under the banner of Parhate Engineering Industries, both over 4500 square feet. His innovations include a technique to stop wobbling of wheels in four wheelers, modified drip irrigation system, energy generation through transportation, welding spark protector technology, seed planter, welding rod holder and the versatile Shivraj multipurpose device along with many customized farm implements. He has also developed an idea to generate electricity using the pressure created by the moving traffic about which he refuses to divulge more until he obtains a patent for it. He has hydraulic based working proof of concept which he wishes to test on highway on a bridge. He is a man of perfection, and is very patient. Apart from listening to positive feedback, he pays equal attention to the negative remarks from his colleagues and farmers on his products. This enables him to refine his products. He often discards his products if they are unsatisfactory to him or to his clients. While working on a seed planter, he needed a particular dye which he could not obtain in his area. This compelled him to get it done from Mumbai, and for this he had to spend 12, 500 rupees. It appears he is not as bothered about the novelty of his ideas, as he is in solving problems of others. He customizes almost each device according to the specific needs and requirements of the customer. His research and development efforts led him to observe:
“Research karna hai bhai to himmat rakho. Asambhav ko sambhav banane mein kharcha to hota hi hai. Seed planter ka ek component jo teen rupaye ka tha, use banane ke liye dye ka kharcha sare barah hazaar aaya”
(If you have to do research, then you must keep faith. It takes resources to turn impossible into possible. While the component cost of a seed planter was just three rupees, it took twelve and half thousand rupees to make the dye for it)
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee, 17(4) & 18(1):20-22, 2006 & 2007 |
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