Sandeep Kaur Riat

#29/100 in #100extraordinarywomen

Born and brought up in the family of a hardworking and successful entrepreneur and faced with hardships and insults, Sandeep Riat alias Minnie who, with her sheer grit and determination, emerged as a winner against all odds. After completing her Master's degree in Business Management from Delhi Business School, Sandeep Kaur Riat, had to abandon the plan of joining a corporate. Instead she joined Akal Springs; now a famous name in Ludhiana industry for auto parts but at that time, a close to dead industrial unit.

She remembers the day her father died in 2004. The bank official had told her “Take 15 days to mourn and then clear your debt”, when 22-year-old Sandeep was sobbing near her father’s body. Second among four siblings, Sandeep had just completed her master’s in business management, when she had to take over her father’s sick unit as managing director. It took her four years to clear the debt after which she started working on the unit. But those years were very tough for her, as she faced the daunting task of dealing with umpteen court cases, bank recovery agents, and over 250 employees, who would ask for their salaries almost every day.

She managed to transform the sick unit, which manufactured truck suspensions, into a profit making venture, and today, her company receives orders from major vehicle manufacturers, including Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra, in Jamshedpur, Lucknow for spare parts of trucks, and is also into exporting auto parts. Sandeep took up the challenge with single-minded devotion managed to turn around the company within a few years. With her continued efforts and negotiation skills, she not only made a re-entry in to the suppliers list of prestigious OEM, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors but also obtained defence contracts and contracts for State Road Transport Undertakings.

Recalling everything, she says, “There were more than 45 court cases against us, including many cheque bounce cases. I used to come to the plant and there used to be about 20 people waiting for me, asking for their money. One day there was a court case at Delhi, another at Chandigarh and the third at Ludhiana court and I was wondering which one to attend. People used to advise me to run away, saying ‘nothing is going to happen’. Many a times, banks requested the DC to send police to our plant for taking it into possession. My mother had undergone a heart surgery and we were completely shattered. But, I told myself that I am not going to run away from all of this,” she says.

Picking up the pieces, Sandeep took one thing at a time and what followed was ardent hard work. “I requested the staff comprising a large number of migrant workers to have faith and continue for some time without wages. They agreed. Then I took a major decision and sold off four-acre land of the plant and shifted entire machinery to the remaining two acres, that helped in getting rid of some debt,” she added.

For starting the work again, she needed money but seven nationalised banks refused to give her loan at that time. “Nobody trusted us, banks used to say I am a woman, and how will I run an industrial unit? Only one bank showed faith and finally we managed to some loan and started the work all over again,” she said. Using business tactics and opening another entity helped developed her business again. “From a period of 2006 to 2008, I worked day and night and do not remember how these years flew by. I don’t even remember celebrating my birthday during these years,” she said. The unit, managed single-handedly by Sandeep, is now raking in huge profits today.

Sandeep was conferred with the LMA - Young Innovative Entrepreneur of the year 2008 and awarded with Parman Patra award by Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2011. She has the ability to create a vision and influence others to contribute to its achievement. Challenge and result oriented, picked up the threads and not only enthusiased the workforce, once again but also regained the confidence of the Distributors / Dealers, thus transforming a sick unit into a profitable company. Despite of the fact that her family has always been a support system to Sandeep, especially her younger brother Amritpal Riat (Director of the Akal Spring Ltd) who is working as a pillar of strength and sharing responsibilities of the company with Sandeep Minnie Riat. Soon the sale zoomed to new heights. The company has achieved excellent growth since 2004 and increased network of customers worldwide. Customer and Service focused strategy; Akal Spring Ltd has once again become the market leader.

“I wish my father was alive to see this day,” she signs off, with moist eyes.

Source: “IDOL- Inspiring Daughters of Ludhiana” Facebook page featuring Sandeep and an article in Hindustan Times about the story.