K Sundaram who recently retired as Senior Manager-Sales, Chemplast Sanmar, Mumbai, joined Chemplast in August 1967.
Recalling his early days (1967-1975) at Mettur, Sundaram has pleasant memories of working in several departments. Stalwarts like P N Devarajan, B S Murthy Raju and R Kalidas were his role models. Over the years, Sundaram was an enthusiastic participant in the company’s growth to the present levels of production from the initial capacity of 1000 mt. (600 mt suspension resin, 300 mt paste resin and 100 mt other grades.) There were some anxious moments too, such as the first strike by the company’s workers in 1970 which the management handled successfully, or the power cut in 1975 that brought production to a standstill. “Through sustained efforts and teamwork we were able to brave the teething problems of production,” he says.
Sundaram also recollected the days when N Sankar visited the plants at Mettur, and showed keen interest in learning the most intricate details of the
operating systems involved in the production processes. “It was inspiring”, he said.
In 1975, Sundaram was offered a chance to shift base and he went to Bombay to work in the company’s marketing division. He enjoyed the new assignment and is happy about the exposure, contacts and confidence he has gained over the years, finding new mentors in P D Calappa and N K Rangarajan who taught him the nitty-gritty of marketing.
Sundaram represented the company at the K-95 exhibition, which enhanced his knowledge and gave him a good exposure to the new and developing world of plastics. “The company always values customers”, Sundaram says with pride.
On October 31, 2002, M Ramaswamy Somayaji retired from Chemplast Sanmar, Mettur, after 38 years of service. Somayaji who joined The Mettur Chemical and Industrial Corporation (MCIC) in April 1964, is a postgraduate in Chemistry from the University of Madras.
Among the first batch of recruits to MCIC, he initially worked for a stipend. A keen student intent on imbibing the best from everyone, he worked in almost all the production units at Plant I, getting transferred to Plant III in 1967. “From being a chemist I rose to become an AGM, and had the good fortune of working with all the latest analytical equipment in the plants”, Somayaji told Matrix.
Somayaji was selected as a member of a team that helped bring Indian standards in line with international standards. He took part in several technical discussions at Singapore and Malaysia, presented technical papers for publication, and co-authored numerous research papers on bio-chemical works. He bagged the BEL industrial award for his original work.
“I am proud to have been associated with the group for over 38 years”, Somayaji is quick to acknowledge the support of his colleagues in all his endeavours.