Using her hard work and determination, Prajakta Raut has become the pillar of SBR Machines as well as a reminder to all aspiring entrepreneurs that anyone can chase their dreams. Today, she is empowering many women through her vision and concerted efforts with her supportive husband, Ganesh Raut.
A national level Cricket Player Prajakta Raut handled many yorkers in her life. Starting her professional career, even though not from an Engineering background, was not one to back down from a challenge.
“I started my journey with the belief that if someone is passionate enough about their dreams and immerse themselves in their work, then everything is within reach,” says Prajakta Raut, Director, SBR Machines. “Once you taste success, you will become more eager to go above your limits and leave your footprint in the manufacturing world,” she adds.
Cricket adds another dimension to her life and her attitude to life. She has been a national level cricketer and a part Maharashtra women’s cricket team. “I feel cricket has taught me better team, skill to adapt to situations, always learn new things, and last but not the least be competitive in everything I do,” proudly she says.
From Ordinary to Extra-Ordinary
Prajakta comes from an ordinary family background. She completed her graduation with B.Sc. Chemistry (Hons). “I got married in the year 2011. After completing 2 to 3 years of the marriage, I decided to step into the accounting part of our business.
“I honestly did not have any idea about VAT or GST when I first started. I did not know even how to set a file properly so I started working as an employee and gathered experience while talking with other members of the organization,” she nonchalantly says adding “but I was determined to improve my skills and dive into the depths of our business.”
Prajakta believes that working in her organization as an employee, she could greatly improve her skills and abilities. Getting valuable knowledge about the inner workings of the sector helped her better manage the organization.
Support from Family
“When I first joined the business I was having a 3-year-old child, I used to drop my child at my sister-in-law's home and went to the office. During that period, my husband Ganesh who is the Managing Director of the organization and my mother-in-law had supported me a lot,” Prajakta admits.
While Prajakta always took her mother as a pillar of support who inspired her to be hardworking, she got to learn valuable lessons from her mother-in-law's life experiences as well. Her husband has also supported her from the start and is a valuable part of her journey to develop her career.
Shouldering the responsibilities of her organization
SBR Machines pvt ltd manufactures blow moulding machines and has a large manufacturing setup equipped with advanced Haas machines. “Our team and I get involved from top to bottom level management in the timely product delivery. We also try to seek knowledge from all the experts working in the field of manufacturing and try to implement the suggestions in the organization.”
“I initially started looking after the manufacturing sector because we started facing the crisis of manpower. Our product was having so much demand from so many sectors that our workforce couldn’t keep up. On the other hand, the clients were pressurizing us for timely delivery of our products. This is when I decided to support the manufacturing department of our organization,” Prajakta adds.
Efforts to Bring Changes in People's Lives
Prajakta and her husband have committed to social development. Instead of opening any separate foundation for helping the people in need, they directly visit villages and help the people living there in any way they could. They try to provide education and jobs to people in the manufacturing sector.
Prajakta actively tried to understand the problems of the employees and also tried to resolve their issues. She played a big role in convincing the management of the organization for various changes for the benefit of the employees and the organization as a whole. “We have a friendly environment in our organization so every employee working in an organization discusses the problem with us and we try to give a solution. That helped me to create a healthy and safe environment outside me to work along with the employees,” she adds.
Encouraging women's participation in the sector
Prajakta agrees that there are currently a lot of government policies for women empowerment and participation in various sectors including manufacturing. Prajakta thinks that these policies are a step in the right direction and should reach out to those in need and help them a lot.
Prajakta adds, “For the initial stages we have decided to give a preference to the woman working in manufacturing in the shop floor and improve the participation of women to at least 20 to 30% in our organization.” She concludes, “I believe that women should not feel shy and come forward to empower the manufacturing sector.”
