From working in the fields to establishing herself as one of the prominent ‘womentrepreneur’ in the field of manufacturing, Sandhya’s Entrepreneurial journey is as interesting as inspiring it is. Today, the Managing Director of Halten Tools India Pvt Ltd, Sandhya Purushottam Jahagirdar is leading the way towards equality and empowerment of many other women in manufacturing.
Sandhya began to show her interest in business right from the young age of 8 years. She made all the running, skipping the school classes just to visit her father’s hotel, which she felt more of a sense of belonging there. She tapped the appreciation of customers and relatives and she tapped all appraisals alike! She outreached the threshold of excellence with her talent at handling the counter, the role which her father assigned to his passionate daughter.
Overcoming the various challenges to reach the dream of her own company, Sandhya is currently serving as the Managing Director of Halten Tools India Pvt Ltd and showing her diligence and with her husband to serve the Engineering Industry with the best class product to achieve the out and make the production streamlined.
“It is inherent the dedication, promptness, good time management, and of course, the prominent financing with which a woman can excel in the manufacturing. If a woman can manage a family and can make a house a home, then she can do wonders in her workplace,” Sandhya comments. She further adds, “Rather than for the sake of subsidies and facilities, how a woman supplements the entire process of a product is what women are meant for in the industry.”
The ambition of ‘Her Own’
After completing her schooling, she tried to set up some business ventures but unfortunately, none of them came into light. Slowly the financial situation got better and by the time she was 18. she told her father about a business idea she had.
But it wasn't well received and he dismissed the same by saying she was too young for all this. She wasn't ready to give up. She took a course on paper manufacturing to set up her unit. She was supposed to get loans and subsidies from the government for being a women entrepreneur but unfortunately for some reason, it didn't happen as planned.
Sandhya mentions that it was quite difficult for her in her previous workplaces. Lack of the proper facility of not having a separate washroom for female staff and having to walk almost 4 kilometers back home, especially after dark was a challenge for all women employees. These challenges inspired her to start her venture where she'll treat women with respect and equality and help them in their challenges.
Before setting up Halten Tools, Sandhya had also worked in other companies and had also started her venture as well which made her learn to source the right people, a skill that later helped her in her entrepreneurial journey.
Battling against crisis to reach her dreams
Sandhya had to plough her way through to be the source of inspiration for the women in manufacturing, to achieve something on her own when she was younger. She was not considered serious enough by people around her, but, proving them all wrong, she succeeded in her endeavors of hard work and determination.
During the hard times which soon fell upon her family, Sandhya was forced to return to the work of a farmer to support her family financially. Farming wasn't easy, not just because of the labor-intensiveness but also because of how they were treated by society. “Coming from a Brahmin family, people around us considered our work as farmers as some sort of taboo. However, I never focused on the negative opinions and instead worked as hard as I could.”
Sandhya would use her spare time to formulate business ideas inside her head and also learned some important morals that she still follows. “To never lie as no matter how hard the situation gets, lying can only give you temporary happiness and also to not hurt others for your gain. I can proudly say that these tough times moulded me and inspired me to do better all the time.”
Support from the Family
For any entrepreneur to unleash their true potential family plays a big role and Sandhya was lucky to have her family as her support system. Sandhya got married to Pravin Gudup, and she gratefully states how big of a blessing that was. Getting married to Pravin, who was extremely talented and well versed in tool-manufacturing, changed her life.
She insisted that they should start a tool manufacturing firm. She insisted that they should start a tool manufacturing firm. Coming from a middle-class background, gathering a capital amount was tough. Sandhya decided to sell her two-wheeler for this even though she had a great emotional attachment to the vehicle as it was a gift from her father.
“It was a tough field to start entrepreneurship as the manufacturing industry and most newcomers mostly crumble when it comes to working under such pressure and coping up with the market. Despite all that, we were able to start our first unit in Aurangabad with high hopes of reaching our dreams.” Sandhya added.
Quality and On-time Service
Sandhya mainly focused on the Business end, sales, client and customer relationship, and strategies while Pravin concentrated on the technical aspects and products at Halten Tools India Pvt Ltd. They had a real balance of power and responsibility among them. Halten Tools is the supplier of a wide range of Standard & Special Indexable Cutting Tool holders like Boring Bars, Milling Cutter, U-drills, End Mill, and Many more tooling solutions for CNC, VMC, HMC & SPM Machineries.
“Halten Tools gives you accurate solution for your machining, by analyzing customer needs and requirements. Our development team provides the best Tooling Solution for any kind of application keeping the best product quality,” she says on the company’s product portfolio. “We also guarantee on-time delivery as well as post-delivery services for all our customers,” Sandhya added. Also, we have started extending its market reach by participating in the exhibition and with the dedicated export team,” she adds.
Globalizing the dream
The pride she felt when she got back her vehicle was impeccable. And she still comes to the office on a two-wheeler, because she strictly believes that having a car won't earn her respect or riding a two-wheeler won't degrade her work. As a leading producer of tools that are used in VMC, CNC machines, the scope for expansion in the engineering industry is sky-high. Sandhya and Pravin are working hard for a dream to globalize the distribution.
Sandhya never gave up on her dreams no matter how hard the challenge, she successfully overcame it. “Believe in yourself and be confident to take risks. You might fail at first but as you face disruption, learn from it and fertilize yourself from what you've learned and wait patiently, you will harvest gold one day,” concludes Sandhya.
