As the only female student in her engineering college and later the only woman in her manufacturing company, Vidula Aher proved that women are just as capable in the field. She believed in her potential and never gave up. Her journey highlights hard work over shortcuts, patience over rush. Beyond success, Abhinitee India Private Limited stands as a symbol of friendship and a commitment to creating employment.
Vidula Aher is one of the directors in Abhinitee India Private Limited. The company was founded in 2016, becoming a symbol of friendship, as it was established by five college friends.
After completing her BE degree and diploma degree in mechanical engineering, she worked for 2 to 3 years. Following that she took a break for two and a half years due to personal life and then she again worked for 2 to 3 years.
In 2009, Vidula and her friends started Mudra Dies and Patterns Private Limited. In 2016, they established another company, Abhinitee India Private Limited. Vidula stated that although they all held good positions in their respective companies and came from different speciality backgrounds, they wanted to work together, which led them to start their own business. Last year they also founded another company, Abhinitee Plast Private Limited. So now they have three companies under them.
By establishing these companies, the group of friends also had the chance to maintain their friendship by spending more time with each other. She adds, “when we joined different companies, especially in corporate, we hardly had any time to meet with each other as everybody was busy in our own life”.
In the beginning, as her background was in the technical field, she joined in the designing section. And now she is part of the core technocommercial field, where she looks after the soft skills.
While joining the company, the vision was clear for Viduala, “to create employment opportunities”. For now, she says there are around 150 to 200 employees working under the company. She always thought about how she can generate more and more employment opportunities for others.
Curiosity for Machines led to Manufacturing
Vidula acknowledged that initially she never thought about engineering as such, however, she had an interest in connecting the parts. She shares, “I was always curious about machines. I used to open the machine and look at what it is or how it works”. Hence observing the hobby of their child, Vidula’s parents decided to admit her into a diploma of mechanical engineering. She adds, “earlier in the 1995s or 96, there was no such concept of choosing a field, especially for girls, so I never thought of any”.
When Vidula started her studies in the engineering college, she remembers that for the entire four years, she was the only female student in the mechanical field. She further recalls that, “I was the only girl in the mechanical field so there was no one to support me. Whatever I had to do, I did alone”.
And then when she joined the industry, there was hesitation from the side workers who were there in the shop floor and in the operators. They were hesitant about how to talk, what to ask or about her knowledge in the field.
Vidula said that she was confident that she could handle it. According to her she always wanted to start her career from the shopfloor and she believes that if she is getting the appointments, then she has the potential to work on the shop floor. But now she is used to it. She takes the initiative to approach the workers.
For her, fortunately she never faced the problem where there was the demand of male candidates only. On the contrary, she said, people preferred to work with female candidates because they tend to work more as compared to males.
Passion for the shopfloor was always there for Vidula. She never thought of giving up as a manufacturer. Her main concern was, “how can I complete my task or what way I should do my work and show people that I can also do manufacturing”. This highlights her love for manufacturing where she is in complete focus for her work.
Do Hardwork, but with no Shortcut
For Vidula, her boss became her mentor. When she joined as a fresher in the role of supervisor, there was some hesitation from her side initially. She says, “it was difficult to supervise as I was the only person in front of 50- 60 workers. And how to manage things, these were the challenges. But I never felt like giving up”.
She says, “being one of the directors of Abhinitee India Private Limited, I believe our customers can expect continuous commitment to on-time delivery and top-quality products”. According to her, our industry is development-driven and by the time an order reaches them, much of the research phase has already been completed. She further adds that they work under tight deadlines, often having just 30 days to develop and manufacture a product. These challenges don’t stop them from delivering products as efficiently as possible without compromising quality.
Looking back to her journey, Vidula recalls being the only female in her mechanical engineering class 25 years ago and today her daughter’s class has around 30 girls, which is a significant shift. She says, “this progress gives me hope for greater female participation in the industry”. She suggests women should always be professionally and financially independent, without relying on others.
Vidula thinks that many mechanical engineers switch to IT due to more profitable opportunities, but she believes that mechanical engineering remains an ‘evergreen field’, essential for the country’s growth. The Indian manufacturing industry is evolving, and post-COVID, more opportunities have emerged. With government initiatives like Make in India, manufacturing sector has a promising future.
“Women empowerment is critical to national development”, Vidula says. In countries like China, both men and women contribute equally, leading to rapid progress. Financial independence for women not only empowers them personally but also drives economic growth.
Vidula’s philosophy which follows is “in life, always work hard and avoid shortcuts, success comes with persistence”.
She says, “While I was once the only woman in my company, I hope to see more women join and succeed in this field. Despite challenges, I remain optimistic about the future, and I encourage young women to build their careers with confidence and determination”.
