Padma Shri Award Winner and Centuryply Chairman Sajjan Bhajanka Will Retire | Exclusive Interview
From the humble beginnings of Assam to becoming a household name in the plywood industry in India, Sajjan Bhajanka has taken an extraordinary journey with the chairman of Century Plyboards (India) Ltd and the founder of Star Cement Ltd.
In a conversation with Livemint, the 72-year-old industrialist revealed his career, legacy and long-term vision.
“After getting Padma Shri, my thinking process changed a lot. I’m 72 years old and about to retire. This was announced only two months after I called it in one day. Bohot Ho Gaya -ab woh samjhenge. ”
“But after Padma Shri, I have been reacting to charity and social work…I have strengthened it now. I have decided that my son and daughter have agreed to my will. My will has been included in my life.
Sajjan Bhajanka’s business success over decades will retire
Sajjan Bhajanka, who is preparing to resign from the resignation of the Centuryply and Star Cement chair, asserted: “God was kind to me at the end of my career. He blessed this award for this award. It was an award for this industry community. It was a very difficult thing to get for sports, art and entertainment, and in the past few years it was a very difficult person.
Looking back, Bhajanka, who has spent his trials and tribulations in his career, shares his beginnings.
“My entrepreneurial journey began in 1974, after I finished college. I opened a small factory with my cousin, where I learned everything – from the technical aspects of buying wood, managing accounts, selling, and even vinyl production. Unfortunately, my cousin decided to separate due to internal conflicts and we had to close the factory.
He added: “I’m the little one left, I rented a small unit ₹3,500 Six months. In 1976, I started again ₹I borrowed 100,000 from a friend. I made a profit in the first year ₹100,000; the second year, ₹2.5 million. With God’s grace, business has grown steadily. In 1982, I was able to restore the factory we closed in 1976. ”
“And then 1986, it was a temporary year. We took the total capital layout as Centuryply ₹6 million. From there, we expanded to a variety of businesses, including from ₹40,000 Income ₹240 million. ”
“Today, with God’s blessing and a strong, dedicated team, a century-old market leader.”
So, how have the century-old model maintained relevance in a highly competitive market over the years?
Bhajanka believes: “It’s hard work and integrity. Whether luck is good for you or not, reasonable success must be brought to you if you are honest. The quality of the product is a quality that I have never compromised. I have always tried to use the best materials – Value for money – Value for money – If our customer base is no longer our other goods, then they will become our other brands. They will become our book.
Why Kolkata becomes Centuryply’s headquarters
Centuryply starts with its headquarters and factory in Kolkata, although many may not consider Bangladesh as their top choice. bhajanka from Tinsukia, Assam smiled.
“We started the Kolkata factory out of ignorance. By making in Kolkata we can save logistics. So we started to deal with the wood itself here instead of going all the way to Assam.”
People say, ‘What are you doing? Yeh Aapka labor-intensive factory Kolkata Mein Kaise Lagaya?
Have you encountered labor-related problems in Bangladesh, especially under the left-wing rules?
Sajjan Bhajanka revealed: “Shankar Naskar of the sixth MLA served as the president of the union. He came to us and said:’Labor Humse Lena Padega. ‘At that time, my partner, Sanjay Agarwal, was still very young. But thankfully, the situation is not very annoying. ”
“We set a three-year agreement with the workers. When the next three-year term came, they started asking for more. We opened the card immediately and started negotiations. However, it was a year when there was no agreement in a year. The whole process was dominated by the outside world. Ultimately, what the workers initially provided and their regular whole class, we often had a certain amount of anger. Meetings; no problems, no problems.
Sajjan Bhajanka debates during working hours
Centuryply is also one of the first companies to introduce incentives for Bangladesh workers.
“We also introduced incentives. At the time, the unions in West Bengal did not allow incentives. They believed that with incentives, productivity would increase and fewer workers were needed. They also allowed overtime work either – instead, they asked us to hire more people.”
He added: “But today, there is no overtime to operate. The workers are from different parts of Bihar, Odisha and Bangladesh. Locals can go home, but those from outside can stay in Kolkata in Kolkata – if they only work 8 hours, then for 16 hours a day, they can earn a few hours in 8 hours, they can earn 8 hours in lunch, they can make lunch in 8 hours. Each time they lunch. They work 10.5 hours and no one can compare to ₹Our factory has 1,000 per day. ”
The company’s factory now has more than 3,000 workers twice.
A reasonable turnaround moment for a hundred years
But unions are not the only problem facing companies. On December 12, 1996, the Supreme Court blocked all timber businesses and factories in the Northeast, affecting the centenary, which is only 10 years old.
“We have a Chennai factory, but we also make a lot of money in the Northeast. When the action stopped, everything stopped. We had to give up our business in the area. However, we were not idle. We started another factory in another factory in Karnal and expanded our business in Kolkata and chennai and we became a market leader.”
“When the market closed in the Northeast, materials were scarce. We took advantage of this. In 6 months, our production in Kolkata tripled. All other companies closed, but we seized the opportunity and grew strong.”
Sajjan Bhajanka About Mental Health
Running a business empire requires strength, ability and heart to take root in all this. In an era when people are becoming more vocal about mental health, Sajjan Bhajanka shares how he handles bad days.
“USS Time itna Time tha hi nahi -bas karo, karo, karte raho. Bohot Sochne ka ya low-key hone ka tha hi nahi. With God’s grace, my quality is built in. You will never see me angry. People are not afraid to come to me. My doors are always open to my staff. ”
“When you learn to take things away with the same big step –Har Jeet Ko Same Lina– Then keep balanced. For example, I really feel sad when the BJP results are bad. But this is life. You keep moving forward. I lost Rs 70 million yesterday. what to do? The market fell and rose. “Industrialists joke.
But how will Bhajanka relax once he leaves the office and enters the residence?
“Usually, my wife and I come home and watch 2-3 series together. We play lummy or something like that. When I was young, I used to play chess and badminton.”
“I also have a spiritual meaning. I’ve finished readings of Gita and started again. I read a lot of things – autobiographies, life and other spiritual works of Swami Vivekananda. At the age of 72, in the grace of God, I only used a few drugs,” quipped Bhajanka, a complete family man who was three daughters, one daughter, one son and eight ancestors.
