Learning and Development (L&D) function flourishes in some companies due to the person heading it. The L&D function requires a lot of passion on the part of the person heading it. He needs to enjoy helping people. He should be a person who enjoys seeing people improve and flourish. In a busy manufacturing company there will be many obstacles in the path of developing people. He should have the persistence to go after the goal, convince all the stake holders and ensure the Learning & Development flourishes. Rajinikanth is one such L&D head!! He works with a rare passion wherever he goes. He wants to ensure the people around him are improving continuously. He designs the Training programs very carefully and innovatively. He is currently L&D head in Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCF). Congratulations to Rajinikanth for showcasing MCF in global HR practices! Among four other Indian companies, MCF is recognized by ‘The Association for Talent Development’- USA for their Management Trainee Development Program in the category of ‘Excellence in Practice’. We are sure Rajini will achieve many more laurels on his way to training and developing many more people in all the companies that he works! Keep doing well Rajini !!

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Co-ordinating the implementation of a new Business System in a company is a very difficult job. It involves unlearning for a person and learning new things so that he/she can help the organization in the implementation of the new system. A.K.Padma is the Co-ordinator for Work Management Systems in Sandfits foundry pvt ltd, Coimbatore. She has taken up this responsibility initially in addition to her other responsibilities. She struggled with both responsibilities for some time. But, she has put her heart in to the work and learnt the WMS concepts in the training programs. She started getting a grip on the concepts and also started interacting more and more with the team in the company for pushing the implementation with more vigour. She successfully implemented the system to the second level involving many Engineers / Executives. It is never easy to co-ordinate with a large number of people and ensure the system is implemented in a thorough manner. Padma has grown in the job and now reasonably comfortable with the responsibilities. She is learning continuously and trying to do her job even better. She is a good example of continuous learning! Keep it up Padma!!

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The Indian manufacturing is full of professionals who are very passionate about the job that they do and they very often become tough while pushing various day to day issues in companies. They are often seen as tough disciplinarians in the company concerned. Kumar is one such professional. He had been managing Quality in Flow link Systems Pvt ltd, Coimbatore in an excellent manner and he was a natural choice to head the Work Management Systems implementation responsibility when the company took up this project. Kumar modified his behaviour to suit the job. He started co-ordinating the responsibility in an exemplary manner. There may be still people who say he is a tough guy! But, the speed with which he implemented the Work Management system in the company is wonderful. The quality of Work Management system in FLS is of high order, thanks to Kumar! Kumar is also passionate about training. He defined a good system of measuring the skills and training for Inspectors which is a sensitive area in FLS. Now, Kumar is busy defining a system of skills and training for the whole Manufacturing! We are sure he will do a great job! We are sure Kumar will create a great system in FLS!! Keep going Kumar!!

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Professionals keep moving from company to company in their careers and all of them try to bring their long experience to work in the new company to resolve the issues in that company and improve the processes. Not everyone would succeed. The reasons can be many! Kotresh is one of those successful professionals who make a difference in the companies they work for! Kotresh is a senior professional with a lot of experience in Foundry technology! He joined Flowlink Systems, Coimbatore and made a big difference to the Company in a short time. He is having a lot of agenda to complete in the company. But, he has made a great start and quickly implemented a lot of technological improvements. Managers who have put in a lot of years of experience generally have reservations to accept a new system. Kotresh is an exception! He adapted the Work Management System introduced by the company and improved his focus on the business issues. He adapted the practices to new areas very actively and got good results from those practices. Kotresh is having a big agenda for improvement in the company and is actively engaged on them. Professionals like Kotresh are assets to the company that they work for and for the Indian Manufacturing Industry!! Keep going Kotresh!

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Working hard at an young age is difficult! Especially when you are just out of college and your father is a business man with Rs 2000 crore empire!! But, it is not so for Mitesh Lohiya! Mitesh got in to his father’s company after completing B.Tech in Chemical Technology. He joined the manufacturing function and handled the Plants. He achieved some very good improvements very quickly in the Plant. Then, he went on to the Sales function in Lohiya industries limited the owners of Gold Drop brand Sunflower oil. Gold drop is the market leader in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Mitesh produced some astounding results in Sales in a very limited period! He more than doubled the sales in the region where he got involved!! He depended on very basics during this period of connecting with the Customer directly and ensuring he gets a quick solution /service!! The Sales team struggled to keep pace with him! He motivated them with some incentives and more than the money he showed them that they are capable of producing much better results for the company. He is making everyone think once again about ‘what is possible’ in the company!! Now, he is thinking big and wants to achieve some very big targets!! Mitesh is a perfect example of youth blended with a strong business sense coming from his family and a ‘no-nonsense’ approach!! Mitesh will achieve much higher results in his company!!  He will create a mark of his own on Lohiya industries! Go Mitesh !Go !!

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China is considered to be the ultimate destination for manufacturing. No doubt India is catching up. But, it is beyond doubt that China is THE manufacturing hub for the world as of now!! China as a market also is a complex one. Every manufacturing Engineer tries to understand the manufacturing secrets of China!  It is a dream for every Manufacturing Engineer to work in China and get that experience! Vijaykumar M is one such lucky Engineers!! He spent 5 years in China working for Elgi equipments limited. He achieved a lot in terms of establishing a Quality system in a faraway land! He worked well with the suppliers, Chinese employees and adjusted with the cultural differences very well. Vijay dealt with Chinese customers, Chinese government officials , Chinese suppliers with equal comfort. He learned Mandarin formally in China. He had to put up with severe weather and number of issues on his family front during this period of 5 years. But, as only Manufacturing Engineers can do, he worked hard and selflessly to ensure that the company’s objectives of setting up a manufacturing unit are met! Vijay was a true ambassador for Indian Manufacturing in China! He is a real Star of Indian Manufacturing!! Well done Vijay! You can be proud of your achievements !!

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Implementing new best practices on the shop floor always involves the human element. The shop managers will have to show a lot of understanding of the human element, address the concerns of the shop employees, if required demonstrate them that the new way of working is actually possible by doing the work themselves! Those Managers who are able to do the work with their own hands and demonstrate the new ways can command respect of the shop employees! This is needed as the Managers will have to understand the working conditions themselves! While this sounds simple, some of the Managers in Indian Manufacturing fail at this test! Vijay kumar is one of those Managers who does the work with his hands if need be to demonstrate a new concept. This quality helped him to implement Lean practices on the shop and improve the productivity manifold! He is a hard working person who has high standards for himself and his work on the shop! Vijay is well versed in Lean principles and he improved the shop productivity in most of the places that he worked!  Vijay gets along with the Shop floor employees very well and he leads his team in a very democratic manner! While there are some shop floors which have seen big productivity improvements, there are many more which have not seen this. Managers like Vijay are very much needed in the Indian Manufacturing to improve the Productivity manifold! Vijay, you are a real star of Indian Manufacturing! Keep it up! Keep spreading the productivity principles!!

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Improving efficiency of people with the help of implementing systems is a priority in all the organizations in Indian Manufacturing. But, only a few companies are successful in making this happen. This is due to the fact that it is not easy to implement and sustain organizational initiatives (Like TQM, TPM, 6Sigma) It requires a firm commitment from the Management. Next to this , the most important thing is the quality of Co-ordinator for this activity. Every company needs a full time co-ordinator for pushing the organizational initiatives. This is a very crucial position. The co-ordinator has to formulate a clear plan for implementation of the Organizational initiative. He has to deal with a wide variety of people from across the organization and across various levels of the organization. He has to be very patient and at the same time focused on the objective. ThilipIndiran is one of such excellent  Co-ordinators ! Thilip is a B.Tech and an MBA. He is currently ‘Head – Manufacturing Excellence’ in Johnson Matthey. He worked in Danaher, Elgi in similar positions. Thilip contributed a lot to the progress of the Organizational initiatives in all the companies that he worked for. He is patient with people and helps them to absorb the change and get used to the new situation that is brought about by the Organizational initiative. His persistent efforts have yielded very good results. By contributing to these organizational initiatives Thilip has contributed to the progress of many of the companies that he worked for. The fact that he had been working in the Organizational excellence area in his past 3 jobs is a testimonial for his expertise in this area. People like Thilip are very critical to the Indian Manufacturing to make it to that next level! Thilip is a true star of the Indian Manufacturing !! Keep going Thilip !!

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Foundry is a difficult place to work in. The physical environment is punishing. It is very difficult to motivate the team to perform better every day! One needs to deal with many variables. It takes a very good leader to motivate the team and maintain good standards in a foundry. D.T .Victor Paul Vethanayagam is one such leader. He is a B.S from BITS Pilani and M.S in Management from the same institute. Victor is heading the team in Eltex Supercastings Private limited, Coimbatore. Victor is a great motivator of people. He understands the Foundry situation very clearly. He challenges the team members and at the same time supports them to go to the next level. His understanding of the foundry practices and his leadership abilities help him to deliver in a foundry situation. Victor is passionate about learning.  Even though he has put in 26 years in to the industry, his passion for learning has not waned. Infact it is increasing by the day. His learning ability is helping him make steady progress in his career. Victor is a ‘hands on person’. He gets in to all major shop issues and helps his team solve them! Victor is helping his company to serve some of the biggest automotive customers in India. He is contributing directly to the success of a number of Indian Manufacturing companies.  He is a real star of the Indian Manufacturing industry! Keep it up Victor !!

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Most of the Managers in the Indian Manufacturing are good at working in a good system. They exploit the strengths of the system and produce results. The companies would need these Managers to create new systems in a few new areas. These areas may be the new plants that they have started or may be companies that they have taken over etc. Most of these Managers fail to do this. They cannot create new systems or even re-create the systems that they are following. Very few Managers are capable of creating something on their own. SubashRamdoss is one of this rare brand of Managers who can create systems and improve the performance of the Company. When Subashwas thrown in to a messy situation , he responded by creating a wonderful Manufacturing system and improving the Customer confidence manifold. He leads the team firmly and fairly. He is a great motivator of his team members. Subash’s way of working always generates kaizens in the area that he works in. Subash is a true Star of Indian Manufacturing !! We are sure he has many more peaks to scale !! All the best Subash !!

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Finance people usually may be reserved and may appear tough! They need to implement the financial discipline across the company. May be this is the reason. Most of the Accountants try their best to balance the tough portion with the friendly portion. But, probably there are more Accountants on the ‘tough and reserved’ side than on the ‘friendly side’!! Deepak Govindan is one of the few on the side of the ‘friendly accountant’. He is very tough with the rules as needed. But, still looks at the overall business picture and offers his help from the finance and business angles. He works very closely with the Marketing people and ensures that the decisions that need to be taken at the right time do not get delayed due to any issues in finance. He is proactive and takes an overall business view rather than just a functional view of everything ! Deepak gets impatient when the business is not progressing. He sometimes gets in to the role of pushing the team for higher sales or production!! He does not hesitate to come out of his traditional finance role and enter the business arena!! This way Deepak is one of the modern accountants who play an active role in achieving higher business goals!! Business Leaders are born out of this attitude of going beyond the brief!! Deepak, carry on the good work! You are a star in Indian Manufacturing!!

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Usually the people who work in Manufacturing industry get very emotionally involved in their work and put their best in to the work! They feel happy when good results come and feel very bad when they can’t deliver what they want to. It is almost like the factory is their whole life !Damodar Rao seen in the picture is no different! He delivered the best wherever he worked. He emotionally got involved. He is a great supporter of his team members. He pushes himself very hard to deliver the best. Damodar was part of the team which won the Deming Prize in Rane Brake Linings Limited in 2003. Damodarrao went on to implement what he learnt in a few more companies since then. He was appreciated wherever he worked!! Damodarrao is a true practitioner of TQM!! Damodar is a true Star of Indian Manufacturing with his contributions to the various companies that he worked for !Damodar is currently the Plant head in Johnson Controls, Chennai. Keep doing well Damodar !!

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