Women's Day Spl: Ritu Sachdeva lubricates her way to success
Updated: Mar 08, 2014 11:43:18am
New Delhi, Mar 8 (KNN) “I love my work, my product, my factory, my people and I also make grease,” said Ritu Sachdeva, attributing her success as an entrepreneur making lubricants, to her passion. Excelling in an area, generally not associated with women, Sachdeva recently received the MSME special national award for outstanding woman entrepreneur from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, days before the International Women’s Day.
Commenting on her achievement, “My effort and passion has finally paid off,” she said of her company – Siddharth Petro Products which she started 25 years ago in Manesar, Gurgaon.
The grease and oil manufacturing company is a third party B2B manufacturer serving several big brands such as Castrol, Valvoline, Indian Oil, Mobil, Hindustan Petroleum, Timken, SKF and many more.
The annual turnover of the company is Rs 150 crore and Sachdeva said that the company is looking to double it this year.
The company was entirely her own initiative, though the idea came from her husband. “Nobody was there for me. But I was married into a family that was in the oil business. I was determined to set up an industry for my son,” she reminisced.
Needless to say, she had her share of challenges. It was not very common for a woman to begin business in this line. “I was not taken seriously most of the time,” she said.
How difficult was it to success in a male dominated sector? “When you start such a small unit, you have to be completely involved. You need to sit with the workers and guide them and take care of so many other small matters.”
However, Sachdeva had the support of her husband and family. They pushed her to go ahead, putting no restrictions. “You feel more confident when someone supports you.” It also helped that during her childhood her father included her in all kinds of work. “He was a forward thinking man.”
The entrepreneur remarked that a lot had changed over the past decade. “Not only are women more forthcoming, globally, Indian women such as Chanda Kochhar, Indra Nooyi, Kiran Mazumdar, etc have created a mark in their respective professions, in all spheres. If they can do it, why can’t I, I asked myself time and again.” (KNN/ES)
Commenting on her achievement, “My effort and passion has finally paid off,” she said of her company – Siddharth Petro Products which she started 25 years ago in Manesar, Gurgaon.
The grease and oil manufacturing company is a third party B2B manufacturer serving several big brands such as Castrol, Valvoline, Indian Oil, Mobil, Hindustan Petroleum, Timken, SKF and many more.
The annual turnover of the company is Rs 150 crore and Sachdeva said that the company is looking to double it this year.
The company was entirely her own initiative, though the idea came from her husband. “Nobody was there for me. But I was married into a family that was in the oil business. I was determined to set up an industry for my son,” she reminisced.
Needless to say, she had her share of challenges. It was not very common for a woman to begin business in this line. “I was not taken seriously most of the time,” she said.
How difficult was it to success in a male dominated sector? “When you start such a small unit, you have to be completely involved. You need to sit with the workers and guide them and take care of so many other small matters.”
However, Sachdeva had the support of her husband and family. They pushed her to go ahead, putting no restrictions. “You feel more confident when someone supports you.” It also helped that during her childhood her father included her in all kinds of work. “He was a forward thinking man.”
The entrepreneur remarked that a lot had changed over the past decade. “Not only are women more forthcoming, globally, Indian women such as Chanda Kochhar, Indra Nooyi, Kiran Mazumdar, etc have created a mark in their respective professions, in all spheres. If they can do it, why can’t I, I asked myself time and again.” (KNN/ES)
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