It is said that the waste of one can be of great use to the other. Making the best out of the waste is an art in itself. The startup of 28-year-old Pramod Susrey from Ahmednagar is also working to make the best out of the waste. He has been working on upcycling industrial waste to create unique furniture for gardens, cafes and hotels.
In the year 2018, he started making such furniture while working. With skill and hard work, he started getting orders too, and within just three years he made a profit of more than one crore. Today he is giving employment to 15 people with him. During the Corona period, when orders were not being received, he also did the work of making sanitizer dispenser machines, beds for Covid hospitals etc. The Better India Speaking to TOI, Pramod says, “When I used to work in the factory, even as a maintenance engineer, I used to do all the work like welding and fixing. People also used to joke that why are the mechanics working? But my same experience is working for me today.”
started business with job
Pramod studied engineering from Ahmednagar. After this, he started working as a maintenance engineer in a company in Pune. Pramod, who belongs to a farmer family, had a dream since childhood to start his own business. But seeing the economic condition of the house, he started working. Even during that time, he used to think of many business ideas. But he had no capital to start the work.
Pramod explains, “My father has only one acre of land, which made it difficult to run the house. I used to send money home every month even from my salary.” Once through social media, he saw that very beautiful furniture is being made in Japan using drums and tires. Since the factory where he used to work was in the industrial area itself. That’s why he often used to see drums etc going into the junk there. One day when he went to the tire shop to get his punctured bike repaired, he came to know something similar about tires there. They used to give away the tires in scrap at a price of Rs 700 per kg.
What was just then, Pramod bought some tires and drums at a very cheap price, and started working by getting the rest of the necessities including drill machines from the second hand shop. He came from office and started doing furniture making work every day for four to five hours. He says, “Since I had many furniture ready, there was no one to buy it. So I put it at the nearby juice center and gave my number to their owner so that anyone who needs them can ask on the phone.”
In this way he started getting some small orders. Which he used to make in the time he got after office. But he could not leave the job on the basis of one or two orders. He also rented a small space in which he could work. He continued doing this work for almost a year and finally a year later in October 2019, he got the job of making furniture for a cafe in Pune. Which was a big order and at the same time, they had a few more orders. After which he left the job and started working on the startup. He hired two people to help him and also got his company registered under the name P2S International.
business in corona era
However, he did not tell his family members about his startup for a year. But in Corona, when he had to stop work and go home, then he told everyone at home. But he sat empty only for a month. Pramod explains, “Since the people working with me were not able to go home and I also had the goods, we started manufacturing the sanitizer dispenser machine in the month of May. We just had to bring the pipes, welding the rest, we made many machines and made good profits too.”
As soon as the lockdown opened, he started getting furniture making work for many hotels and cafes in Mumbai, Pune. And this year, when there was a problem of beds for Covid patients across the country. Then he also did the work of making beds for the Covid Center.
In March this year, he also got an order from South Africa. So far he has made furniture for 15 hotels and cafes. He currently has furniture orders from Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Gujarat as well.
Pramod explains, “We are still using many second hand tools, which I bought during my job. I can easily get furniture making material from the factory near me. At the same time, I did not spend any money in its marketing. It is only through social media that many people came to know about me and placed orders.
Pramod expects more than two crore profits this year
Finally, he says, ‘When I started buying old tires and broken things, my friends used to say, ‘Why quit your job and do junk work.’ But I believed in myself, so I never paid heed to his words. Today the same friends praise me, which makes me very happy.”
In the video, see how Pramod makes beautiful furniture by juggling with junk.
To view or buy furniture made by Pramod, you can contact him on Facebook and Instagram.
Editing – Archana Dubey
Also read: Farmer parents wanted to become an engineer, but son became a successful businessman by learning embroidery
If you’ve been inspired by this story, or want to share any of your experiences with us, write to us at [email protected], or Facebook & Twitter Twitter Contact on
