Sulekha: A Fight-Back Story

Sulekha Works was established in 1934, in pre-independence India. It was born out of the nationalist vision to manufacture stationaries in India so as to reduce dependence on the British Empire. Unfortunately, the company closed its operations in 1988.

In 2006, this heritage company was restarted by Kaushik Maitra who is presently its Managing Director (MD). Maitra is a trained mechanical engineer from Jadavpur University and has taught in the Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineering of the University of Alberta, Canada. BE’s Ellora De spoke to him regarding his vision and explored his entrepreneurial spirit.

 

Q. Tell us a bit about you and Sulekha. How does it go with the entrepreneurial ecosystem of present-day India?

A. Coming back to India, I worked as design engineering consultant and was involved with many national and multinational companies. We were trying to revive Sulekha since 1994. It took 12 years of intense struggle. I could revive the company in 2006. Sensing the changes that had occurred in the last two decades since the company had closed, we diversified into different verticals based on our strengths. One segment was carrying the original baton of stationary products. We have also diversified into homecare and solar power products and projects. We have recently launched our own retail outlets, having full-fledged convenience stores and cafeterias.