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“The EDII President Alumnus Award 2017 goes to…..” and the audience at the 18th PG Convocation with bated breath hear, “… Gaurav Parmar”. A wave of exultation and jubilation swept the crowd, especially the gathering of EDII PG alumni sitting together right in the middle of the marquee, rejoiced with words of appreciation. The compere extolled Gaurav’s entrepreneurial traits and his unparalleled contribution to his family business and to the economy of the state and country. The sound of applause reverberated in the marquee for a long time.
Gaurav, a second-generation entrepreneur was never comfortable basking in the glory of his family business. He couldn’t wait to take the reins of his family business in his hands. Gaurav was never a frivolous child or a youth; his talks about his career and life perplexed his family. As his mother says, “Gaurav has always made the family proud. I don’t remember his childhood for any naughtiness or mischief; instead his acts of maturity are still fresh in my mind. Everybody applauded him for the depth and logic in his thinking.”
After his graduation, Gaurav was eager to join his family business but as he says, “An insightful self-talk revealed to me that I wasn’t completely prepared and needed to further equip myself.” He wanted to learn business and hence, started scanning courses on business management but during the course of this probe, he came to know about EDII’s PG course in entrepreneurship. The objectives and goals of the course matched his expectations and he joined the Post Graduate Diploma in Management-Business Entrepreneurship at EDII.
Gaurav had a good idea about his family business and right from the beginning, he was clear about making an indelible impact as a second-generation entrepreneur. At EDII, Gaurav specialised in Family Business management. He exults with fond memories, “EDII was the first business pad for me and the wisdom that I have earned here will always guide me. I am so grateful to the mentors for literally holding my hand and giving me the confidence, which I consider the biggest success tool in business.”
Immediately after graduating from EDII, Gaurav joined his family business. At the time of his joining the business, his company RIMTEX, a Textile Accessories and Machinery company based in Surendranagar in Gujarat, manufactured spinning cans, with exports to four countries, namely Germany, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Thailand. Gaurav carved a strategy which prompted enhancing production capacity and harnessing the export potential. He introduced major changes in production technology. Initially, his father was apprehensive about the move and had the inhibition that it might backfire. However, Gaurav very diligently prepared a list of pros and cons of both the existing and the suggested systems. His father had no reason not to get convinced. Gaurav thus introduced the changes in technology, resulting in improved production and a noticeable rise in quality. With better quality, RIMTEX’s products got an instant acceptance.
Somewhere, Gaurav was convinced that his idea would fit the demands of the time and the world. As he puts it, “My decisions are never random; they come after a trail of thoughts and a proper probe. Somewhere, I knew my move would generate results.” He was proved right and his initiatives started getting termed as path-breaking. Soon, Rimtex was exporting to 56 countries, which meant that its production capacity had increased substantially to meet that kind of demand. With near-zero rejection rate, RIMTEX is today the largest manufacturer of spinning cans in the world, and has diversified to promote six different companies under its umbrella. Gaurav’s conviction towards quality excellence has led to many positive outcomes. All the communication and marketing material of RIMTEX bears the stamp of ‘Let’s Promote Quality’ – a testimony to Gaurav’s unmatched vision and a ‘non-compromising’ attitude.
Ask Gaurav if it’s time for him to sit back and admire his creation and he quips, “No. It’s not time yet. I have some more plans and with more experience, I also have the courage to think even bigger. Progress must go on happening, no matter at what scale but I hate being complacent. This trait was instilled in me by EDII and will stay with me forever. This mantra is my driving force.”
Gaurav’s hunger for progress is insatiable. Each of his company commands the highest reputation globally and is benchmarked by competitors for its quality distinction. Gaurav loves the quote: The road to success is always under construction, and recalls how during times when he felt his moves might backfire and that he must resort to traditional methods, he kept repeating this quote to himself. So this, he says, is just a beginning, and he is now focussed on setting up two new manufacturing facilities in joint venture with overseas partners. He wishes to scale up his company’s core competency in manufacturing.
To satiate his ever-growing need to contribute and ‘make a difference’, Gaurav also actively takes up leadership responsibilities in many social and business organisations. He voluntarily took the responsibility of forming EDII Alumni Association and played a significant role as the Founding Trustee and President of the same. He garnered support from fellow members and led the alumni activities for six long years. He successfully built a legacy that is emulated by the subsequent office-bearers. Today, the Alumni Association has over 500 life members and a rich corpus to carry out developmental activities, such as Confederation of Indian Industries, Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), Textile Accessories & Machinery Manufacturer’s Association and Gujarat Chamber of Commerce & Industries (GCCI) Youth Wing.
Gaurav says these engagements motivate him to strive towards learning and progress. He was elected as the President of Entrepreneurs’ Organization Gujarat Chapter for 2015-16. During his presidential period, the EO Gujarat Chapter received the award of Best Performing Chapter of South Asia region. Also, for the first time in EO Gujarat Chapter, a President Award was presented. Gaurav was the proud recipient of the Best President Award in South Asia.
We wished best of luck to Gaurav and were just about to leave, when he insisted that we take note of an important thought: “It was in the precincts of the EDII campus that I realised the difference between a ‘good’ company and a ‘great’ company. And ever since, my zeal to achieve nothing but the best has been fuelling my ambitions”.
No wonder, his zeal for excellence, coupled with entrepreneurial inventiveness, has today seen him make a mark in India as also across the globe.
We are proud of you…. Let your baton soar higher and higher.