- Edited and Published by S.K Nair Director Edutech Foundation - Bangalore
FACE MASK, COVID19, MAHINDRA, SARAL
When the going gets tough, the tough get going - the famous song by Billy Ocean fits well in this situation where we are facing Covid19. Setting ablaze all the hurdles, some brave hearts are making impossible possible, and the journey of setting up a complete manufacturing line of 3-ply face mask by Mahindra Group & Saral Designs is nothing less than a super hit Bollywood narrative. It starts with a regular life, an idea, then lockdown, a tweet, surprise, challenges, action, separation and a happy ending with thousands of Face Masks made in India.
In the wake of the COVID19 outbreak, demand for masks used by frontline workers is increasing day by day. There are reports of our doctors, nurses, and the Paramilitary workforce getting infected by Coronavirus, one of the reasons being the unavailability of protection gears. The Indian manufacturing industry is taking a great part in countering the challenge by venturing into the manufacturing of essential equipment as importing becomes lengthy and pricey when the whole world is looking for supplies.
In last the week, joining the league of such warriors, Saral Designs, a Navi-Mumbai based Techno Social start-up, joined hands with the Mahindra Group to modify their sanitary pad-making machine to suit the manufacturing of 3-ply surgical masks. In an exclusive interaction with Mahindra & Saral Team, we bring you this amazing story of determination and innovation, blend of young and veterans, and a perfect example of Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
Making it Saral
It was during the beginning of March when the team of Saral Designs led by Suhani Mohan and Kartik Mehta, both IITians from Bombay and Madras respectively, thought of venturing into the manufacturing of face masks. The young turks started off by successfully setting up a production base of Saral Designs that offered quality sanitary pad to the rural Indian market, bringing great relief to thousands of women across India and ensuring them hygiene and health during their menstrual cycle.
Talking about the diversification, Suhani said that they started their research after the news of Corona infections getting spread in the country, and realized that India will need a huge number of masks for healthcare workers in upcoming days. After the research, Suhani said, “We realized that raw materials used in the production of both, the mask and sanitary napkin, are similar. With that, we immediately started thinking of ways to modify our machines and also its viability.”
Kartik Mehta, who was always passionate about mechanical designs, initiated the project but, was forced to work distantly from home after the 3rd week of March due to the spread of the virus in five districts of Maharashtra. The lockdown from the 23rd of March further delayed the project; the options of reaching vendors to get the components for the machine modifications got uncertain, and the team was almost into a hibernating mode.
The Buzz
Very active on Twitter, Anand Mahindra is loved and followed by Twitterati across the globe for his timely posts. In the fight against Covid19, Mr. Mahindra posted several tweets where he spoke of many initiatives Mahindra group had been taking and extending support to other organizations. Inspired by this, Suhani on 24th March 2020 wrote an email to Shruti Agarwal, Executive Assistant of Mr. Mahindra, and to her surprise, within 4 hours, India’s best manufacturing team led by Vijay Kalra, chief of Manufacturing Operations Mahindra Automotive Division, came to her assistance to further explore the possibilities.
When we received the email, our team went into action. Our initial research showed Sohini and Kartik, both were doing excellent jobs with Saral Designs. Later, we reached out to them and rest is history
Vijay Kalra
Chief Of Manufacturing Operations (Retd), Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd (AS)
In the following 2-3 days, both the teams worked in tandem to convert the sanitary pad manufacturing machine into one that would suit the manufacturing of face masks. Finally, on 31st March, the prototype was ready and the test run was also successful. Closely working with Saral Designs Team, Vijay Kalra, understood the potential requirement of face masks in the country and offered space at their Kandivali plant to start manufacturing the masks. On 31st March, at 11 pm the Face Mask Manufacturing Machine was transported from Saral Designs which reached Mahindra Kandivali plant at 1 am.
Rise, The Mahindra Way of Life
Vijay Duo, as famously known within Mahindra, Vijay Kalra and Vijay Nair, Vice President - Employee Relations and Administration and Head of CSR, took the initiative to set up the plant, and at 4 am on 1st April 2020, the installation of the machine and production started under the supervision of Sunil Kulkarni, Vice President of Manufacturing Operations, Kandivali Plant.
Sunil who thinks that the task was nothing but a real-life version of Anil Kapoor’s television series ‘24’, said, “When I and my team had a look at the machines that were to be modified, we realized that the task would take us 2-3 days as it was completely a different ballgame for us.”
The team who for decades had been making cars from metals was now given fabrics to manufacture face masks
Sunil Kulkarni was well supported by his able team consisting of Pandurang Chavan, Manufacturing Unit Head, Pramod Bhagat, Tool Room Manager, Arun Parab Production Manager, Rajesh Mhatre, Utility Manager and Prashant Parokar. The team was able to finish the entire project, from developing the components for prototype to producing facemask, within a record time of 47 hours. The face mask was officially launched in the presence of both teams, digitally by Anand Mahindra.
Anand Mahindra who was instrumental in this development said that this is in true sense a ‘Rise’ story, personifying alternate thinking, driving positive change and accepting no limits.
