Deen Dayal Daga Chairman and MD, Archidply

It’s a great feeling to scale new heights,” says the energetic 64-year-old Deen Dayal Daga, founder and CMD of Archidply — one of India’s oldest companies in the plywood manufacturing sector. Even today he is looking for his next Mount Everest.

Hailing from a typical middle-class Marwari family, it was assumed that Dayal, the eldest son, would join his father’s small-time trading business. But Dayal aspired for bigger things and he realised early on that education was the key. On completing his schooling from Gangtok, he shifted base to Darjeeling, to continue his education at St Joseph’s College.

“My father was livid when I said that I would be studying further and wouldn’t be helping him in his business. He lost hope in me,” recounts Dayal. Trading had been his father’s life. He had even shifted base from Bikaner to Gangtok because a trader had better prospects in northeast India.

Dayal, however, didn’t fall in with his family’s wishes even after getting his BCom degree. “After completing my bachelors in commerce, I moved to Assam to pursue a masters in law from the Dibrugarh University. I began working as a trainee at the Jalan Plywood Industries as a part-timer. I was married by then. So I desperately needed a job.”

It was here that this self-motivated entrepreneur learnt the nuances of the industry. Within two years his hard work paid off and he was promoted to the post of CEO. But he quit soon; he had already learnt what it takes to set up his own business.

In 1973, Dayal started Assam Timber Products, which later became Archidply. It began as a small sawmill that produced plywood teachests and sawn timber. “I began this enterprise with a vision that it would become a leading plywood producer as well as a total interior products provider,” he says.

It wasn’t easy. “My father saw no future in my plan, so I had to borrow money from well-wishers and invest all my savings to set up the mill,” he says. “But with hard work and team effort, I started making plywood. I did face competition from the big players. You know how it is to enter a market as a beginner. But that didn’t deter me.” Later, he moved to Calcutta and established a full-fledged corporate office. “Calcutta was the hub for business transactions then, so I shifted base,” he says.

But there were other problems in store. “In 1996, my business faced a major setback when the Supreme Court passed a verdict that led to the closure of all the plywood industries in the northeast. Fortunately, I had units in Visakhapatnam and Mysore. They were sick units and needed to be revived,” he says.

It was during this period that his vision of venturing into particleboard was realised with the acquisition of Mysore Chipboards (a sick unit lying closed for seven-eight years).

“Today this company has modern state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities offering complete interior solutions from wood panels to decorative surfacing products for homes,” he says.

Archidply has an eight per cent share of the market and a turnover of Rs 147 crore. “We are planning to increase market share by introducing newer products,” says Dayal.

What’s next? Prompt comes the reply, “My sons are to take off from where I am leaving. I am now reducing my workload and getting involved in social service. I now look after the Assam unit while my sons take care of other sectors.”

He prefers to socialise with his business associates. “You never know when such meets can get you a great deal.”

“Hard work, ambition, fire in your belly and a little bit of luck are the ingredients to make it big,” Dayal concludes.

“You have to make sacrifices to reach where you want to be. The other advice I have for young people is to remember that individually we are all quite insignificant, so learn to play the game for your team because teams often achieve what an individual can’t.”

Based on a conversation with Shabina Akhtar in Calcutta