Harish Chatterjee Vice President (Manufacturing) Raymond Ltd.
Raymond being Leader in Textile and Apparel industry , TVC have taken exclusive interview with Textile Manufacturing Knowledge Guru of the industry Mr. Harish Chatterjee , Vice President : Manufacturing and With effect from 1st January 2023, New Position will be Vice President – Manufacturing Transformation Strategy – (Raymond Group)
Reckoned for setting up one of the largest integrated textile mills in the world within a record period of 9 months he is a technilogy stalwart spearheading manufacturing at Raymond. During his career journey, Harish has been instrumental in launching pioneering product innovations that have set new benchmarks in the industry. he has been honored by our President, the Late Mr. Pranab Mukherjee for the Conversation of Energy Award ans is a proponent of imbibing sustainability in textiles and creating a positive impact on the sector. He has been also awarded as “Next Generation Leader” by the Manufacturing Today Awards Committee.
Tell us about your Personal Journey (Education, Career, Professional Life)
Essentially, I am a science graduate and then I did my Electrical Engineering.
Career & Professional Life – In total I have 37 years of work experience. I started my career as Management Trainee with Raymond Cement & worked there for seven years. And since then, I have been associated with Raymond Textile Division & it has been now more than 30 years. I started from head of the department of Instrumentation to being the head of all Textile Manufacturing (Suiting & Shirting) plants. Recently, I have been promoted to Group Manufacturing Strategy Head for the Entire Raymond Group.
What are the Challenges that you faced during every stage of life and how did you cope with it?
“Challenges are what makes life interesting & overcoming them is what makes life meaningful”.
Like every one of us, I have also faced different kinds of challenges during my professional journey, right from the time when I was working on the shop floor to the current Strategic & Corporate role. Challenges will always be a constant in your career but what excites me most is the happiness of overcoming those challenges, as an individual as well as a team member. I believe in constant learning which is a key to dealing with challenges.
Being a Production Head of Raymond for almost 3 decades, how is your experience with the company in terms of culture, professionalism etc.?
The “Culture” of an organisation has the biggest role to play in its growth. Raymond values the knowledge of its employees and recognises their contribution to the organisation time. Right from the start of my career, I have worked with many people, some were seniors, some juniors & some were contemporaries. People from different states, backgrounds, and education qualifications, the only thing that connected us was/is Culture, Work Ethics, the Transparency, and I believe this is one of the biggest reasons for my successful journey with Raymond.
Kindly share your Professional and Personal Wisdom to new entrants in the industry to the Startup / SME.
I believe the startups/SMEs who have a clear concept of their subject, patience & zeal for their subject/business are long-term players. The focus for any startups/SMEs at the beginning should be technical knowledge & development. The technicalities of their subject/business are going to help them in the long run.
What quality you admire in the juniors/interns, being a professional or being a good corporate employee?
When I am selecting my junior team members, I am only observing their willingness to learn and their common sense more than their knowledge of the subject. As per my understanding, if their learning ability and mindfulness are strong, then they will be successful in the corporate world.
Being a Chairman of WRA, what vision do you see for WRA and how it should be implemented to get the global recognition?
In India, Wool Research Association (WRA), is the only research organisation, for wool, its processes, its parameters & its processing. Textile Organisations can get huge benefits from WRA. We have a team of talented scientists and dedicated implementors for research and development. We are trying to get recognition & partnerships at the international level also & repeat the success that we have achieved at the national level.
What is your Expansion Plan in terms of Production and Retail Stores?
Post-pandemic, our sole target was getting business back on track & we succeeded. The results of the last three quarters are very encouraging for us. Now we are in the process of expanding the retail footprint but at present, there is no such plan for production enhancement. However, we are aggressively working on different futuristic strategies & developments for Manufacturing. We are focusing on PolyViscose processing and finishing as well.
Views on Robots and Automation
Next-generation Manufacturing processes are hugely dependent on Automation and Robotisation. We are open to adopting new technology and have done a lot of automation and robotisation in our existing textile units. Our Vapi Plant is having best technology machines and it is one of the most modernised plants globally.
Automisation is very practical keeping in mind our futures. There are many direct and indirect savings, improvements and quality management.
View on Blockchain and AI in India:
India is a very big country, so going for AI and IOTs gives very smooth operations as seen in all big e-commerce platforms. All communications, maintenances of warehouses is possible because of AI in supply chain. It is very useful.
Technology acceptance is there, but the knowledge about it is not there. We need to spread awareness about it as it is very cheaper in the long run. We are trying to approach the small industries so that they can use it at a very reasonable rate.
What are your expectations from India ITME 2022?
This year has been really good and the businesses are picking up really well after the pandemic. People are also open for new purchases and all goods are in high demand now. Future of manufacturing in India is pretty good due to government support.
I am sure to see some really good technologies in ITME India as well as in ITMA Milan.
Difference in start- ups and in established corporates.
Both of them are good in their own way. They are different so you cannot compare them as they support each other in terms of growth. Culture-wise they are different; Start-ups are controlled by a group of talented professionals , while the corporates are controlled by established professionals. So, the start-up people have a lot of belonging to the organisations unlike corporates. My suggestion is to work with passion wherever you are.
Watch Full Interview On Youtube:-
