What got me to sell Tissue…
Don’t you get asked often, “What do you do?”, and how many times do you hear someone say, “I sell paper”. It takes back most people aback and they ask me again in shock, that if I really sell paper. While I was in school, many people thought we sell newspapers, while some thought I was bluffing. But as a family we have been in the paper trade for the last 65 years, and I am proudly generation 4. Amongst the first to sell Tissue Paper in India, but what got me, the 4th Generation excited to sell Tissue? But before I dwell into what got me into Tissue, let me tell you about how I got excited about selling paper.
My father, was super passionate about paper. He used to tear apart paper to understand how it is constructed, and often used to lick it or chew it. Weird right? But all he did was understand, evaluate and analyze the properties of paper. His passion knew no bounds. He used to travel often, visiting various printers and paper mills, and seldom minded me tagging along. Through these various opportunities I visited my first printing press at the age of 7 and the first paper mill at the age of 8. At that time, Chlorine bleaching was still prominent, and those fumes engulfed me, made me feel pukish, but the machineries were embedded in my heart. I dreamt of setting up a mill one day, a mission I solely wish to accomplish. As time flew I visited many mills, and when it came to chose a branch of engineering, I wanted to study more about paper and cellulosic fibers. Even after my father passed his legacy of paper was engraved and embedded deep inside. And you often find success in something you are so passionate about!
Fast forwarding through college times, I started work in December 2012, right after graduating from College. I spent an extra semester in College, and I will write a blog one day on my college journey as well! My family entrusted me selling Coated Paper, and as a freshee used to visit various printers and traders. Sat there and understood, which size is used where and more importantly why. As a kid, I was always curious, and needed to know the answer to a “Why?”, anything said or explained without logic would not resonate well with me. That is when an opportunity came my way to set up the export business for the group, with my uncle.
Went with a bag filled with every kind of paper. Right from Tissue Paper to Uncoated Paper (paper that is used to make notebooks) to various packaging grades. I had never sold Tissue and had little to no knowledge about the same, except some bookish knowledge that I learnt in college. But somehow I met two wonderful humans, whom I entrust with the success we gained, or the headstart we had achieved. One gave us an entry way to all the decision maker and the other a friend, whose experience taught me an aweful lot. Just for the sake of anominity let me name them Deepak and Vasim.
Deepak was a typical Delhi - 6 guy. Someone in his midlife, looking at various entrepreneurial ventures, and happy go lucky. Blessed with a lot of experience and drenched in sweat, he was charming. Deepak, taught me that there is no harm in saying, “Hi”, and there is no harm in asking someone to “Buy!”. He spent countless hours driving me all around, and eating at various roadside restaurants in Dubai. He is truly an amazing person, and I wish I could have maintained the same relationship. He helped me transition in, and filled in my loneliness. Sometimes as a mentor, sometimes as business partner an
Vasim, believed he was stern and shrewd, and for the first several months I believed him as well. He was the younger brother, and an owner of one of the most prestigious tissue company’s in Dubai. We took an appointment and arrived there at lunch time. Deepak pranced in, surprising us, as we made himself feel at home. Vasim’s elder brother, even without meeting us, invited us for lunch, an invitation that was hard to refuse. Over the course of the day Vasim was interested in ordering a couple of containers from us as a trial. And kaboom our first customer and my first order. I remember the date accurately till date, 24th August 2014, a Sunday, the day when we first met and he placed his first order. Vasim shared his grief, his view on life, and coincidentally and without any planing I happened to be his neighbor. Vasim was happy to give my refference to anyone that asked, he was kind enough to forgive the mistakes we made as a beginner. It is when I realized that no matter how stern and shrewd he believed he was, he was soft from within. Vasim, let me sit in his office for hours together when I had no place to go to, and let me be in his factory to understand and learn how these converting machine operated. He let me into his future plans, making me a part of his excitement, and his anxiousness of its success. These broadened my horizons. Any supplier who came by, he would pass on my contact or introduce me, so that I could grow or gain from it.
And with this, set the foundation of selling the most delicate paper. Tissue. From 11.5 GSM to 45 GSM, Tissue is one of the most interesting products I have ever sold. To give you context a square meter of tissue weighs only 11.5 grams and goes up to a maximum of 45 grams. Producing that on a machine that runs at 2000 meters per minute and above is an art. Most papers start at 30 GSM and above, imagine producing something commercially 61% lighter. Imagine producing something from 99.9% water and only 0.1% Fiber to something that is 95% Fiber and only 5% moisture. Interesting right. Converting it is also an art. Machines that convert these light weight papers to something you use everyday is nothing less than impressive as well.
Just as it had the pieces started aligning, after gaining confidence from Vasim, and the connections of Deepak, the peices of a greater puzzle started aligning. A decade letter, Tissue became my passion. Because tissue is so light it makes it increasingly difficult to transport, and that is when the logistical puzzles become interesting to solve. From trading in different currencies, to visiting various countries, to seeing different operations, the almighty has been kind enough to shower me with this experience. Made blunders, learnt from them, making new mistakes and learning how to avoid them, is what makes the game exciting. The joy of selling tissue is something unparalled.
Though the innovation is limited, the possibilities remain endless. From making new end products, to finding methods in making the process more efficient makes it an industry that is mundane and exciting at the same time. Tissue as an industry is very dependent on how you market it, and for everything that needs marketing our ability to understand human emotions becomes extremely critical. And maybe it is this, that ties up the industry and logic, and fuels my passion and I continue to be excited by it. By God’s grace we sell other grades of paper, but the sparkle I get whilst selling Tissue is second to none. The joy I get when I meet a new converter is immense. I get a 1000 Volt jolt when I see the machine producing this paper, and it takes me back in times. This is my journey, it is a memoir that ties me into what I do. It makes me look forth on working day in and day out.
