What happens if the factory owners simply vanished, leaving all the debtors in distress and the staff in a mess? The 26th part of a series describing the unknown triumphs and travails of doing international business

Due to a great money control by banks, there was spate of rumours in the market about merchants having problems in settling their dues with the bank. Some small shopkeepers had simply over extended themselves and skipped the country. And the bigger merchants were delaying settlement and asking for extensions for payment, or seeking new credit facilities in other banks. The money market was tight.
 
In the case of Free Zone, thanks to the very methodical work done by their financial management team, every garment manufacturer had given bank guarantee for taking care of such eventualities pertaining to the large number of workforce involved. This covered their major expense of repatriation to the home country of origin, and of course, rest of the financial burden was on the owners themselves.
 
But what happens, if they themselves simply vanished, leaving all the debtors in distress and the staff in a mess?
 
It was about 7.30 in the morning, when my wife received a call from Subha, who wanted to speak to me on an emergency, and who, at the very outset, had clarified to her that she was calling from another factory.  I was actually getting ready as my morning schedule would have covered a visit to textile market to get some urgent materials before reaching the plant.
 
For obvious reasons, I do not want to name the company; but from a brief talk, it transpired that her ‘boss’ was not coming to the factory for the last few days, and she got the news from the cook that he had simply left the country, with all his baggage! The staff had worked for two days and after he failed to turn up, was actually marching from their plant to the Free Zone office to lodge their complaint. After assuring her that I would come to their assistance, I changed my work schedule and rushed to the Free Zone.
 
By this time, the Free Zone officials also received the intimation and managed to stop the procession, except for the main speakers, simply because they spoke English. I reached just in time.
 
I began the discussion, not as a Finetex chief, but as secretary of JAGTA, as I also did not want the news to spread outside and my prime concern was the welfare of the staff, not the issue of whereabouts of the owner/owner’s legal representative (who managed the factory).  In less than one hour, it was confirmed that he had left the country, and there was no one to talk to. The bank concerned was reluctant to comment on the situation; all that they could say at that time was that they “were investigating the matter further”.
 
Abu Baker was the person who was catering to their needs in the camp, was also handling our staff. I personally got in touch with him and assured him that until the matter was resolved, he should extend all the courtesies to the staff, and ensure that food was supplied, for which I stood personal guarantee. I spoke to them, and assured them not to get panicky, and I guaranteed their jobs, excepting for those who wished to or decided to return back to Sri Lanka!
 
As secretary of JAGTA, I began the discussions with the Personnel department of the Free Zone; I had full cooperation from Mohammed (I think he was No: 3 in the zone at that time) and Sharif from Administration.
 
We listed out the staff available, and I arranged for two or three lots to be sent to Finetex for immediate placement by interview by Perera. I had spoken to Sheru in Palmon so that he could take some and by the evening almost all the staff of the factory who wanted to stay back and work was ‘absorbed’ by JAGTA members. If anyone got a job outside the Free Zone, special arrangements were at the immigration office for such a ‘transfer’, which would not have been possible under normal circumstances!
 
Those who decided to return back home, were repatriated within the next few days by the Free Zone.  This was the only black mark we had in the Free Zone, all due to the fault of the owners.
 
Outside the Free Zone, other Emirates had come out with similar proposals; Sharjah was the first; industrial licenses were being issued by Ajman, RAK and UAQ, besides Abu Dhabi. There was a spate of activity everywhere, and everyone had plenty of orders. We had agents from Hong Kong flying down practically every day with new samples, and ready supply of raw materials/accessories, and wanted the factories to take simple production contract jobs, without involving capital expenditure to import these.
 
It was at this time, Sundaram got in touch with me, after he had heard from my wife that I was associated with the garment industry, since he wanted to study the prospects himself.  After a brief meeting, I went to his office, from where he took me to an old unused multi-storied house (4-5 floors) that was available, which could be converted into a factory.
 
I felt this was possible; and we sat down to prepare a plan of conversion. In the beginning he was sceptical, but went along, and as things were shaping up, he obtained the industrial license in no time, and was assured of the visas for the staff. After explaining the situation to Zubair, I flew down with Sundaram to select the staff.
 
In the first wave of interview on a weekend, we were able to select some 110 workers, including a bright and chirpy young woman by name Nayana, who in the years to come was not only a role model, but an outstanding manager.
 
Since there were a couple of days holidays for the New Year, I took off for a brief hop to see my parents in Madras, and returned back to continue our quest for the balance of the staff. All done, we returned back to UAE.
 
By this time, the machinery ordered was already on high seas; the follow-up for visas was good, though no comparison to the Free Zone in Jebel Ali. The technical team arrived some ten days earlier to get the machines in place, from the CKD in which they were received. I had introduced the electrical contractor and carpenter to Sundaram to do the negotiation and finalize the details himself, as it was neither my intention nor my desire to get involved more than necessary.  Besides, Sundaram, being an engineer of standing, had years of construction experience, and we had converted an unused house into a factory-cum-residence for the staff as well.
 
I procured the first order for them, and introduced Sundaram to many others in the industry so that he had continuous orders for months on end. Couple of years later, again, I assisted Sundaram in building a complete factory, which was built, brick by brick, in a large area, including living facilities for the entire staff, which had grown to more than 240 by then.

AK Ramdas has worked with the Engineering Export Promotion Council of the ministry of commerce and was associated with various committees of the Council. His international career took him to places like Beirut, Kuwait and Dubai at a time when these were small trading outposts. From being the advisor to exporters, he took over the mantle of a trader, travelled far and wide, and switched over to setting up garment factories and then worked in the US. He can be contacted at [email protected].)

You may want to read more:

• London calling: Learning the British way of executing orders
  
• An inevitable change: Exploring new
• Radical change in job responsibilities
• Moving from building materials to setting up garment factories
• The recruitment process: Fulfilling their dreams
• Good workmanship has its rewards
  
• Team-building at Finetex
• Setting up a joint venture plant in Muscat
  
• Surprise inspection by US authorities
• Staff relations and discipline in Sri Lanka

 Click here to see the previous articles by this author