Ensto started its operations in India in 2009 and I have been aboard ever since. I still remember how enthusiastic I was to get the chance to join the company! It was super exciting to establish its presence in my motherland together with colleagues in India and from Finland. The first years were a very inspiring and important phase in my life as I could put in use all the knowhow and knowledge I had gathered by that time. We created everything from the scratch and Ensto trusted in our expertise. Even if a huge amount of work was required, it was rewarding and yet there were countless baby steps to be taken, little by little we succeeded in building the business.
In the beginning we were seven people, two of which were in product development. Today, I work as the Product Development Manager responsible for the product assortment in India. After eight years we have a wide range of low voltage overhead line products developed by four engineers of the product development team. For the moment we are working to develop medium voltage and underground cable accessories product range. All the products are customized to meet the local requirements. We have succeeded thanks to listening to the customers, understanding the market, and continuous cooperation with the Finnish product development team. The journey has been amazing and offered countless possibilities to learn and cultivate understanding.
I was born in Rajasthan, India, which has a rich cultural heritage. As my father was working in the central government, we used to live in many cities along with his duties. Hence, I got a chance to see a lot. At the age of 16, I was a bit uncertain what I should study but as my friends started preparing for engineering entrance exams, I decided to go for that, too. In India Engineer is a valued profession and at that time, only few selected those studies as it required hard work. I graduated in four years exactly thanks to that. Me and my friend studied at the college in the daytime, and in the evening provided coaching classes to engineering student aspirants, which helped us to manage our study expenses and was fun. As I studied apart from my parents and family, I became independent quite early. After completing the engineering studies, it was time to participate in an industrial training where I learned about design, software, and manufacturing processes. The education helped me to understand all aspects of engineering.
Wide Expertise on Engineering
In 2001, I moved to Mumbai for a commercial job to complement my expertise. Five years later I got married and started the family life with my wife, and today, we have two wonderful children: one in his teens and the other one just about to enter in teens. In the work life, I wanted to pursue overall engineering and got a job in my hometown in an electronic meter's manufacturing company. During the following two years, I gained knowhow on electronics and R&D. Next, I moved to another company where I was able to build a team and to gain further experience on decision making and remotely operated smart electromechanical products. After two years I was ready for Ensto.
I love my profession as something new can be learned every single day. We often face uncomfortable situations, but I like handling challenges and solving problems. I highly respect everyone’s opinions and always try to take everyone’s views into account. We cherish open discussion in the team, and handle disagreements in a professional and tactful way. I believe that we can learn from disagreements and turn them into common good by explaining and reasoning. It has always been easy for me to work alone but teamwork has taught me a lot. It is important to listen to the expectations and opinions of the team members, and to understand their points of view. There is a variety of cultures, energy levels and disciplines and if we can take all that into account, the team’s capital can be put into use, and we can work in a functioning team with a motivating spirit.
Thanks to a long Ensto experience, I know the people well. That is why I can support people from different functions and departments. Being able to help brings me joy. If I can solve someone’s problem and make the person feel a little bit more comfortable, I am happy. In the product development team, we have regular cross-functional Monday meetings to keep updated on the projects’ status. Close coordination is vital to ensure smooth execution of any kind of project successfully. And then the most important thing: We are ready and able to serve our customers the best possible way.
Apart from my professional life, I am a mother nature lover and an enthusiastic explorer: spending time in nature laps is enjoyable, and performing yoga and meditation are my regular routines. Nurturing a feeling of harmony with each life on the planet is important for me. I believe in Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – वसुधैव कुटुम्बकं“, which is a Sanskrit phrase that means that the whole world is one single family.
Ramakant Vyas
The writer of the blog works as the Product Development Manager at Ensto in India.