I set up the business after working out various logistics and being sure that I could get orders from Bharat Bijlee, which became my first client.
I approached various other companies and within a few months received orders from Siemens and Bhel. The turnover for the first year was Rs 5-6 lakh. Soon, I began getting orders from other companies. In the meantime, I continued to dabble in stocks, but at a low scale.
This changed in 1985, when I got a sizeable order from Fedders Lloyd for about 25,000 cable units for one of their plants. A couple of days later, Jainson received a much bigger order from the company—1.5 lakh units. I did a little research and discovered that Fedders Lloyd had planned huge expansion projects. My gut instinct told me that the company was bound to grow, making it a good stock pick.
So, I used the advance money that the company had paid me to buy its shares. I also borrowed some money from friends, relatives and, in a very risky move, moneylenders. I bought 9 lakh shares at Rs 2 a share.
Within two years, the stock price had escalated to Rs 180, and I sold all my shares. Obviously, I made a huge profit, a part of which I used to expand my business. From 1990 onwards, I began buying the area around my factory. Today, my company is spread over 20,000 sq ft and I've spent Rs 3-4 crore to acquire it.
