Standing tall: Ruia outbid J.K. Tyres and Hero Honda to bag Dunlop

Pawan Kumar Ruia greatly admires Henry Ford. In fact, he's made one of the legendary American industrialist's quotes "When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it", the leitmotif of his life. It was evident in the first question the 47-year-old asked the thousands of workers who mobbed him when he first stepped into Dunlop India's long closed factory at Sahagunj in West Bengal on December 4: "Do you have an AITUC union here?"

Ruia's concern was understandable. The CPI-affiliated trade union and its irrepressible leader Gurudas Dasgupta have been major thorns in his side ever since he took over Jessop & Company three years ago. AITUC, which has a minority union at Jessop, organised demonstrations against him, issued damaging public statements about his antecedents and even moved court against his takeover of the sick public sector machinery company. Fortunately for Ruia, he had the support of the CPI(M)-affiliated majority CITU union, and managed to turn around the company with its support.

But his handling of the often unpleasant situations provides a glimpse into the man's still evolving management style. He would call up Dasgupta directly to find out what his problem was. He has used this blunt and direct approach to sort out other problems as well. Whenever he faces issues relating to industrial relations, he personally meets West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee or state industries minister Nirupam Sen to iron them out. And when the Railways holds up Jessop's payments, he lands up at Union

Railways minister Laloo Prasad Yadav's door. "This direct approach works wonders. There is no problem which cannot be sorted out across the table. Let me tell you that I've got support from all quarters-the Left and the Congress. Union Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, for instance, has assured me that he will extend all possible help to see that Dunlop turns around," Ruia says.

But despite his current high profile, little is known about the man. That's not surprising, considering that he was practically unknown even in his native Kolkata till three years ago, when he bought over the once-mammoth Jessop for a paltry Rs 18.80 crore. But his really big moment came last month when he sewed up a deal with the Dubai-based Jumbo Group to buy out its holdings in Dunlop, Falcon Tyres and India Tyres for Rs 200 crore. Sources, however, indicate that the actual sum may have been much higher; some guesstimates peg the deal value at two times the disclosed amount. And Ruia estimates that he will have to invest another Rs 300-350 crore to put the company back on track. That's a tab of at least Rs 500-750 crore.

Where is he getting such humungous sums of money from? Ask the man and he simply says: "Internal accruals, loans from the Union Bank of India and IDBI and contributions from friends and associates." A peek into his businesses (see Ruia's Empire) doesn't reveal much. His privately held flagship, Ruia Cotex, which mainly trades in garments, is said to be his cash cow. Ruia declines to reveal any figures for the company, except to say that it's profitable. According to the grapevine, the company is on the block. The asking price: again Ruia refuses to talk, but sources say it's in the region of Rs 200 crore. "With his net worth"-Marwari circles in Kolkata peg it at about Rs 500 crore-"and his connections, it shouldn't really be a problem for him to raise the resources," says a businessman who has known him for sometime.

CIRCLE OF FRIENDS P.K. Ruia is a man for all seasons and has friends in high places. They span the entire political spectrum, from Left to Centre to Right, and include some big guns from India Inc., too. When BT asked him for names, this is the list he drew up.
NILOTPAL BASU Leader /CPI(M) One of Ruia's close friends on the Left.	PRANAB MUKHERJEE Defence Minister /GoI Assured Ruia of defence department orders	R.K. DHAWAN Leader /Congress Shares strong bond with Gandhi family loyalist
ARUN SHOURIE Leader /BJP Sold Jessop to Ruia as disinvestment minister	AHMED PATEL Leader /Congress Another of Ruia's many political friends	PAWAN KUMAR RUIA Chairman Jessop & Company
S.K. BIRLA Chairman /S.K. Birla Group Ruia holds the entire family in great esteem	SOMNATH CHATTERJEE Speaker /Lok Sabha Ruia trusts his proven legal acumen	SAJJAN JINDAL VC & MD /JVSL The two have been friends for years

Fair enough. But why is Ruia- who's a ca and a lawyer by training -betting the bank on an industrial gambit that is at best uncertain? Dunlop is saddled with liabilities of Rs 650 crore. Taking on such a mountain of debt is fraught with risk. "We don't really have to turn around Dunlop. It will make profits from the day we restart production (his optimism stems from assurances he's received on defence orders). My biggest challenge will be to negotiate with creditors and draw up a schedule to settle the liabilities," says the man who inherited two small scale units-making ceramics and chemicals-near Kolkata from his father. Both have downed shutters, but Ruia has moved on.

Insiders say he's really playing out his childhood fantasy of becoming a hotshot industrialist. There was a textile factory, owned by the Birlas, near his school at Pipri in Mirzapur district of Uttar Pradesh, where the Ruias lived before moving to Kolkata in the 70s. The image of that factory and stories about the incredible wealth and power of the Birlas have reportedly fired his imagination ever since.

But why does he only go after companies that others have written off as basket cases? One obvious reason is price. Another, says Ruia, is his "attraction for strong brands, no matter how badly the companies are currently managed".

He intends to draw heavily on his Jessop experience at Dunlop. "We began with simple things- buildings were repaired and painted, plants were refurbished, workers were given uniforms and we ensured a cleaner, safer and more congenial work environment for everyone concerned," says Ruia. "And we successfully communicated to all stakeholders our commitment to creating a professional work ethic that rewards employees. The results are there for all to see." This is the model he proposes to replicate in the tyre major. "Falcon Tyres is profitable. I'll focus mainly on Dunlop's Ambattur unit in Tamil Nadu and on Sahagunj. I'm hoping to revive the company within two-and-a-half years," says Ruia, who, incidentally, has quite a reputation in Kolkata as an art collector.

His collection includes works by Bengal School masters such as Nandalal Bose, Jamini Roy, Prakash Karmakar, Dipali Bhattacharya, Dhiraj Chowdhury and Ramananda Bandyopadhyay. And despite his exceptionally busy schedule these days, he still finds time to sometimes admire his collection and read up some more on the artists. During these little interludes, he also sometimes thinks of a little boy in a dusty town in up who dared to dream big-and had the courage to live them out. Turning that dream into reality won't be easy. But regardless of what the future holds, Ruia must be given full marks for trying.