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The Indian - American Magazine Monday, September 8, 2008  
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 Source of info on S&P 500 Firms for South Asian Investors

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2008 Jan-Feb Cover.JPG 2007 Nov-Dec Front Page.JPG 2007Sept-Oct.jpg

Jan - Feb 2008
            MSI
            North America's Largest

Distributor of Natural

Stone

Nov - Dec 2007
          Akshaya Patra:
          Leading the Way


Sep - Oct 2007
Ray Catena
Like No Other Dealership
Simply the Best

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Founded in June 2002, BIZ INDIA is a full-color, glossy magazine that is an exciting gateway to the fastest-growing, most affluent, best-educated and most technologically-savvy immigrant population in the United States today: South Asians.

South Asians are people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and other nearby countries. There are an estimated five million South Asians in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. About 55 percent or 2.7 million of them are Asian Indians.

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BIZ INDIA is a unique publication. Unlike other South Asian newspapers, magazines and other media of mass communication (South Asian TV and radio stations, for example) BIZ INDIA's primary focus is business and its primary mission is to publish stories of successful business people and professionals.

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Cover Story

January - February 2008

 

North America's Largest Distributor of Natural Stone


 

The stone business is as old as the earth, but MS International, Inc., headquartered in Orange, California has established itself as a bedrock in the industry in the short space of three decades. 

        At the head of this enterprise is Manubhai Shah, who arrived in this country from Bangalore in debt from his training in mechanical engineering. 

Started in Basement in 1975

        As Shah put it, "Stone biz is the oldest biz in the world."

        The family-owned international business started out as a basement outfit in 1975. Shah's connection to the stone business was a quarry owned by his brother in India. 

           Offices Now in 7 States

        Today, the company has offices in five countries, seven states, and employs 400 workers around the world.  One of MSI's distribution centers is located in Edison, NJ. 

        Stellar Performance

        A few months ago, Shah was bestowed the 2007 Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for his company's stellar performance in the distribution, manufacturing and security category. 

  Growth Despite Housing Slump  

        After speaking with Shah, it quickly becomes clear that his background in engineering is still very much at work.  While many companies in the stone business were bracing for the impact from the recent housing slump, MSI has consistently managed to pull ahead. 

Importing 1,000 Containers a  Month

        "In 32 years and five recessions, MSI has never gone under," Shah said. In 2007 MSI imported 12,000 of 20-foot containers of material, largely from Brazil, Turkey, China, and India, and shipped 100 million square feet of material, grossing $240 million in sales, an increase of 28 percent over 2006 sales of $188 million. The material, which includes granite, marble, slate, limestone and onyx, are installed in homes all over America

as kitchen countertops, pillars,  flooring for foyer entryways, etc.

        Focus on Efficiency

        Shah attributes the company's success to its focus on efficiency.  He criticizes his competitors for relying on the housing boom's rising tide to stay afloat rather than any merit on their part.

        "Water was moving at six miles an hour and they were swimming at three miles an hour.  Now you're upstream and the water is moving against you at six miles an hour.  You're going to drown," he said.

        As his competitors tanked, Shah said that his company was able to continue to grow by absorbing their share of the market.

Information Technology Is Key

        "That was the time to show off our efficiency.  It was not easy to differentiate when everyone was doing well," he said. 

        Indeed, efficiency is Shah's domain and the key to it he claims is information technology.

        MSI's setup sounds quite simple.  The company is divided into 22 teams designated in the categories of "Sales," "Product" and "Service."                   Shah and his wife Rika oversee the teams, serving as coaches.  Shah's sons Rup and Raj also joined the business about five years ago.

Each Team an Energy Source

        "Our job is helping the weakest team, and the weakest part of the weakest team," Shah said.  "Each team becomes an energy source.  Not consuming energy but producing energy on its own.

        "It is still a mom and pop operation." Shah added.

        Shah believes in not hiring liberally to make sure that the brainpower is available to meet his company's work demands. 

        Pride in Job Creation

        He prides his role in job creation in the United States and back in India particularly in light of his own humble beginnings.  Promoting Education in Rural India

        He also understands the important role that education plays in providing a workforce in rural India, and has invested in organizations that promote education in the rural areas where his quarries are located. 

Adaptable People: 1st Choice

        "Someone gives me a choice of most talented, most intelligent, most adaptable person, I'll choose the last one," said Shah.

        Shah attributes the company's move to paperless processing as one of the chief reasons for MSI's continual growth and improvements in accuracy.   

Orders  Input Only Once, By Customer

        The company invests heavily in its information technology components.  According to Shah, most orders are input only once by the customer.

        "When you duplicate information, you make a lot of mistakes…being paperless makes us transparent," he said.

        The same information is available to all the different branches of the company, though the screen that an employee in Sales might be staring at on a computer would be customized to include only the information relevant to his role at the company, compared to someone whose job was to track the shipping of the materials.

Milestone: Winning Contract 

To Supply Granite for Vietnam

War Veterans Memorial

        "We can combine the information age to the Stone Age," Shah said. Another personal success for Shah is MSI's role in bringing back black. One of MSI's early breakthroughs was winning a contract in 1982 to supply the black granite, a stone largely ignored by the industry, for the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial in Washington, DC.  Winning this contract as an immigrant from India was no small feat and the project took up a lot of the young company's resources. 

          "We invested every dime we had to get that job done," Shah said.

Favorite Stone: Black Galaxy

        Since then, Shah has campaigned for designers to incorporate black granite into American homes.  His efforts have met with some success and what was once a funereal color reminiscent of death has become accepted as chic sophisticate.   

        Shah's own favorite stone is black galaxy, named for its gold flecks, which is unique to India.

        Still, another challenge is fighting the notion that the finest stones only come from Italy, where the stone industry originated.

        "When the stone was formed, there were no countries so it doesn't matter where stone came from," Shah said.  He pointed out that stone formed hundreds of millions of years ago.

           "Humans figured out how to use the stone for their advantage," he said, listing the progression of mankind's relationship with stone.  "Knife, starting fire, wheel, coin, writing and the stone tablet...so I don't want people to think that only Italy can work with stone.  Stone is stone."

 




Cover Story

November - December 2007

 

 

Akshaya Patra:

Leading the Way to end hunger in India

 







 

 

The Akshaya Patra Foundation, a non-profit organization based in Bangalore, is running the largest school lunch program of its kind in the world and revolutionizing the approach to ending hunger and promoting education among the most underprivileged children in India.                The organization set up its first kitchen in 2000 to feed 1500 children in Bangalore and has scaled its operations to feed more than 825,000 children on a daily basis, in thirteen kitchens located in the states of Karnataka, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Gujarat.

            Akshaya Patra is the result of an extraordinary public-private partnership to address one of India's greatest challenges - to ensure that its next generation becomes healthy, educated adults and productive members of Indian society.   

            The organization's mission is to end hunger and promote education by serving unlimited wholesome food to children in government schools, providing an incentive for children to come to school, stay in school, and giving them the necessary nutrients they need to improve their cognitive development and performance in the classroom.

            "Akshaya Patra is an initiative that could transform India if we could replicate it nationwide," said Madhu Sridhar, President of Akshaya Patra USA.

            "A developed India tomorrow cannot be a reality until we take responsibility for this vulnerable segment of our population. We need to take individual action to be part of the solution. Akshaya Patra, with its proven track record and scalable model, offers that solution," said Sridhar.

            Despite the country's booming economic growth in recent years, India is still home to 57 million malnourished children. It has been estimated that malnourishment is the

 

root of 22% of the country's burden of disease, and is having a negative effect on both productivity and income in India. In regards to education, the outlook also remains bleak.                     Although the country is home to some of the most talented minds and teaching institutions in the world, there are millions of others who do not have access to a basic education. Approximately 25 million primary school-age children are not in school. For those enrolled, 40% drop out before reaching Class V. Literacy, especially among women, remains low. 

            This program is unique in magnitude, complexity, method of delivery and approach, using technology extensively to minimize cost, time and labor.

             The model leverages innovative technology in cooking and delivery, utilizes global standards of supply chain efficiency and builds forward and backward linkages by ensuring that procurement is done directly from the farmers and deliv ered to the beneficiaries in the most

timely and cost-efficient manner.

            In fact, Harvard Business School has recently developed a case study on Akshaya Patra that will be used in its curriculum for MBA stu

dents, as an example of a program employing precise time management. 

            For a cost of just $28 per child annually, Akshaya Patra is providing underprivileged children in India with a free nutritious meal, often the only meal they receive for the entire day. 

            The organization has also

demonstrated positive impact in

school attendance, retention, nutrition, and performance, especially among female students. The goal of the organization is to feed one million children on a daily basis by the end of the decade.

            Akshaya Patra launched its U.S operations in 2006 to help sustain and expand the program. The goal of the office, located in Stoneham, Massachusetts is to raise funds by increasing awareness throughout the country about Akshaya Patra's proven track record and unique scalable solution. 

            With India on the threshold of development and socio-economic prosperity, it is imperative for these children to be incorporated into the mainstream society, with all its myriad opportunities for good education, better career and good health.                                 Children are the future of our society.  $28 for 11 years can break the cycle of poverty for a child and give them a brighter future. "We are running a marathon, not a sprint, and our strategies and policies reflect that," said Sridhar. "It is the best return on any investment you will ever make."

            For more information about the Akshaya Patra Foundation, contact Madhu Sridhar, President at 781-438-3090  or visit www.akshayapatra.org.    

 








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