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Mr. Sandeep Potdar
Bapu’s Services Hygiene Pvt. Ltd.
An innocuous peep into the overhead water tank, in a way, was the beginning of one of India’s most specialized entities in the field of water tank cleaning and maintenance, and these days also facility management services. It happened over a quarter-of-a-century back when MD-CEO Mr Sandeep Potdar and his sibling, then very young, fell ill with unrelenting regularity. On the advice of their family physician, their parents, Mr Shankar and Mrs Snehlata Potdar, in the absence of the right agency, got down to basics- right into the water tank above.
What they found not only shocked them into action, it also formed the basis of one of India’s most unique and pioneering organization in the field of hygiene. It has to its credit today a customer base exceeding 12000 societies, predominantly in Pune and its environs (though fast extending to other parts of the country) and a facilities management company that has to its credit deep-cleaning the Maharashtra CM’s bungalow for close to a year and half, besides a contract to maintain hygiene in over 100 schools in the region in 2016 that came about as a result of their carrying out India’s first survey on hygiene standards in 2012 covering 424 schools in the state. Conditions prevailing then stopped them from going any further with their plans but all the same the experience was insightful- including a personal remark from erstwhile HRD Minister at the Centre Mrs Smriti Irani!
The family & their history!
The patriarch of Bapu Services Hygiene Pvt Ltd, Mr Shankar Keshav Potdar, today 82, was always a self-made man. With his existing business beset with issues, the idea of cleaning people’s water tanks appealed to him. A bit of goading from friends, relations, and well-wishers was all it took for him to get going—on his rickety bike with the pillion carrying his trusted helper.
Sandeep, as yet young, went from school to college and joined the family’s other venture, a taxi, as its driver- not that they couldn’t afford a driver, but because retaining them was a task. Over the years, some of Maharashtra’s most known folks were his esteemed passengers, including the founder of Camlin, Late Subhash Dandekar, and legendary actor, Late Sadashiv Amrapurkar. The latter insisted on taking him along to his hometown of Ahmednagar and was the one who suggested sticking ads for tank cleaning in parking areas & water tanks of societies. As for Sandeep Potdar, the ever-eager (and passionate) driver, these trips rained brought with them cloudbursts of first-hand knowledge and anecdotes on life and its experiences!
With the tank-cleaning business catching up and on his mother’s insistence, Sandeep came into the family fold while taking care of dues and receipts. The acute need for higher education and NMIMS Mumbai’s specialized course in management for brands and successors holding key positions saw him accomplish an FMBA in 2002. His batch-mates included scions of some of Pune’s top business houses and builders, including Das Electricals, Goel Ganga and Palreshaas of VTP Realty.
Back in the saddle and with all the right qualifications, Sandeep got down to managing the business, from operations to HR, accounts and marketing.
Storm in the tank!
When all seems well, it’s then that things tend to go seriously wrong. With the tank cleaning business, a generic manual-cum-mechanized business catching steam, giving Bapu’s a clear first-mover advantage, the family felt the need for another company, preferably in the same line. Bapu’s Services Hygiene P Ltd, their new spinoff into facilities management, came about in the year 2002. It saw active expansion between 2008 and 2016 and has been instrumental in deep cleaning and managing organizations’ cleanliness, including some of Pune’s foremost industrial, commercial and business houses.
With lines clearly drawn between the Potdar brothers, it seemed like the family name and fortune would flourish in times to come. Destiny, though, had other plans. Elder sibling Satyjit Shankar Potdar, holding a similar brand entity but separated, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in the year 2017. Leading to its share of complexities, he could not, for obvious reasons, concentrate on the tank-cleaning business. His absence meant that that part of the business went into a tail-spin, opening floodgates for competition. With unserved and unsatisfied customers lining up, it was only a question of time before competition located the cracks in their armour. Add to that was a devastating breach in their proprietary software which was meant to keep track of customer details. Their closely guarded data on customers, service, rates, etc., was suddenly available in the public domain.
When it seemed Bapu’s Hygiene was flying aimlessly like a kite without a string, in came Sandeep Potdar, the ever-obliging, always smiling scion. His presence alone instilled confidence in everyone, from ageing parents to distraught customers to dissatisfied employees. Going door to door, be it of their customers or ex-employees, Sandeep had only one thing to say: Come back. The boat has stabilized, and the storm has blown over. Mr. Kiran Thakur of lokmanyaa society ltd belgaum the name behind this entrepreneurs to spread wings and lead the storm. Mr. Sushil jadhav zonal head accomplished the task well.
While destiny rocked their boat, something unexpected happened. A helping hand came about in the form of accomplished and renowned actor, Late Vikram Gokhale. Aware of Sandeep’s stage-acting prowess, he suggested that the former revive it. Sandeep bagged lead role in marathi loknatyaa ‘bungaat’ through nirmohi creations Together, their play “Bungaat” created waves among fans and viewers alike. Unfortunately, Sandeep’s benefactor, actor Vikram Gokhale, was not around to see it as he had passed into history by then.
The present and the future!
Slowly, steadily, and sometimes painfully, they pieced together the almost-shattered business and brought it to a state where it once again resembles its golden days. Central to it has been the pillar of support that Sandeep found in his better half, Mrs Smruti Sandeep Potdar, who accomplished an MBA from Symbiosis while the going was rough. Coming into Sandeep’s life in 2003, she added the essential humane element, a mainstay in any business that is less of machines and more of people- an obvious in the case of facilities management as also their mainstay, the tank cleaning business.
Their future is as interesting as their present. With the tank-cleaning business becoming increasingly mechanized, systematized, and checklist-driven, facilities management of institutions and companies is coming centre-stage—and for obvious reasons. Unlike water tanks, living areas and toilets affect people on a very personal level, and any positive changes in these are bound to resonate for a long time. Providing top-of-the-line services across users at all times is something they are looking up to which includes mechanizing facilities management with the latest equipment, means and measures such that chances of oversights get reduced to zero.
Speaking of mechanization, their tank cleaning part, still their mainstay, is due for a major overhaul using the latest means and technology such that tanks “talk” to them as and when the need arises for any kind of maintenance and cleaning. Going forward, this would mean mechanizing communication to an extent that would reduce human intervention to just where it is most needed.
Accolades & acknowledgments!
If you are in Pune, and the water suites you, that is a testament to their work and its importance- something shared across the city by its residents. As for formal recognition, the following stand out:
- An ISO 9001-2000 TUV certification
- Shiromani Rajiv Gandhi National Award, and
- Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Fellowship Award
- Best Company of the Year 2024 : In Business Icon ‘Companies in Focus 2024′
- Written testimonials from:
- The Minister of Health, state of Maharashtra
- The Minister of Education, state of Maharashtra
- ADC to the Governor of Goa
- The Chief Justice of Uttarakhand
- The RM of Pondicherry
Sandeep’s Success Mantra!
Simply put, it is: NEVER GIVE UP. The worst of storms come to an end, revealing sunshine. Yes, there will be devastation all around, but what is life without challenges?
Sandeep, as always, believes in being in the driver’s seat. It lets him be in the thick of the action. As for his customers, they get solutions that are fast, effective, and efficient with the least bit of inconvenience or wastage.
www.bapusservices.com
sandeeppotdar7610@yahoo.com
+91 9881466701; +9109930505
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