India is the last post of the dreaded disease ­Polio. The debate on injectable versus oral polio vaccines, however, endures. And in this crossfire, was caught Pratap Dube, son of a tea planter, who took his first shot at entrepreneurship in 1983.

His company Multivac India was to facilitate a vaccine unit - predominantly for oral - in India. Everything had been sewn up; a Canadian collaboration and a $7.5 million grant from the Swedish development agency, SIDA following years of groundwork by Dube. Then, a change in government put paid his plans in 1984 as the new­ dispensation was in favour of injectables as the solution for polio in India. Yet, Dube was hopeful and kept as it till 1988, when he finally realised he was chasing a mirage.

India, even today, imports polio vaccines. This, he attributes to agencies like the WHO, UNICEF and a cabal of multinationals. "It was a body blow to me," says Dube. For the period - 1988 to 1991 - he almost hibernated. He had to start all over again.

Eventually, he invested a few lakhs in a friend's unit manufacturing injection moulded dashboards. In 1995, he grabbed an opportunity to resurrect Multivac, albeit in a new avatar, when car manufacturer Maruti Udyog sought an Indian replacement for moulded roof liners, which were then being imported. The plant was setup in Gurgaon, near Delhi, in six months. Technical support came from a German partner. He also managed to raise a loan of Rs. 4 crore from the Haryana Financial Corporation.

Multivac is a pioneer in moulded roofliners. Though they look simple, roofliners are quite complex, for, the acoustic and thermostatic stability of the car depends on them. Costing Rs. 1,100 each, his product replaced expensive imports. "Maruti, over the years, could have saved Rs. 10 crore," claims Dube. Yet there was a constant pressure to reduce costs. In 1998, Maruti asked for a 16% price cut. Multivac has to marshal more investments - another Rs. 5 crore - for, the cost cutting could be brought about only if he made the foam, a crucial ingredient, himself. Orders flowed. From a turnover of Rs. 5 crore in 1995, the company peaked as Rs. 28 crore by 2000. "But we also made the maximum losses that year," laments Dube. In 2005, he topped all Maruti vendors in the ranking for quality and delivery. However, around this time Maruti identified another vendor with a Japanese link, and the tide turned. What prompted this move is unclear, but Dube claims he was called on to help them run their presses. "I saw what was coming," says Dube. He was still getting orders, but for only end-of-lifecycle cars in the Maruti stable. From three shifts he was down to single shift but instead of showing the door to any of his 130 workers, Dube decided to try and break new ground - even as sales dropped to Rs. 15 crore by 2005-06.

The sight of a government employee struggling to work everyday on his manual tricycle used to haunt him. Having time on his hands and skilled manpower to boot, Dube turned towards motorised trikes and wheelchairs. The cost of imported wheelchairs was prohibitive - between Rs. 75000 and Rs. 7.5 Lakh.
Dube and some of his engineers started playing with wheelchairs designs. The challenge was to make a low-cost model offering maximum access. Conventional motorised chairs have three motors for directional movements. Could he bring down the motors to one? Muslim Khan, an 8th standard pass fabrication expert in his team cracked it. The front, right side wheel of the chair was placed a wee bit ahead of the other front wheel.
"It is just a small quirk of the front wheel that makes the wheelchair turn 360 degrees on a single motor," points out Dube.
This unique design got Multivac an Indian as well as a European patent. And Muslim Khan, as one of the inventors, is a joint holder of the patent. The company now boasts of a range of wheelchairs - from the basic active version for Rs. 5000 to the motorised one for Rs. 25,000, perhaps the cheapest anywhere. Also, being refined is a metal rod fitted with a motor and controls that can be strapped on to a normal wheelchair. The government, considering the wheelchair's societal impact, has waive4 all taxes and duties.
However, Dube would like to bring down the price further to Rs. 20000 or thereabouts. This requires economies of scale and a big marketing push, something he is poor at. He is therefore in talks with the electric scooter company, Ultra Motors lndia. The idea is to sell motorised, battery - operated wheelchairs in Ultra's auto showrooms across the country. And the State Bank of India has apparently agreed to support the physically challenged people seeking motorised wheelchairs. There are over 40 million orthopaedically handicapped people in India. "My dream is to ensure affordability and reach the maximum number of this section of people," says Dube. Multivac has orders for 10,000 chairs. He is now looking at developing dual fuel wheelchairs and trikes. As luck would have it, his auto business, too, is now looking up, thanks to the green wave sloshing the US and Europe. In Europe, especially in Germany, auto majors are embracing environment-friendly recyclable parts. A German company, R+S Technik is picking up a stake in Multivac. The duo has readied a strategy to make auto door panels, roofliners and other auto components with Mesta, a fibre from the jute family available in India. In fact, Mahindra & Mahindra's (M&M) multi utility vehicle Scorpio being exported to the US will be fitted with Mesta panels soon. "Our material passes the US side-impact tests, which plastics do not," claims Dube. Multivac has already commenced supplies for M&M's Bolero.
In 2006-07, Multivac's turnover touched Rs. 20 crore. West Asian markets are already buying his roofliner panels. He hopes to be a Rs. 45 crore company by 2008-09.
It seems innovation is what has made Dube third-time lucky. But, will the charm help him scale up from here? We will know as the wheel slowly turns.