For a while, I did it alone, learned the ropes and then started hiring people.” From 1994 to 1999, Siddiqui ran the business of painting ads on walls. Then he got in touch with Coca-Cola. The beverage giant started importing vinyls and printing on it. When Siddiqui saw this, he realised that this is the technology of the future. “As I was in a small town, I was not aware of the technology at the time.

Slowly, we came to know about the technology and established the current set up,” he says. Before getting into printing signage, however, there was a need to create a maket for it. So, Siddiqui started with fabrication, created a market, established clients and later set up his print productin facility. The company installed its first wide-format printer in 2009. It was supplied by

Infinity with Xaar printing heads. “By this time, our market was established. Soon we realised one machine will not be enough. So we went for another high speed machine after few months of the installation of the first machine,” he says. “Around 10 years ago, we had 60% job work and 40% own work, but right now, we have 85% own work and 15% job work.” It, however, has not been easy. “When we started, we struggled for every single paisa. I decided to do something about it. So I learned wall painting, before venturing into printing,” Siddiqui says.

Siddiqui started with Rs 5,000 borrowed from a friend in 1994. “Since then, in the last 10 years, we are doing business of Rs 15 crore per annum. The growth will continue in wide-format printing as well as marketing and promotional materials,” he says. Hard work and time management was the key to his success, and this is one of the reasons why Siddiqui says he doesn’t wear a wrist watch. “Time changes your mood. If you don’t know the time, your body or mood will remain unchanged.

Eventually, your body will tell you when its time to stop or take a break,” he explains. Today, Siddiqui’s ambition is to make his company one of the best wide-format printing facilities in the northern part of the country. And it has to happen at Najibabad, because, as Siddiqui explains, everything is related. “When I started, people said I will not able to carry such an opreation in Najibabad, and I replied with my performance,” he says.

Recently, Siddiqui invested in 1,59,000-sqft of land, and today, the company offers complete solutions from designing to delivery and installation of boards. It has presence all over India with 65 full time employees and more on contract. Siddiqui says this is a result of passion. Kaam ya toh shauk se ya khauf se, he explains, “Shauk (hobby) can help you arrange your bread and butter, but not more than that.

I have khauf (fear) that I don’t want to go back to my earlier situation.” But being in a small town has its problems. “New developments reach us late, and till the work starts coming to us, it becomes too late. Margins shrink and it impacts our growth.” The way ahead, according to Siddiqui, is to build a dedicated clientele. “I don’t like excuses. I talk to people and listen to them and tell them ways to complete the task.

We have to compete with players who are located in metro and minimetros having bigger and advanced set ups. We can compete on quality, delivery and price because our expenses are less being in a small city,” he explains.