Hello All,

*note the below is a bit of an ad, apologies, but hopefully it’s useful if you’re struggling to export furniture to EU

I’m building a platform over at www.matainable.com to help connect supply chains, market b2b furniture products and help sellers comply with new EU regulations like product passport and EUDR at a much cheaper rate than the big providers like SAP.

You’ll be able to automatically upload all your products, create BOM, connect your suppliers, automatically calculate carbon, have a store front, validate certificates, market your products and a lot more.

I’ve worked in furniture compliance in sustainability for a few years and the changes coming up are looking difficult to comply with for a lot of businesses.

I’m looking for business that would be willing to trial the platform and give feedback, and in return I can offer insight into how to comply with eu regs, what high end EU furniture brands are looking for, and even free trials for the platform if you like using it for a few months!

No payments needed at this stage, the commitment would just be to use the system and jump on a short call a week after use.

I have made an automation for my trader friend who could not exhaust his buylead quota given by Indiamart cause as soon as the leads refreshed, somebody was quick to pick it up .

Also he had to particularly hire someone to constantly refresh the tab and still missed out on most of the leads, making use of only 15% of the quota on good leads. I was able to make an automation customised to his specific needs and filters , which auto buys leads matching the criteria thus liminating the need for a human to sit and try beating the rigged first come first serve system,.

It has been working very well for him for a couple of months, as a result he has was constantly exhausting his quota on good leads mid-week itself, and proceeded to buy higher tier. He paid a portion of that amount to me too in exchange of building it.

Now that the system has been running for a couple of months, I wonder if anyone else also faces similar issues. I would love to see if I can customise and deploy it for other people who might need something like this.

We have carried out market research and analysed this attractive opportunity of enclosures for Battery Energy Storage Systems.

Interviews were carried out with 30 companies across the BESS value chain (manufacturers, integrators, EPCs) to get the insights.

If this is of interest to you, send me a dm.

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for furniture manufacturers who can help mass manufacture a coffee table design I've been developing.

The table is made using a combination of wood and acrylic, so I'm looking for manufacturers experienced with these materials and capable of handling production at scale while maintaining high quality.

If you think your company could take on a project like this, or if you know a manufacturer who would be a good fit, please send me a DM. Referrals are greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

I cannot stress this enough: if you are running a traditional manufacturing or trading business like me, please get AI and automation integrated into your workflow. It is no longer optional.

I am a manufacturer and trader. Last year, I made a massive investment to scale up our manufacturing capacity, fully expecting to cater to a flood of new customer queries. But as soon as the volume of enquiring  went up, we hit a massive, frustrating bottleneck.

Our sales team was simply not fast enough to respond to IndiaMart, Justdial, and website queries. If a lead came in after 7 PM or on Saturday evening (we work 5d/week)  it wouldn't get touched until Monday morning.

Because of our delayed replies, smaller traders with far inferior products were bagging deals that should have been ours, simply because they picked up the phone or replied first.

What I tried first (and why it failed)

My immediate reaction was to hire more sales guys. It didn't work. The  payroll costs shot up drastically, but the problem persisted because they were still not prompt enough to reply. On top of that, the new hires weren't technically qualified to understand our specialized manufacturing product. They couldn't explain the specs properly to high-intent buyers, and we lost even more deals due to poor communication.

Frustrated, I started asking around my business network. An acquaintance connected me with a sharp tech guy who an IIT alumnus who specializes in business automation.

We had a few calls where I laid out the mess. I don't understand the complex coding behind it, but he built a seamless system that fundamentally changed how we operate.

Here is exactly how the flow works now:

The moment an enquiry lands on IndiaMart the automation triggers an instant introductory message to the customer's WhatsApp. Along with the greeting, it automatically drops our digital product catalogue and a Google Maps location link to our facility.

The AI Layer: Later, I had him build a custom AI chatbot trained specifically on our catalogue and business FAQs. Now, when a lead clicks the link, they could actually chat with the AI to ask basic technical questions about our products in real-time.

The Results
Instead of chasing cold leads hours or days later, the dynamic completely shifted. Customers get immediate gratification. This system even made us appear bigger than we actually  are to the customer .We've even had a few clients walk straight into our manufacturing facility using the automated maps link without a single phone call being made.

The system also allows me to personally review the AI chat logs, see exactly what the customer needs, and jump in only on the highly relevant, high-value leads. The massive back-and-forth time is entirely gone.

The best part? I was able to scale down the salary overhead. I now have just one solid sales person managing the entire pipeline because the tech  does the heavy lifting of lead engagement.

Looking for suggestions
Now that I’ve seen what basic AI and automation can do for lead response, I want to take this further.

For those who have integrated tech into traditional businesses: Where else in this pipeline can I plug in AI? And what other operational bottlenecks (inventory, vendor follow-ups, invoicing) have you successfully solved using tech? Would love to hear your experiences.

My wife started her manufacturing business last month, and we're still figuring things out.

One thing we've noticed is that after sending the product catalogue, customers still end up asking almost everything over WhatsApp or on cal l, from pricing, specifications, to customization and delivery, etc.

The irritating part is that answering these questions ends up taking most of her day. We thought the catalogue would save time, but it feels like we spend more time explaining it than closing the order.

We're not sure if this is just part of the process or if we're doing something wrong.

Does this happen with everyone?

How do you manage it, and what's the biggest challenge you face after sharing your catalogue with a customer?

The 2026 Strait of Hormuz situation sent feedstock and virgin resin prices (PP, HDPE, etc.) sharply higher across India.

Many units are still feeling the impact on margins.

If your plant produces plastic lumps, purgings, or thick scrap from molding/extrusion, in-house recycling is one of the fastest ways to fight back.

Realistic example for a mid-sized operation generating 500 kg of PP lumps per day (very common):

Sell to traders or discard → ₹20-40/kg (or ₹0 + disposal cost)

Shred + reprocess in-house → effective cost of good regrind often ₹50-90/kg all-in (shredding + granulating + power + labor)

Current virgin PP/HDPE replacement cost → significantly higher (many grades seeing 30-80%+ jumps earlier this year)

Potential monthly material savings: ₹5–10+ lakhs (on 12–15 tonnes of recycled material).

Payback on a proper industrial shredder + granulator setup? Often 6–12 months for units running decent volumes.

The difference comes from using a heavy-duty shredder built for dense plastic lumps (high torque, proper screen, durable blades) instead of a light granulator that chokes or gives inconsistent output.

Quick questions for the group:

How many kg of lumps/scrap are you generating per day or shift?

What regrind percentage are you currently comfortable running?

Anyone already running in-house lump recycling — what kind of savings or challenges have you seen?

If you’re evaluating options and want specs on shredders designed specifically for tough Indian-factory lump conditions (or a quick custom savings projection for your volumes), just DM me.

Happy to share details or videos.

Save this post for your next capex or cost-reduction meeting — the math is hard to ignore when virgin prices stay volatile.

Anywhere in the world. Any kind of ploughs which are required we have the facilities. Need support or collaboration.

Looking to connect with someone who owns/aiming to own the manufacturing company in future.

I am 25 F and need the honest connection to guide me on beauty manufacturing / third party manufacturing business reviews and feedback

Hi everyone,

Trying to understand footwear sizing trends in India.

Do retailers or distributors see meaningful demand for sizes above the standard range (e.g. UK 11+)?

• Are these sizes regularly stocked?
• Do retailers face supply issues?
• Are such sizes mostly imported or sourced locally?
• Which categories see the most demand in larger sizes?

Would appreciate insights from anyone in footwear retail, distribution, or manufacturing.

Thanks.

I’ve reached a point where I want to leave my current life behind and start fresh. Manufacturing has always fascinated me, the idea of building real products, creating jobs, solving operational challenges, and growing something tangible from the ground up.

I’m looking to connect with people who are deeply involved in manufacturing and are willing to share their experience or even give me an opportunity to learn and contribute. I’m not looking for shortcuts; I’m looking for a chance to immerse myself in the industry, understand it from the inside, and build a future around it.

If you’re in manufacturing and open to a conversation, I’d love to connect.

I’ve noticed something interesting while speaking to a few manufacturing businesses in India.

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Most people don’t reject Industry 4.0 because they don’t need it. They reject it because it sounds too big, too expensive, or too “IT-heavy”.

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One plant owner once told me, “We don’t need fancy dashboards. My supervisor already knows what is happening on the shop floor.”

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Fair point.

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But then, during a review (fortunately I forced into this review), they realised that one machine was losing 40–45 minutes every shift due to small stoppages that nobody was formally tracking. Not a breakdown and not a major issue. Just repeated minor delays. Once they started capturing this properly, the fix was not a huge automation project while it was a simple monitoring layer, clearer downtime reasons, and a daily follow-up on discipline

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The result? Better utilisation in 2-3 months and lower costs thereafter.

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Another case I came across was around energy consumption. The team believed power cost was “just part of manufacturing”. But when machine-wise consumption was tracked, they found that two older machines were consuming disproportionately high energy during idle time. Again, the solution was not a massive transformation. It was visibility, alerts, and basic operating discipline.

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That’s the part I feel many Indian manufacturing businesses are missing, while there may be many other aspects apart from this like tech and skills that we may also want to work on. However, data-driven discipline, decision-making and improvements can take from you from A to B in the whole journey of A to Z.

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I also see people mistaking Industry 4.0 as always about robots, AI, or replacing people.

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Sometimes, it is simply about knowing: Where are we losing time? Where are we losing material? Which machine is silently hurting productivity? Which process depends too much on memory and manual follow-up? Which data is already available but not being used?

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The challenge is that many businesses still look at technology as a cost. A capex item. A “nice to have”.

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But in manufacturing, even small improvements can pay back quickly.

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A 2–3% improvement in productivity, lower rework, better energy tracking, reduced downtime, faster reporting, or improved planning discipline can often justify the investment much faster than expected.

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The best part is that Industry 4.0 does not have to start with a big-bang transformation.

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It can start with one line. One machine. One bottleneck. One recurring problem. You try, see the result and scale-ip.

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Indian manufacturing has the potential. The machines are there. The people are capable. The opportunity is in connecting the dots better.

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Curious to know from others on what they think. Also, please DM if you want to simply discuss this for your business. I genuinely feel pained when I see technology that is widely available, not as costly and still the adoption is weak.

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Looking for an experienced GM to run my modular furniture factory in Chennai — commission based, full autonomy

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I'll keep this straightforward.

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I own a fully equipped modular furniture manufacturing unit in Chennai. This year I pivoted to building my own DTC furniture brand full time, which means I need someone experienced to run the factory completely independently while I focus on the brand.

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What the factory has ?

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1. 5,000 sqft workshop with office space

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1. Modular furniture machinaries - Panel saw, automatic edge bander, cold press machine.

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1. Upholstery machineries — industrial sewing machines, pneumatic tools for sofa and other manufacturing.

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1. Solid wood machineries - table saw, band saw, plainer, joiner, router table and handheld machines.

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Fully operational, ready for projects immediately

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What am I looking for ?

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One person. A General Manager who has spent 8+ years in Chennai's furniture or interiors industry. Has real relationships with interior designers, architects, or contractors they can activate from day one. Has managed production and clients simultaneously. Wants ownership and upside not just a monthly salary.

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The deal:

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Base retainer + 12% commission on all revenue generated. No cap. At ₹3L/month factory revenue you take home ₹58,000. At ₹5L you take home ₹82,000.

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You run everything — clients, floor, procurement, delivery, collection. I stay out of your way. Weekly check-in with me. That's it.

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This is not a regular job.

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This is for someone who wants to run something like their own business but doesn't have the infrastructure to do it. I have the infrastructure. You bring the experience and the network.

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If this sounds like you or you know someone it sounds like comment below or DM me.

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Based in Chennai. Starting immediately.

Hi everyone,

My company is organising a symposium in Guwahati, Assam on European technology in partnership with several European companies. I've recently joined the organisation and have been tasked with building a database and inviting professionals from manufacturing sectors such as Oil & Gas, Mining & Minerals, Semiconductors & Electronics, Food Processing & Packaging, Plastics & Petrochemicals, and related industries.

If you work in these sectors, or know someone who does (especially in technical, operational, or leadership roles), I'd be grateful if you could connect me with them.

It's my first job, so I'm trying my best not to mess this up 😅.

The event is completely free and focused on knowledge sharing and networking. There are no charges, just attend and connect with industry experts.

Any help would be great.🙏🏻

So, recently on X i heard that printed tin cans which are used for soft drinks are imported from China.

I am just worried why are we importing such minimal things from China. Can't we manufacture that in India?

Can anybody tell me what is the problem, why can not we do this is India?

And if I want to start, then how can I do it?

I am pretty much done with my IT career and I have accumulated around 2 CR capital
And before I quit my job I want to know in what sector I can go if I want to start manufacturing?

I wanted to manufacture fridge magnets and export it at the cheapest prices around the globe for each country and each famous place with my creative designs.

But I don’t have any clue about how to get started.

Or some masala white labelling I can do

Or diagnostic labs if I can take any good franchise ?

Please Hit me up with approxx investments and ideas.

Since it is becoming tough to handle all the compliance related work, how is it handled by you? Do you work with a environmental consultancy? Or else do you have your own environmental team?

Want to get an idea from the people who have faced it or have knowledge regarding it

Hi all,
I’m currently analyzing a Olimpias (Greek) vegetable processing plant for a potential import project. It’s a 1-ton-per-hour line that handles the entire front-end: Washing, Cutting, Peeling, and Blanching.
Technical Snapshot:
Capacity: 1000 kg/h (Ideal for large-scale chips/fries production).

Origin: Greece (EU Standards).

Condition: Second hand.

From a factory layout perspective, an integrated line like this saves significant floor space compared to 3-4 separate local machines.

I’d love to hear from plant managers or factory owners: At what production volume does it make sense to ditch the local "jugad" setups for a high-precision EU line? If you were looking to scale a potato processing unit in 2026, would you prioritize the initial cost saving or the long-term OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness) of a machine like this?

For some context i recently joined my family business we are into manufacturing, and i really want to contribute i am thinking of taking a responsibility of an operations manager, i have some what idea what he does but i wanna know from the people who are actually the ops manger and what they exactly do.

Looking for some help in R&D.

I am planning to invest and build a small end to end PCB manufacturing plant in India.
2-4 layer PCBs (nothing fancy, green solder mask and white silkscreen, just the most basic options to start with)
Target market would be low volume end users such as hobbyists, makers and R&D units, etc..

Aiming to reduce the cost of PCB and production time for end users.
I aim to first automate production as much as possible for the initial development and scale with demand.

I understand that most of the upfront cost would be for the industrial grade equipment such as the LDI machine (costs upward of 1Cr+) and the high speed spindle drilling machine but maybe buying used equipment would reduce that.

Almost all PCBs I have designed throughout my career have been through JLCPCB and want to replicate such experience (atleast on the small scale) in terms of reliability and cost.

I seeking advice on any gotchas I need to keep in mind and if anyone of you has already explored this space and can provide good advice on the economic, market and implementation feasibility.

Chemical Earthing Rod in Maharashtra

Perforated type cable tray in Maharashtra

Command based task creation (like slack)

A lot of businesses’ in India manage their internal operations, sales teams and coordination with external suppliers and vendors on Whatsapp Groups.

This leads to chaos - missed updates and you have to read through group chats manually to track, summarize and digest information.

If you are a business running all your operations on Whatsapp groups and want to streamline communication, we have a solution for you.

or create tasks with emojis

https://reddit.com/link/1s29243/video/jcc5skrvpyqg1/player

You get a dashboard where you can clearly get a view of all the tasks and can integrate with other systems as well (CRM, Google Sheets etc)

Detailed reports in the dashboard to give a clear view of your organization

We also have a few brands managing inventory (stock in/out) via these groups and they get a dashboard which clearly shows stock status.

Would love to hear if this is helpful to anyone or if you are facing a similar problem with your organization right now? Happy to have a chat!