Desher Samay: A student of history. His family wanted him to study well and do something in life. While memorizing thick books of history, even Suman Roy of Silinda village in Nadia also used to think that life would be the best, if he could get a job as a teacher in a school.
To acquire his dream job of becoming a teacher, he completed his Graduation in History (Hons) from Ranaghat College and later, Master’s in History from Rabindra Bharati University. But his fate unfolded a different story, instead of becoming a history teacher, he became a successful businessman.
Suman’s Uncle made the student of history addicted to business. Then there was no looking back. Rather, he transformed his addiction to a profession, engraved in him by his uncle. His journey began with the border trade. And then, there was no looking back. He started to establish one company after another. He stepped beyond the borders, to flourish his trade in other countries.
At present, Siam Logistics Pvt Ltd is engaged in trade with at least ten countries, including Vietnam, Thailand, West Africa, Turkey, and Laos.
However, in the meantime, ‘Desher Samay’ joined hands in the new journey of Suman. They jointly attempted to put the work area on the calendar.
Right from Petrapole, Asia’s largest land port, to the iconic Khidirpur Dock in Kolkata, has been well portrayed on the canvas of the days of this calendar. The calendar will be officially released on the first day of the new year.
In an exclusive interview, he mentioned “Many people don’t know how trade takes place at the border. How many people are involved? Attempts have been made to present a collage of them in the calendar. There are also plans to make a documentary about the port in the future.” “Work is not just about earning, you have to love your work. Then only you will receive the blessings of Goddess Laxmi”, he said.
Suman’s business growth proves, that he is absolutely right. There were two companies. Recently he started another company to increase the volume of trade with foreign countries. Last year, the turnover of the two companies was Rs 55 crore. Suman is hopeful that this time it will be surpassed.
In the year 2005, Suman was hand-picked by his uncle in the border trade at Ghojadanga. Slowly, he began to understand the business. He opened an office in 2007. At first, he worked as a land port clearing agent. Later, he also started the customs clearance work of the railway. In 2012, he opened a logistics company along with Export Import. In 2019, before the onset of COVID-19, for the sake of his business, Suman came to Kolkata from suburban. Meanwhile, he has worked for a long time, in the land ports. This time he created a freight forwarding license to trade by water. He first rented an office in the Diamond Heritage Building in Fairlie Place, Kolkata. He then set up his own office in the building. He started working at Khidirpur Port and soon he formed, Siam Logistics Private Limited.
Now, the target was abroad. It started with Vietnam. And then one country after another. Suman’s company is ISO registered. The company is a member of the Global Logistics Alliance (GLO). He is also a member of the Federation of Export Indian Organization. One has to travel abroad for a year to attend meetings of the organization. He had to travel to China, Dubai, and Thailand.
Last time, he received a special award from an organization under the central government for his special contribution to border trade. Now he wants to expand his business in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The Sumans’ family business was the supply of homeopathic medicines. From there, everyone praised Suman’s efforts, including his family for his immense success in border trade. According to him, “I am still learning all the time. Every day, I read to gain knowledge of something new. I studied in Bengali medium. Now I have to read English books. I used to read history books in school. Now I have to learn accounts to run a company.”
According to this successful businessman, “I am very happy with my team. They can do everything on their own, which gives me time to think of something new.”
Currently, his family resides in Mandalpara near Chandpara. But for his business, he is unable to stay there. He lives in Rajarhat, New Town, Kolkata.
