Uma Chemicals

Out here at 19, Ashwamegh Industrial Estate, the day starts before the sun is even fully up. Being on the Sarkhej Bavala Highway in Changodar means we are surrounded by a lot of other factories and warehouses. Uma Chemicals is one of those places where you can hear the hum of the highway in the distance all day long. The air usually has a faint chemical scent to it, which is expected in this line of work. We have large drums stacked up and pipes running along the ceilings. It’s not the kind of place you’d come for a tour; it’s built for utility. The office is just a small partitioned space with a couple of old computers and some filing cabinets that don’t always close right. We spend a lot of time checking labels and monitoring the temperatures. The workers here are used to the heat of the Changodar area, and we usually take our breaks together in the shade of the loading dock. Most of our day is spent making sure the batches are consistent and the shipments are ready for the trucks that pull in off the highway. It’s hard work and it can be messy, but it’s the life of an industrial estate. We don’t bother with anything that isn't necessary for the job at hand. It’s just a group of us keeping the chemicals moving and the records straight.