Playtool

Our factory, Playtool, is tucked away in C 8 of the Wazirpur Industrial Area in Delhi. If you’ve ever been to Wazirpur, you know it’s a maze of narrow streets and constant activity. We’ve been here long enough that we don't mind the noise anymore. We make things for kids to play on, like slides and swings and other structures. The workshop is always full of bright plastic parts and metal pipes waiting to be welded. It’s a bit of a contrast to the gray industrial surroundings outside. We have a small crew of workers who know exactly how to assemble the pieces so they stay sturdy. There’s no fancy showroom here; just a lot of raw materials and finished sets ready to be loaded onto trucks. Delhi summers are tough in a tin-roofed shed, so we start early to beat the heat. Sometimes the paint takes longer to dry when it’s humid, and we have to adjust our schedule. We don't really do the corporate thing. We just focus on getting the dimensions right so the equipment fits together when it reaches its destination. There are always stacks of catalogs on the old wooden desk in the corner, and the phone rings pretty often with questions about shipping. It’s a simple operation. We work hard, we deal with the traffic, and we make sure the stuff we build is solid. It keeps us busy and we like the process of building.