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MANGALURU: Surat diamond exporter Savji Dholakia’s lavish Diwali bonus options of a car, flat or jewellery were a pleasant surprise for his employees. Closer home, in Mangaluru, septuagenarian businessman Varadaraj Kamalaksh Nayak has done a Dholakia.

Nayak, managing director of a Pune-based company, has gifted new Tata Nano cars to 12 employees of his Mangaluru factory and Pune office.

The annual turnover of Nayak’s company is Rs 2 crore, not comparable to Dholakia’s Rs 6,000 crore. But the sentiment behind their largesse is similar. Describing his employees at CNC Ballscrews and Bearing as "wealth creators", Nayak said: "I must share my wealth with those who have created it for me."

Having given hands-on training to his employees, Nayak told TOI, "They have the keys to my factory and are in charge of a captain-less ship, which is sailing strongly." "Every bit of recognition I have got in the past 25 years - NEFF Germany Automation award, a slew of awards from the central excise department for prompt tax payment, and from Canara Bank for being the best customer - is because of their dedication. They deserve to be rewarded," he said.

Nayak recalled that in the aftermath of the 1974 Pokhran nuclear explosions, the West had slapped a ban on exporting precision ball screws to India. Reason? This was one of the many components that go into missile making. Then director general (technical development) B Garudachar suggested to Nayak that he manufacture them and put him on to this trade.

Nayak established the company 28 years ago, and hasn’t looked back. His products are in great demand in Germany. The company is planning to start an unit in Boston, US, besides expanding its India operations to Nagpur, Indore and Hardwar where Nayak wants to "replicate the Mangaluru plant success". His task: leave behind a legacy that workers will take forward as their own.