Perry Mehta, only Gujarati awarded in the White House for entrepreneur skills last year, is setting up the country’s first solar plant to desalinate sea water in Surat. Mehta, founder of FutureNet – IT service provider and environment technology firm, is the only Gujarati-origin business person recognized as the 50 most outstanding Asian-American businessmen by US Asian American Chamber.
“This honour came to me as being a Gujarati and having stayed in Ahmedabad – a business capital of the state for 22 years has bestowed me with the rarest of entrepreneur spirits which always backed me for achieving higher business goals,” said Detroitbased businessman
Mehta, who was recently honoured by the US Small Business Administration (SBA) as Small Minority Business Person of the Year.
He was honoured with the title at the awards ceremony that took place in August last year at the White House, during Minority Economic Development Week (MED Week). Mehta’s firm, which he set up in 2003, was honoured by SBA as a recession-proof company and is recognized as the fastest growing top 10 companies in the US by Harvard Business School, Boston.
It is listed among the top 50 companies to watch for in Michigan. Mehta, who holds two US patents for environment technology of desalination, earned a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) in Surat. “As I respect the instigave me basic technological skills, today, I have come back to them with an offer of partnership in a business model.
In a joint venture, my firm, along with SVNIT’s research and technological aid, is setting up country’s first salt water desalination plant in Surat which would be operational by June this year. It will be set up at an investment of Rs 3.5 crore. This small-size plant would desalinate one lakh litres of sea water daily and turn it into drinking water using solar energy.”
Futurenet group was listed in 2008 among 5,000 fastest growing private companies in America. “After I set up the business in 2003, the firm was listed as best small business in Michigan in 2006,” said Mehta. “Consistent growth of more than 100% in revenue and employment generation for last five years earned us the best small minority business by SBA,” said Mehta.
“My firm has been able to achieve this business target because as a Gujarati doing good business is in my genes. Keen business sense that I have inherited from my city and state has helped me diversify towards futuristic environmental technology business,” Mehta added.
Mehta on a mission
Mehta is actively involved in the American Society of Engineers of Indian Origin (ASEI) whose objectives are career and business guidance, and he is the founding director of the Michigan Emerging Business Association, which provides opportunities for minority contractors.
Mehta’s community involvements and donations in Detroit are many. But he is especially proud of his contributions to a new Hindu temple in Canton, Michigan, and the fact that in 1994 he helped introduce IT educational programs in 20 schools in Ahmedabad which run even today and provide computer education to more than 20,000 students each year.
