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Manhar Amlani
was born on the 3rd June 1949 in a small village called
Busembatia in Uganda. He studied in the village
until the age of 18. He then continued his studies in Jinja -
the second largest city in Uganda. In 1968, he moved on to
India to study Physics and Engineering.
In 1971, Idi
Amin announced the expulsion of all the Asians from Uganda.
The Amlani family moved to Britain. Manhar was unable to
complete his studies in India because of a lack of funding. He
joined the rest of his family. He arrived with £6 in his
pocket.
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In UK he became known as Bill
Amlani. Bill soon
got a job at Smiths Industries, Cheltenham. He worked in the
watch and clock division where he designed products in a lab.
Bill then set up his own company called Fulleon Ltd making
electronic alarms for fire alarm industry. Bill designed some
of the most innovative products in the fire alarm industry. He
was the first to introduce 24-tone and bed head sounders.
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In 1992, the company that Bill started in a small bedroom was
so successful that it was awarded the Queens Award for Export.
In the same year the company was also awarded Smart Award for
Innovation from the Department of Industry. Shortly
after that Bill sold the company. |
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Bill and his wife Katie (Kirti) have two sons.
Parul, aged 24,
has a degree in Mathematics and a Masters in Investment banking.
Bobby, aged 17, has been offered a place at Cambridge to do a
degree course in Internet technology. Bobby enjoys spending time on the computer and playing music.
Bobby also used to play badminton for Gwent when he was 15.
Parul won the international poetry award in 1998 out of
1500 contenders worldwide. |
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Bill does not
think that he would have been successful without the support
of his family and friends. Last year he thanked them by
organizing a special party to celebrate his 50th birthday. He
took 50 of the people closest to him to Africa for two weeks.
It was an emotional journey that included Kenya and Uganda
where most of his co-travellers were brought up. The stops
included the Masai Mara Safari park, Nairobi, Jinja and of
course Busembatia – Bill’s birthplace.
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Bill’s hobbies include reading, badminton, travelling and
spending time on the Internet.
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Disclaimer / Copyright 2008
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