Primary educated Korat man told he was a lazy waste of space - now the boot is on the other foot!

 

Image: Sanook

 

A Thai man in Nakhon Ratchasima is laughing all the way to the bank after people doubted him.

 

Somphote Sopkrathoke, 45, was a lowly janitor and odd jobs man at a school in Ban Khok Soong in Soeng Sang district.

 

One of his duties was to cut the grass on ten rai of football pitches.

 

He thought that the equipment he was given to complete this task resulted in time wasted and was not effective.

 

So he set about designing his own motorized sit down mower. 

 

People dismissed his efforts saying he was just lazy to cut the grass.

 

But they are not sneering at Somphote now.

 

He soon realized there was a market for the vehicle and other schools in the area contacted him to supply one. 

 

It took him 20 days to make one at first but now he has revised his operation working on a plot of land next to his house. 

 

Orders for the 28,500 baht mower have been coming in at the rate of 5 or six a month and now he has quit his job and gone into business full time. 

 

He said he is making 140,000 baht a month - a huge amount compared to what a school janitor could earn.

 

The mower is a chain driven four stroke device of 8 horse power that has four gears, one for reversing, and can reach speeds of 40 kms. 

 

He is now getting orders from further afield and is on the verge of expanding and hiring staff.

 

Not bad for a "lazy loser" who quit school at the end of primary education. 

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2021-03-06

 

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As a man who has to cut the grass whilst enjoying grass, this seems like a fun way to whizz around the garden.....sign me up please

 

JAF

The biggest mistake I made at school was not leaving in the 4th grade - when I could have done at 14 in 1970. The only problem at that time was which Apprenticeship to enter. Instead I asked the so-called careers teacher who strongly advised me to stay on and take my CSEs. (What a woft).

It all depends on what skills and opportunities you have.  You can get through uni and still get a rubbish job, or you can drop out of school and succeed in a trade.

 

You can, of course, also get through uni and get a very good job or drop out of school and do nothing but back-breaking manual labor all your life.

 

Whilst this chap is obviously successful now and it may very well be a life of tinkering that has lead him here, was he able to find a decent woman in his late teens/early twenties and start a family (if that is what he desires)?

 

Perhaps with the right encouragement, he could have learnt a trade at a young age, or have studied something more mechanical, and had a much fuller life.  I'm happy for the guy, but we shouldn't let it overshadow the benefit of a good formal education, trade or academic.

57 minutes ago, safarimike11 said:

The biggest mistake I made at school was not leaving in the 4th grade - when I could have done at 14 in 1970. The only problem at that time was which Apprenticeship to enter. Instead I asked the so-called careers teacher who strongly advised me to stay on and take my CSEs. (What a woft).

You could not leave at 14 in 1970, it was 15. One of my old mates was told he had to leave at 16 as he only got one O level at his secondary modern. He persuaded them to let him go on to the new sixth form college and ended up retiring a couple of years ago as a Professor at Cambridge Uni.

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The mower is a chain driven four stroke device of 8 horse power that has four gears, one for reversing, and can reach speeds of 40 kms. 

Can it mow grass at 40 km/h? (Assuming 'kms' isn't km/second...)

3 hours ago, rooster59 said:

The mower is a chain driven four stroke device of 8 horse power that has four gears, one for reversing, and can reach speeds of 40 kms

40 kilometres a second,,,, hang on tight

Not bashing the guy he done very well for himself but ride on movers

been on the market for many years

2 hours ago, Meat Pie 47 said:

Not bashing the guy he done very well for himself but ride on movers

been on the market for many years

 

Yes. The come with  warranty, better safety equipment including automatic shut off and are comparatively priced.

I don't understand the excitement here. Homepro has them as do most of the garden centers.

Great story, and great for him to be doing so well in this new venture. But ... for every early school leaver who did well many more didn’t, so best take your education as far as you can ... no one can take it away from you, and you’ll probably end up better off.

7 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Orders for the 28,500 baht mower have been coming in at the rate of 5 or six a month and now he has quit his job and gone into business full time. 

 

He said he is making 140,000 baht a month - a huge amount compared to what a school janitor could earn.

 

Maybe loses a little on each one, but makes it up in volume?  Someday, maybe the reporter will learn the difference between revenue and profit.

Kudos to the guy anyway, and I hope he continues to grow the business.  Leave off that blade thingy and beef up the brakes and he may have invented a low cost car for Thailand roads.

 

Well done to him but I don't see how he can make a profit at 28,500 baht.  How much is a Briggs & Stratton motor? It also has a gearbox. Maybe its not a B&S motor - Chinese??

Like most of his brothers & sisters, my b/f ended after 2 or 3 years of primary school here in Surin about 90% illiterate. He says he spent most of his time climbing trees, swimming across the lake and looking after 100 head of buffalo in the Dong Rak mountains. When he meets his former teachers now they laugh in astonishment and say: "But you used to be so stupid! And look at you now - you have falang boyfriend! and and and you speak ENGLISH!"

 

Everyone's dream come true.

19 hours ago, rooster59 said:

He said he is making 140,000 baht a month - a huge amount compared to what a school janitor could earn.

Is that before or after income tax......?????

15 hours ago, onebir said:

Can it mow grass at 40 km/h? (Assuming 'kms' isn't km/second...)

Quickly......

14 hours ago, Patong2021 said:

 

Yes. The come with  warranty, better safety equipment including automatic shut off and are comparatively priced.

I don't understand the excitement here. Homepro has them as do most of the garden centers.

So, you bought on from this guy and checked it out? 

 

If not, how would you be able to make such statements?

I've never understood why they cut huge swathes of grass with strimmers over here, what a total waste of time and manpower.

Well done him. However, soon those boy racers will be buying them, fitting large bore exhausts, skinny wheels, and a super lightweight seat and cutting ther grass at 65kms/hr. ????

21 minutes ago, Golden Triangle said:

I've never understood why they cut huge swathes of grass with strimmers over here, what a total waste of time and manpower.

Because you can get 6+ people with strimmers in the back of a pickup?

13 hours ago, impulse said:

 

Maybe loses a little on each one, but makes it up in volume?  

17 hours ago, onebir said:

Can it mow grass at 40 km/h? (Assuming 'kms' isn't km/second...)

Kudos to the guy anyway, and I hope he continues to grow the business.  Leave off that blade thingy and beef up the brakes and he may have invented a low cost car for Thailand roads.

 

 

 

I'm definitely waiting for the "new and improved" model that CAN achieve the 40/KMS speeds.

 

17 hours ago, KhaoYai said:

Well done to him but I don't see how he can make a profit at 28,500 baht.  How much is a Briggs & Stratton motor? It also has a gearbox. Maybe its not a B&S motor - Chinese??

  

I bought a similar Thai brand (Solo) motor for around 2,700 baht via Lazada.

 

 

Just needs to have clip on planks of wood and it doubles as the school bus with a capacity of 67. 

I left school with no qualifications, the teachers were incompetent bullies. I took an old fashioned apprenticeship when I left school and ended up repairing Phantom F4's for the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. I left my job to train as a nurse and passed the National Entrance exam (a type of intelligence test) with 97% the only other way in was to have 5 O levels or 4 A Levels for the training hospitals in London. I found that learning was easy if I was allowed to do it my way and was one of 14 out of 40 who passed the state finals for my cohort.  I went on and got some O levels and got my degree in Mathematics when I was 33 and ended up managing the Information requirements for the East of England Strategic Health Authority which then covered 125 NHS Trusts. Lack of qualification is not a sign of lack of intelligence. It is usually a sign of too poor to afford to get the education. Higher Education in the UK is no longer free and youngsters from poorer families will not take the risk of going into heavy debt on the vagaries of the inconsistent UK higher education system.

On 3/6/2021 at 2:47 PM, Orton Rd said:

You could not leave at 14 in 1970, it was 15. One of my old mates was told he had to leave at 16 as he only got one O level at his secondary modern. He persuaded them to let him go on to the new sixth form college and ended up retiring a couple of years ago as a Professor at Cambridge Uni.

Yes you could leave at 14 in 1969 when I left. I stayed on for a 'voluntary' 5th year (at the behest of my mother) and was 15 when I left. If I had left in the 4th year I would have been 14 My birthday is in August and I was always the youngest in the year

Good luck to him.

I hope he enjoys the fruits of his labour.