Afzal Kahn: Plastic coffins set me up for life

Thanks to skills learnt in a factory making plastic coffins, Afzal Kahn made a fortune from taking luxury foreign cars and making them more British.

Aged just 16, Afzal Kahn got his inspiration for a specialist car parts business from an unlikely source a factory making plastic coffins. There he rapidly learned different plastic moulding techniques and also how to manage a factory. By the time he was 18 he was ready to put his skills to a new use.

"I always liked cars and wanted to start up an accessories shop." Kahn bought the resins he needed to make plastic car parts and began churning out niche products, such as specialised spoilers for rally car enthusiasts. He didn't supply customers directly, but sold the parts he made to vendors of car body kits.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.