From creating a kidney dialysis machine in a one-bedroom apartment to running his own multimillion-dollar manufacturing company with 40 staff, Mahesh Agarwal's story embodies the dream of many an immigrant.

The native of Uttar Pradesh, India, is now 56 and no longer the penniless engineering student he was when he first arrived in Canada in 1968. But the Markham entrepreneur still works 12 to 14 hours a day, most of that on his first passion: product research and development.

For Agarwal, the keys to success are hard work and finding a niche for one's skills. "You just need to do something that not everybody is doing," he explains.

Agarwal's small frame — he's only about 5 feet tall — and softspoken manner belie the iron determination and persistence that helped earn him a New Pioneers award.

After finishing a master's degree in electrical engineering on a scholarship at the University of New Brunswick, Agarwal arrived in Toronto during the recession of the 1970s. The only job he could get involved repairing electric appliances.

In 1976, a friend who worked in a hospital complained to Agarwal about the shortcomings of the kidney dialysis machines made by an American company.

Though he was earning only $900 a month in his day job, Agarwal spent his life savings — $10,000 — to come up with an improved version of the lifesaving apparatus. For almost a year, he regularly worked on the project into the wee hours in his small Willowdale apartment. Then he took his invention to a trade show in San Francisco.

"I wasn't really thinking about how much money I could make. All I had in my mind was whether I could do it, whether I could improve the dialysis machines and improve the quality of care for people with kidney problems," Agarwal explained.

Orders started pouring in from around the world. For two years, Agarwal produced the machines in his apartment, working evenings and weekends with help from his wife, Shobha.

In 1982, he quit his job as a chief engineer at a Richmond Hill electronic manufacturing company to run his own business empire, Medionics International Inc. It now employs 40 people, 90 per cent of them immigrants, and its products are sought after in Japan, China, India, the U.S. and Mexico.

"A lot of things in business are common sense. You can't really go by the textbook to make your decision," said Agarwal, father of three daughters. Lack of Canadian work experience remains a hurdle for newcomers, he said, adding that employers should give foreign-trained professionals a chance to use their abilities and talents.

"Our economy is becoming more and more global. The new immigrants don't come to Canada for labour jobs," he said. "To prosper, we need to recognize the talents they bring with them to this country."