"As a next generation leader, one has to look at the varied areas of interest and keep a tab on happenings. We also have to remain updated on the latest trends and keep meeting consultants to keep a track of the chemical industry’s future opportunities. Within the company, it is very important to pass on the power to the designated teams because as a leader you should not be spending too much time on one thing. You should be able to create a system to work with a multi-disciplinary team," says Ankit Patel, Executive Director, Bodal Chemicals Limited.
“Having started our journey with intermediates, we then moved into forward intermediates and to dyestuff. Also, then backward integration into basic chemicals. Recently we acquired a chlor alkali plant in north India and are currently in the process of expanding the capacity of that plant. We are starting a green complex with a sulphuric acid plant with 1,050 tonnes per day capacity. Also we are diversifying into a benzene derivatives plant where we are setting up six different benzene downstream products with the force of integration. We are also looking at new brownfield investment into the dye stuff area where we are starting a vinyl sulphur plant that is ready. Also, we are looking at growth in the dye stuff capacity in coming years. India certainly is at the cusp of new opportunities and this is the right time for our industry to encash it,” added Patel.
Patel spoke along with India's other young generation chemical industry leaders at the ‘NextGen Chemical & Petrochemical Summit 2021’, organized by Indian Chemical News on October 7-8, 2021. The panel discussion titled as ‘NextGen Leaders: Agents of Change for Achieving Future Growth’ was moderated by Pravin Prashant, Editor, Indian Chemical News.
“India is on a growth trajectory and there is tremendous potential. Aligned with the country’s growth agenda, we too as a company are looking at 12-15 percent growth annually. India has a lot of room for import substitution and the government is actively promoting the production linked incentive (PLI) scheme and many other encouraging initiatives. As a company we are trying to ensure that we maintain a healthy balance sheet and stay ahead of the curve by gaining knowledge through events and customer interactions. Keeping eyes and ears open helps as customers a few times want you to tweak existing products. Taking that as a challenge, R&D helps to enhance the product and open up new possibilities. Since we have a loyal customer base of the products, this established network is going to be our strength. In the export market, people expect the reliability of services and ensure that the commitments such as specifications and quality are met fully," says Kaushal Soparkar, Managing Director, Meghmani Finechem Limited.
Even in the current scenario when there are problems with containers, we are able to hold our customer base and make sure we are able to make delivery on time. Understanding their needs with proper discussion and transparent communication helps a not. Making them understand that the costs may get hiked during transportation and beyond our control. This works not only for international markets but domestically as well,” added Soparkar.
“The best thing that Indian companies can do is to upgrade their existing set up so that they can cater to the international market. Covid anomalies aside, we are expecting to achieve good growth and it has turned out much better than what we thought. Since the global companies are banking on China plus one strategy, Indian companies have all the resources. We have required workforce, refineries and other building blocks available. The value chains are coming to India but we need to have globally oriented scale ups to match these. Deepak Group may have 60-70 percent domestic and 30-40 percent export but it comes with risks and complications such as global supply chains, regulations etc," says Meghav Mehta, Director, Deepak Phenolics Limited.
After decades of experience, we have come to the conclusion that global has to be a part of your overall strategy. Deepak Group has always focused first on the Indian market and our customers. We are playing a role in import substitution, interfacing with the government on key issues related to industry and ready to support its new initiatives. Though the PLI scheme has not been extended to the chemical industry, we expect to benefit from it as a part of the larger ecosystem. For us growth is also driven by investing in local talent, giving them enough opportunities to do world scale work. We take pride in having that kind of a team that is motivated and strengthens our vision,"added Mehta.
“In terms of corporate strategy, we are looking at both short and long plans. We are backward integrated players in the benzene and toluene value chain and our customers don’t have to worry about the supply anymore. We are also looking at replicating our success in other chemicals as well. We would like to move into extended value chains as a medium term strategy. The longer term strategy is to tap mega trends which include sustainable solutions that are being looked at globally. Understanding the applications in the next 2-7 years in the extended value chain and beyond that after seven years we are looking at climatic change focused demand. For us understanding where we stand in terms of emissions was important, analyzing the score and perfecting the same in terms of Scope 1 and Scope 2. We realized that it is complex and there are no ready-made solutions," says Mirik Gogri, Head - Corporate Strategy, Aarti Industries Limited.
Every company across the globe is trying to cope up with it. We do not get any business benefit right away but we are trying to equip ourselves with enough knowhow and be prepared with right technological solutions. We are looking at design change applications in plants to cope up with climatic and environmental disruptions. There might be challenges in it also but we have to create less carbon footprint products. We are not putting too much onus on short term goals,” added Gogri.
“There are kinds of disruptive changes, ones that you see coming such as shared mobility, EVs causing disruption in the automobile sector, renewables causing disruption in the oil and gas industry. This might affect some of the products that we are manufacturing today and if anyone is supplying these industries, you may have to prepare better. In such a situation, you need to pivot your business and prepare it for disruption. The other thing that will keep you ahead of the curve is meeting industry consultants and speaking with customers to understand what’s going on in the market. In the last one and half years we have been limited to our own spaces but thanks to virtual technology, we have been able to connect with each other. The values of the company are measured by the performance of employees and developing strong leadership teams,” says Abhiraj Choksey, Managing Director, Apcotex Industries Limited.
