Cover Story
Five decades; a half-century; it is like almost a lifetime for some. Well, here we have a company which has been in existence for this long, and is doing a great job. Decades ago Thakar was into trading & distribution of pesticides formulations. Now added to this power punch, is the fact that it has a holistic approach to work and business. Deep-rooted professionalism, combined with quality and quantity signature signals, coupled with timeliness, all put together form a viable mix of traits for determining the ascent of a company at its box office. The ISO 9001: 2015-certified Thakar Chemicals Ltd. is an organization with such syntax up its sleeve. Says Mr. R.K. Gupta, Managing Director, Thakar Chemicals Ltd., “we are the torch-bearers in our product category.” Equipped with the stateof-the-art machinery and infrastructure, this unit is involved in the contract manufacturing of different formulations of insecticides, pesticides, fungicides, weedicides, and growth promoters for other companies & itself.
Happily enough, the flagship products from this house of chemicals, Barood & Shine are doing tremendous business and are most sought after from another 200+ brands. These two put together gives company a lion’s share for top line and healthy bottom line too. The Gupta clan, besides MD, comprising of Mr. Sumit Gupta, Director Projects, Mr. Amit Gupta, Director Finance, and Mr. Deepak Gupta, Director Strategy are the third generation promoters and are keen to be in top league in five years horizon. Thus, this filial setup is working towards making their company ring in higher margins and better turnovers for itself. Family business also has cotton ginning & pressing business in Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat and is involved in the trading of cotton bales as well. The manufacturing setup was teed off in 1988 by Mr. R.K. Gupta, helmed by the younger Guptas each have marvelous educational backgrounds behind them (Mr. Sumit – a post graduate in marketing from London, Mr. Amit – a Masters in Finance from Melbourne and Mr. Deepak – an MBA from Paris). Promoters were keen that next generation should have professional diversified
and accountable roles. Each of them has chosen a field that synergizes company’s needs and allows them to be professional, unlike traditional family owned businesses. To be on track with digitization platform, organization is in the process of launching its own digital application for employees, internally, and for distributors, externally. This modicum is expected to help in tuning in better quantum of interaction between the various quarters and to maintain a steady information inflow and outflow, combining CRM and better inventory management with closure to accurate product forecast plans going hand in hand. The mainstay is slated to touch the Rs 170 Crore turnover thresholds in March 2019. This figure crossed the Rs 143 Crore levels in March 2018, giving almost 17% growth, which is double than industry’s. This in spite that, many in the agri industry had negative growth. The CAGR is portended to hedge at about 25-30% for the next three years. The Guptas’ are hoping to close in with turnovers of Rs 300 Crores by fiscal 2022. Three year strategies have been worked out to achieve target scores. The first, amongst these, is product portfolio expansion with specialization technology of new molecules. The second is to usher in “Protector Molecule Technology – PMT”. And the third is to go in for geographical expansion via a headlong foray into Maharashtra and the southern states of the country as well as strengthening the delving into the South-East Asian countries. To spearhead this, they are building infrastructure in terms of office spaces, logistics & people’s talent.
Targeting to manufacture new molecules & geographical expansion, company is starting a new green field plant with stateof-the-art technology and all necessary certifications in Haryana. Also, Thakar has forayed in to a vertical branding – NUTRI GAIN, for specialty segment of VAM, an intensely growing agri input molecule. This year it has tied up with one of India’s largest and research focused company. Company aims to garner 20% market share from this growing segment in 3 years’ time. For ensuring a healthy output in its marketing wing, Thakar has a three layered organizational structure comprising dedicated team of 175 qualified and experienced professionals, who are spread across fifteen states in the country, where its current business is drawn from. Besides, the headcount in its factory premises is about 150. To aid and abet the sales activities, Thakar has a tenacious distributor dealer network with over 3,500 channel partners, who are appointed after a thorough due diligence and studying how each one of them owns the company’s brand portfolio. Thakar Chemicals is one of the founding members of the Delhi Club of Agrochemicals Industry. Hence, it has history behind it in helming affairs in this sensibility, too. Its visionary Managing Director firmly believes “this year has been the best one for us. If our efforts are sincere and dedicated, there is nothing we cannot accomplish. One just has to learn how to circumvent the challenges which come along the way and take them in your stride with positivity in the attitude and an urge to overcome them successfully. The one aspect which we never compromise upon in any which way and in whichever circumstances come dogging us down is our quality
standards and our quest for excellence in all procedures. Then again, making false promises or fake commitments is not something we indulge in.” Another nuance which is paid strict heed to and compliance with is “our no-return policy for our product line.”The Guptas are extremely upbeat about the “happy vibes which we share with all those we interact with in our sojourn. This includes not just our employees but also all other associates since we take care and caution to never delay matters or complicate any issue.” The one unchanging facet of the work ethos here is that “even though we started out small, we have built our enterprise from scratch to the mammoth it stands out as today with sheer hard work and the grace of the good lord.” Mr. R.K. Gupta is of the opinion that “the new generation is smarter and better than ours ever was. They have everything going for them and should strike out in as unique ways as is possible for them to do so. However, all said and done, experience in such aspects does make a world of a difference to the trade one practices. One should respect this one fact and then surge ahead in a conundrum with all forces in a unified fashion.” “Retaining 90% of its employees is one such facet of “our luxe score card which we are extremely proud about.” This is possible due to the overall atmosphere and vibe of professionalism and vigilant work ethics. The workplace at this company is highly conducive to a healthy growth rate for each and every employee in an individual and in a teamwise manner. The main motto which is fueling the underlying work current here is “that we wish to become market leaders in our realm of operations. We are extremely particular about each and every step involved in our overall regime. In fact, even the bottles and the packaging material is inspected thoroughly before we use them.” One core factorial which Mr. Gupta really desires to clarify in front of his end-user base is that “major myth that insecticides or pesticides are harmful of
any sort. The proof this lies in the reasoning that employees work in manufacturing units since decades and no health complication has been reported in them.” Nonetheless, he does feel that one should exert a lot of adherence to the set procedures and follow all safety norms during all the processes involved. Similarly on usage front by the farmers, these chemicals need to be used in given quantities on the plants in a safe and effective way with right dose, at the right time for the right pest. Excess of anything is not health-conducive. The end-result, so far, for Thakar has been “a constant demand for our products via our customers. This is a very satisfying kind of feeling which all of us mutually have.” Having forged collaborations with establishments from abroad has been a trademark dynamic Thakar Chemcials Ltd. has taken the initiative for. The product line, which meets with stringent international quality
standards, has entered the overseas market with vengeance & eyeing the South-East Asian countries for product portfolio expansion. “The response has been very encouraging for this one foray and the motivation via this route has really reached sizeable proportions.” The product offerings are priced at very competitive levels and this is reflected in their rising popularity quotients. For all the work-related programming, the Gupta link makes it a point to hire trained and experienced professionals in all the domains of their empire. To add further volume and weight to the expertise and excellence of standards, “we encourage the participation of our employees in seminars, conferences, and the like. This helps them not just come at par with but also go beyond the limits of other companies and competitors, alike. It helps in enhancing their know-how and gives them an impetus in their work routines and spheres.” “Thakar Chemicals is reckoned as a one stop shop solution to farmers for all their agriculture needs as its kitty is full with complete crop cultivation i.e. manufacturing all kind of agro chemicals & growth promoters,” says the dynamic Sumit Gupta. Thakar is short listed for Business Leadership & Best Product Portfolio Award for Shine. If won, this will be a major boost to their ongoing saga of stupendous success. At end-point, it is necessary to come back to where we started this engaging saga from; that an inspired outlook towards one’s work stems from a set of basic strengths and even from studying one’s weaknesses. One needs to be able to not just produce good quality ware, but also have the innate capacity to maintain the standards. This does not come simple or easy. It requires continuous strife and pure work. Thakar Chemicals Ltd. is one such home of chemicals which has set its own agenda and has stuck to its ground of stringent quality groundwork in its procedural nitty-gritty. The sincerity of its top management sets the tone for the other employees to follow and to emulate in their work vistas. This is what the blueprint of a major player of real cognizance is all about; it propels the driving engine for spiraling growth charts in the times to come. This company, with all sincerity of purpose and of action, does seem to be hinging close to truly successful times up ahead. With 30 Years celebration of company inception, Thakar is poised for another major leap for another half century with very young and energetic third generation at the helm, probably youngest in the industry. Biosphere shall be continuously watching and tracking Thakar’s success trail all along the way.