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Interview with Mr Natwarlal Patel

Mr Natwarlal Patel
Mr Natwarlal Patel
Co-founder and MD
Meghmani Group
Meghmani Group

Meghmani Group began modestly in the year 1977. Under the leadership of founder members: Mr Jayanti Patel , Mr Ashish Soparkar and Mr Natwarlal Patel, the Group deals into manufacturing of Dyes & Intermediates, Pigments and Agrochemicals spanning multiple applications in textiles, printing inks, plastics, paints, leather and rubber, and pesticides for crop and non-crop applications such as public health, insect control in wood preservation and food grain storage. Over the years, the Group has established a prominent presence in the manufacture of pigments and dye stuff as well as basic crop protection chemicals in domestic and international markets. The Meghmani Organics Ltd (MOL), the parent company and Pigment & Agrochemical manufacturing division is among the largest exporters - manufacturers in India with a turnover of above $130 million. It exports currently cater to customers in 60 countries worldwide. In Singapore, where it is listed on the main board of SGX, it won the "Most transparent company award" for the last two consecutive years. Meghmani also successfully completed its secondary listing in India at the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange. The Meghmani Dyes & Intermediates Limited (MDIL)-the pioneering dyestuff business division has stock points at various locations like Istanbul (Turkey), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain) and Colonia (Urugvay). Mr Natwarlal Patel, the Co-founder and MD, Meghmani Group, began his career as a Chemist in Suhrid Geigy. Born on June 1, 1953, Mr Patel holds a Masters Degree in Chemistry from the Sardar Patel University. In persuasion to his dream of becoming an entrepreneur; Mr Patel disassociated himself from the Suhrid Geigy, and started with his own venture the Meghmani Group. Mr Patel has more than 27 years of experience in the dyes and pigments industry and more than 13 years experience in the Agrochemicals industry. He is also a member on the Board of Chemexcil (a forum set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Govt. Of India) which mainly focuses on the Basic Chemicals Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Export Promotion Council. Mr Patel is one of the foremost entrepreneurs of Gujarat and is the board member of the Group. In a talk with Face2Face team, Mr Natwarlal Patel expresses his views on Indian textile chemicals industry and its growth.

How would you narrate ‘Chemistry between Meghmani and Success’? What all are the key strategies catalyzing your niche in the market?

From the day one, Meghmani is a very quality conscious company. We believe in honoring commitment to our customers by delivering quality product on a timely basis.

 

How do you see the growth of Indian Textile Chemicals Industry?

The Indian Textile Chemicals Industry will grow more faster than the global market because of the following reasons:- (i) India is now out of the international quota regime therefore our textile manufactures have more opportunities across the globe which in turn induce them for expansion of their production capacities(ii) Government of India has also identified textile industry as a major trust area therefore allotted more than Rs. 40,000 crore under TUF programme for technology updation and modernization of textile industry.(iii) In India per capita consumption of textile products is increasing year after year.

What all are your products and the market reach in the select sector?

Meghmani Dyes and Intermediates Limited (MDIL) is manufacturing full range of Reactive Dyes like Bifunctional, Vinyl Sulphone, High Exhaust, Hot brand and Cold Brand types of dyes & Optical Brightening Agents for paper, textiles Polymers & detergents applications.

MDIL is the only Company providing superior quality of dyes in agglomerated grains from India.

The first foray into the export market was made in 1985 and since then year after year the company has consolidated its position into the international markets. The company has presence across the world and have stock points at varios locations like Istanbul (Turkey), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain) and Colonia (Urugvay). On the domestic front, the company has a wide network of distributors and agents and also have its own offices /depots and Technical Support Centres in various parts of India.

Our Pigments find application in sectors like Ink, Paint, Plastic, Leather, Textile and Rubber. Where ever you see color, color has to come from Pigments. About 60% of the Pigments produced in the world are consumed by Ink and Paint industries. We make two Pigments – Pigment Blue and Pigment Green. In Pigment Blue, we are one of the largest players in the World.

We also have equally important Agrochemicals division. We make commonly used Pesticides for crop protection applications and non-crop usage like veterinary application, termite control, home gardening etc.

Can you point out major challenges a Textile Chemicals manufacturer like yours face originating from India?

We are importing major raw material from the overseas market therefore some times we face raw material problems on two count (i) timely supply of raw material and (ii) price fluctuations.

The other challenge before us is non availability of basic infrastructure facilities like transportation, communications, road, port and logistics etc. as per international standard therefore increasing our overall cost thus finally making us less-competitive in the international market.

What are your comments on Rupee Appreciation?

We believe, all manufacturers should be prepared for rupee strengthening against dollar. We expect Indian Economy to remain buoyant for coming decades.

What are your views on REACH and how prepared is your company on its compliance front?

We view REACH regulations with a positive frame of mind. This will bring lot of discipline within Indian Manufacturers. The genuine manufacturer will stand to benefit out of this.

We have our office in Belgium and that is our biggest plus point. We are internally gearing up ourselves to prepare for REACH.

It is a known fact that Chemicals pose a major threat to our environment. How does Meghmani mitigate and overcome such detrimental factors to ensure pollution free and environment-friendly products make it to the marketplace?

As a diligent corporate citizen the Meghmani group is proactive to its responsibilities towards the society. It has a sound environmental protection policy which includes environmental monitoring mechanisms like periodic environment audits by internationally reputed agencies. We carry out regular Health, Safely and Environment Audits.

Besides, all our plants are ISO 9001 compliant. We use environment friendly and government approved solvents in our manufacturing process.

Looking ahead at the coming decade, what is your vision for the global textile chemicals industry?

Our immediate priority is to go for backward and forward integration of dyes manufacturing business so that we should increase our dyes business share to the extent of 10%-12% in the domestic as well as international market in the coming years.

As the textile industry is on the consolidation phase therefore we would like to provide the full package to the industry which will not only includes dye stuffs but also includes various types of textiles auxiliaries and Optical brighteners.

Published on: 07/01/2008

DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.