Leading SMEs of India 2021

30 Experts' View Leading SMEs of India 2021 How would you describe the journey of your company since its inception? What are some of the key milestones of the company in recent years? DUCOL is a pigment dispersions/ preparations manufacturer which is in the specialty chemicals segment. It has been over 3 decades since the seed for DUCOL was sowed. In 1990 Tata Economic Consultancy Services was engaged to identify a project which could be undertaken as a business venture having sustainable market and growth potential over the next couple of decades. Technology for this venturewas developed with the help of UDCT and before commercialisation of the project more than 3 years were spent in development of processes and technology at lab scale before being scaled upto industrial and large scale production levels. It has been an extremely gratifying journey from where we stand today as when we entered the business the market scenario was dominated by major global players who held around 80% market share. From a startup 25 years ago with just a few products we have now built up a vast range suitable for use in over 8 industry Ducol Organics & Colours Pvt. Ltd. Aamer Ahmed Farid Managing Director sectors. Today after 25 years of relentless efforts we are now recognised as amongst the leading players of pigment dispersions and a valuable partner to our customers most of whom are market leaders in each of their sectors. What are some of the key products / services offered by the company? DUCOL is one of the leading pigment dispersions companies in the country ranking amongst the top 2-3 players, having very large capacities of around 15,000 MT production / annum in wet and dry dispersions. DUCOL also has a large plastic masterbatches production unit in addition to this. Currently pigment dispersions are made for the following verticals ¾ Paint ¾ Printing inks ¾ Textiles ¾ Paper ¾ Detergent ¾ Plastics ¾ Other minor applications What is your company’s growth strategy for next 3-5 years? Today we have 3 manufacturing sites ie 2 units in Taloja MIDC and 1 unit in Mahad MIDC. Looking ahead our plans are underway to add capacities in both wet & dry dispersions as well as masterbatches production to cater to our customers demands. Future Growth we foresee in local markets with demand rising from growing consumption. Most of our customers in various sectors that we are present in are actively planning expansions with additions to their existing capacities as well as we see new players with large capacities coming in. Overseas opportunities for our products are also big and looking at global situations we feel India is in an extremely good position to be able to exploit these opportunities. Exports will also be an important part of our growth plans. We would be looking to favourable routes to markets and getting into strategic arrangements with important partners across sectors and geographies. We will continue with water based dispersions and other environmentally friendly products and processes and to consciously keep away from solvent based formulations as these will only be reduced substantially for use over the coming years. New chemistries will be added to the existing range of products with upgrading of technology as and when needed going forward. Dun & Bradstreet