The textile recession hit India hard and the Jaykrishna family too. Reigning supreme in their field, they needed to seek new avenues to ensure continued success. “Our family was the leader in the textile industry during the time when Ahmedabad City was known
as ‘The Manchester of India’. From 1983-84, recessions hit the textile industry and we had to think about how we would diversify into other businesses,” explains Paru Jaykrishna, Chairperson and Managing Director of Aksharchem (India) Ltd and Asahi Songwon Colors Ltd.
Colour can be a differentiator
Paru came up with an idea for the business to begin manufacturing vinyl sulphone, a dye intermediate, which it started to do in 1989. Just 5 years later, and following the same logic to diversify, it branched out into the pigment business.
Paru was keen for the company to make its mark on its field and dominate the world market, thus she also identified that vinyl sulphone had export potential in hard currency countries. “Today, for the 3 products that we produce, we are the market leader in terms of quality, quantity and service,” she explains.
The business continued to grow quickly, and next on the agenda was to embrace eco-friendly practices and expand its range. Just 2 years later, in 1996, Asahi Dyechem Pvt Ltd teamed up with Songwon Colours of South Korea to expand its pigment Green capacity.
From here, the colour palette continued to grow with the introduction of new products such as the pigments Alpha Blue and Beta Blue. “Without colour, everything would be black and white,” says Paru. “We are in the business of making colourants. Anywhere you see colour around you, you can think of Asahi and Aksharchem. Colours give an aesthetic appeal to any product and are essential. They enhance the value of a product in today’s dynamic world. In situations where customers have many choices, colour can be a differentiator.”
Progressive & forward looking
When it comes to inspiration, it’s not industry leaders that Paru names. The grandmother turns instead to focus on her family, saying her husband Mrugesh Jaykrishna and grandchildren inspire her the most in work as well as in life. She’s constantly driven to remain at the top of her game and says it’s an ongoing challenge to keep up with regulations and evolving trends in the pigment and dye industries. There are many regulations and government requirements that have changed in the past 10 to 15 years.
“Asahi Songwon and Aksharchem have always followed the regulations and requirements,” Paru shares. “To export to the European Union, one must be ECHA registered. We are proud to inform that our products are exported to developed countries like Japan, the US, Germany, the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Mexico, Australia, Belgium, China, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia, Turkey, Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea.
“The environment regulations and compliances have become very strict over the years in India, and this is very good news for progressive, forward-looking companies. Some customers want the product to not contain any carcinogenic material, and in such circumstances we decided to change the process of manufacturing to cater to that.”
Never complacent
She continues to share that the company has remained in constant contact with buyers to ensure it meets their needs and expectations, and keeps abreast of current trends and changes in regulation. Paru says this is how the business retains its prime position, staying ahead of the competition by providing a first-class product.
“We provide quality and timely delivery. But, for me, the big differentiator is trust. The customers unwaveringly trust us. We have not had a single rejection or bad debt in 27 years. We strive hard to remain in a prime market at number one position. The biggest challenge is competition. We focus on having top-quality products and reducing our overheads by setting up large-scale plants. This simple strategy has worked very well for us and has enabled us to grow.” And she adds that the businesses are never complacent, eagerly seeking out different directions for expansion.
For me, the big differentiator is trust. The customers unwaveringly trust us.
“We’re constantly working to identify new opportunities. We first concentrated on existing products. We focused more on exports so that our plants and personnel were producing the best-quality products, and we targeted the best multinational corporate customers around the world. We upgraded our systems by acquiring ISO standards for management and environment. We further improved on our strength in research and development. Finally, we deputed our personnel to work in overseas labs so they could gain an understanding of the latest technological developments.”
Future looks bright
Going forward, Paru says, the company will keep its focus on the pigments and dyes intermediate sector and specialty chemicals. “Our results for the current financial year have been great, and we hope to continue the same trend in the foreseeable future. Looking at how the global dynamics are panning out, I feel the future looks bright for chemical companies in India.”
With both businesses going from success to success, Paru says her only other goal is to help people less fortunate. “I would like to do more for villagers, poor people and the needy. This will satisfy me.”