In a short span of time, Dhaval Parikh, Director of Prasol Chemicals Limited has helped his company gain a strong foothold in the Indian chemical industry. His ISO 9001:2000 certified company is a reputed manufacturer and distributor of chemicals in the global market.

After doing B Tech in Plastics Technology from the University Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT), Mumbai and MS in Plastics Engineering from the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, Mr Dhaval joined his family business in 2007. As an entrepreneur, he leads from the front and fulfils multiple duties and responsibilities at Prasol Chemicals.

Gaining foothold

After completing his academics, Mr Dhaval worked with the General Electric Company (GE), USA, which gave him sound international exposure of. This helped him to establish himself in the global chemical business. In the words of Mr Parikh, “I came from a technical background to a commercial role and this, in itself, was a major challenge for me. With intense training and guidance from my co-directors, I understood the basics of the business. Born into an entrepreneurial family, I knew the importance of taking risks, and was continuously updating myself by taking up courses in foreign trade to understand the business better.”

He strongly believes that his experience abroad, his technical knowledge and his understanding of the Indian market has helped him do justice to his role.

Expansion strategy

Mr Parikh places significant emphasis on research & development (R&D) for continuous upgradation of the product lines. In addition to that, he values innovative ideas which are likely to serve the organisation goals and the chemical industry as a whole. He says, “We are currently expanding our R&D capabilities by acquiring newer equipment. Our R&D team is working on two new products and practising continuous process optimisation. We are also foraying into research in microbiology. For this we are in the process of getting approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Furthermore, we are simultaneously working with several large players on product and process development on a contractual basis.”

Mr Parikh understands the importance of customer satisfaction and the vital role it plays in brand building. He constantly stresses on maintaining high quality gradient that is at par with global standards.

“Our strategy is to work with an established player in a given geography to market our products. This will enable us to overcome the barriers of language and culture, and provide prompt service to customers,” says Mr Parikh, speaking about his overseas expansion plans.

“We strive for continuous capacity expansion in all our plants through required de-bottlenecking. Also, newer plants like Isophorone have been set up, and two more products will be launched in the near future,” points out Mr Parikh.

Key to success

According to him, to be a successful entrepreneur, one has to have a vision and doggedly work in the right direction. “One must have the commitment and dedication to work towards the envisioned goal. Strategic planning, skilful execution and strong leadership skills also contribute significantly. Lastly, one can never discount the efforts of a great team in achieving the desired goal,” says Mr Parikh.

Scope of growth

The Indian chemical industry is an important part of the domestic economy. The current size of the chemical industry is estimated at around Rs 3,500 crore with investments to the tune of Rs 6,000 crore likely to be pumped in the next one year. This clearly indicates that the industry is bound to grow significantly if the resources and opportunities are properly utilised.

According to Mr Parikh, India is a significant player in the global marketplace with its educated and well-trained workforce. Currently, the chemical sector is growing at the rate of 10-12% per annum and with the international trade barriers gradually reducing, more foreign investments are likely to flow in. All this indicates bright prospects for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the sector, if only they become aggressively innovative.