Owing to the Covid-19 situation and deterioration of the Chinese industry, the Government of India led by Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has made favorable policy changes under the ‘Make in India’ Campaign. Over the coming years, it’s expected to see a considerable jump in the market share of India in the global pharmaceutical intermediate as well as final API market.
Manufacturers belonging to the API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) segment (bulk as well as Formulations) in the country are striving to cater to the upcoming demand in the local as well as international market. Punagri Organics and Life Sciences Pvt Ltd. (POL), based out of Mumbai and Gujarat, aims to become the leading global supplier of the high performance, high quality Pharmaceutical Intermediates as well as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and custom synthesised chemicals over a period of time.
The company has been operating in this segment for more than twenty years under the wings of its parent company, Jay Chemicals, which has now become a prominent name in the pharmaceutical intermediate market.
“We are up for the challenge and ready to contribute extensively. ‘Make in India’ policy will support the expansion of our global as well as local business. We aspire to become one of the prime pharmaceutical manufacturers not only pan India but also across the world”, states Mr. Pradeep Gandhi, Technical Director, Punagri Organics and Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.
The Core Of Operations
Punagri Organics and Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd.is a firm believer in prioritizing customers’ satisfaction and exceeding expectations which has led the company to deliver supreme quality at a competitive price. R&D being one of its foundation pillars of growth and success, Punagri not only has constantly embraced new technologies with adaptations to local conditions, but also actively made heavy investments in R&D infrastructure owing to the foresight of its management team, Under the Chairmanship of Mr. Kanji Sundarji Dama, who is 99+ and still lends active support and MD Mr. Amrut Dama Who is following his father’s footstep.
Mr. Yogesh Dama, Director, Finance, shares “R&D is a risky proposition. We abstain from using public money for our growth and fund R&D activities from our own resources. Pace of growth can be slow but it is acceptable to us.”
“Punagri brings together over two decades of experience, customized approach and high-quality standards to provide specialty chemicals, that are key ingredients in many industries like Agro, Diagnostic, Electronic, Pharmaceuticals, Photography, Plastic and Colour in Indian and International markets”, says Mr. Gandhi.
The company has recently set foot in the Pharma sector. Their major product basket is Pigment Intermediates – both generic and advance as well as Specialty Chemicals. Although, Punagri Organics and Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. (formerly known as Punagri Chemopharma Pvt. Ltd.) has been in the export trading business for Jay Chemical’s products since the last two decades, it will now be establishing its first manufacturing facility in Vapi with the same business plan, which has led to the success of Jay Chemicals, its Parent company.
Jay Chemicals, a 31 years old mother company to Punagri is now an established name in the Indian market. Chairman Mr. K.S. Dama shares the intention with which he entered the chemical business in 1976 “We do not sell products; we buy customer’s problem and work towards its solution through R&D efforts both in-house and outsourced from reputed academic institutions.
We wish to make our customers competitive enough to stay in the business and their success will define our growth”. Over the decades, Jay has expanded its business from Dye Intermediates to Pigment Intermediates to Specialty Chemicals (up to Pilot Level having Sigma Aldrich, Sanofi Aventis as their regular customers) ultimately moving on to Pharma Intermediates.
Jay has a very holistic take on the pharmaceutical industry and shares a deep inclination towards the sector, which is reflected through its two-decades long involvement in the quality manufacturing and delivery of pharmaceutical intermediate products related to all major segments.
The company is keen on partnering with its client’s
technical team right at the conception stage and shortening the time to market for them. The company’s HR policies are well formulated and accommodative to employees needs which creates a friendly work environment in the organization that is translated in the employees’ allegiance. This is due to the forward-looking approach of young director (Administration) Ms. Shruti Dama, who is following the footsteps of her father and grandfather.
Environment, Health and Safety of stakeholders (both internal and external) in the organization gets top priority and no product in process development cycle is considered market ready unless environmental concerns are addressed. Appropriate (i.e. best available) technology is put to use and upgraded periodically as new benchmarks are set. Since the time company had been founded, it has been progressively integrating the advanced technologies of the time in order to bring out more transparency and flawlessness in its operations.
All these years being in the industry, POL is now all set to show the world its advanced quality in material and state of the art processes for manufacturing of products. It strives to make every product revenue-neutral in terms of cost associated with its waste treatment thereby enhancing competitive advantage. Director (Technical) Mr. Gandhi states, “We want to show that waste – solid, liquid or gas coming out of the process plant is a potential resource so we realize the worth of such assets in the waste streams to prioritize and devise our action plan. Process intensification/Flow chemistry is the future of chemical manufacturing worldwide and we have made heavy investment – both time and money on that without appreciable success to show for it yet we are not complaining as we know its potential, so we plan to work harder on it.”
Achievements And Road Ahead
During the first 10 years or so i.e. up to 2001, times were really tough for the Parent company, Jay Chemicals and it sailed through this period with support from its suppliers and customers due to its sound business ethics and policies. After troubled period up to 2001, Mr. Prakash Bhadra, a chemical engineer himself, took the responsibility of marketing Jay’s Product along with Mr. Naresh Dama under the able guidance of Mr. Amrut Dama. Efforts of Mr. Bhadra and his ability to win customers’ faith led to sales growth of Jay. He is the face of Jay in market and handles PRO work as well. He is also present president of VAPI INDUSTRIES ASSOCIATION (VIA) and board member of VGEL, who operates CETP and CSWS sites on behalf of its members.
Jay Chemicals is exclusive supplier of Advance Pigment Intermediates to Ciba Geigy (Now BASF) since last 19 years without missing a single delivery schedule given by the customer.
“In our pursuit of excellence, we have been continually improving our environmental performance to mitigate pollution and waste disposal. We have planned to shift Pharma Intermediate Plant from Jay Chemicals to Punagri Organics and Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd., Vapi and make it a model plant to set benchmark for all our future plans”, concludes Mr. Amrut Dama, MD of the company.
Punagri brings together over two decades of experience, customized approach and high-quality standards to provide specialty chemicals, that are key ingredients in many industries like agro, diagnostic, electronic, pharmaceuticals, photography, plastic and colour in indian and international markets
Success Factors
1. “We do not sell products; we buy customer’s problems and solve them through R&D efforts.” Mr. K.S. Dama, Chairman
2. “Our waste is an asset not a liability.” Mr. Pradeep Gandhi, Director (Technical)
3. “Our sound business policies along with trust and support from our suppliers and customers have helped us sail through the tough and challenging times from 1990 to 2001.” Mr. Amrut Dama, MD
4. “Punagri’s friendly HR policies are reflected in its employees’ consistent loyalty and commitment towards the company.” Ms. Shruti Dama, Director (Administration)
5. “Our growth lies in our clients’ success.” Mr. Amrut Dama, MD
6. “R&D is risky proposition. We abstain from using public money for our growth and fund R&D activities from our own resources. Pace of growth can be slow but it is acceptable to us.” Mr. YogeshDama, Director (Finance)
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