Innovations in technology have transformed the agriculture sector drastically over the last decade. The global micro-irrigation systems market is projected to register a CAGR of 10.9 percent by 2026. Despite qualifying as essential services during lockdowns in many countries, farmers and irrigation agencies faced a difficult time in securing equipment, inputs, and maintenance. India being an agricultural economy has huge growth potential in drip irrigation segment but most of the farmers in India are technologically and financially encumbered. It is highly price driven market where best quality is required at cheap rates with product availability on time, demand being abrupt, unpredictable and seasonal in nature. This is where consumer faces trouble availing premium quality drip irrigation material from the market. The farmers often have to settle for poor quality which is detrimental to a prosperous business. This is where Rounak Polychem Pvt Ltd, a pioneer in this segment, from Indore steps in and overcomes these challenges in the market.
Fakhruddin Barwaniwala, Director, Rounak Polychem states, “Indian farming mainly comprises small pieces of land which are five acres or less and cannot afford high investment drip which is why we provide premium quality and technologically advanced flat inline drip laterals at affordable rates. Rounak Polychem offers a wide variety of drip laterals in thickness, spacing, and water discharge depending on the nature of crop, as and when required by the farmers".
The company is highly appreciated for the purpose of manufacturing, wholesaling, & retailing of optimum quality Flat Inline Drip Lateral, Mulch Film, and Rain Spray Pipe and was established in the year 2009. The product range offered by Rounak Polychem mainly consists of inline and online flat drip irrigation laterals in sizes 12, 16 & 20 mm, thickness from 6 mil to 30 mil, water discharge of 2, 4 LPH and dripper spacing from 20 cm to 90 cm which covers a broad spectrum of crops for both B2B & B2C customers. These flat drip laterals are known in the market for their rich attributes such as ease of laying, energy efficient design, ultra violet stability, low maintenance, and longer serving life. In addition to this, these drip laterals are available to with them in user-defined specifications pan India. Fakhruddin mentions, “We have been able to meet the bulk demands owing to our well-equipped warehousing unit and large production capacity. Due to the timely execution, customization and effectiveness, the just in time supplies in abrupt seasonal requirements is highly appreciated among our patron".
Growth Story And Unique Proposition
It all started with a very small project back in 2008 with almost zero technical experience in the same. At that time only the corporate segment was into this product which was delivering good
quality but was unaffordable for farmers at the bottom of the pyramid. With a view to help these marginal farmers of the country, Rounak Polychem was started this in a humble 450 sq.ft facility which has now grown 200 folds. A lot of challenges came along the way. Manufacturing the product and getting continuous feedback from the regional farmers helped the company improve goods according to their requirement. All the revenue that was grossed across the years was pumped back into the system for expansion and technological advancement. A lot of learning has come along the way which has now become the core value of the organization.
The company’s in depth knowledge and laser sharp focus on production of drip laterals with a high tech team and almost zero defect quality control associated with highly economical price offering in market has helped them to grow their top line continuously for more than decade. Their commitment to manufacture products only on 100 percent virgin polymer has earned them strong goodwill pan India. Fakhruddin says, “We have a high tech ultra-modern manufacturing and testing facility and an experience of more than a decade focussed on production of drip irrigation pipes. Our products are made from 100 percent UV stable virgin polymer. We manufacture Flat drip laterals which occupy less space, can be easily laid in the field, requires less labour, saves time, money, energy and fertiliser consumption. It also boosts the production of crop by 40-60 percent with 80 percent less water usage depending on the crop, time of irrigation and climatic conditions. Newly introduced Flat Spray Pipe is an easy, economic, less laborious replacement of bulky, costly and labour intensive Sprinkler Irrigation Systems. Rounak Spray pipe is easy to transport and sprinkler irrigation can be done only at 40 percent cost of conventional system”.
Fakhruddin further adds, “Our human resources are chosen after completely assessing their skills, knowledge, and experience. In addition to this, they are trained at regular intervals of time through workshops and seminars". Rounak Polychem is a unique name in the market to provide their respected customers with an exclusive range of products. They are known as a quality provided organization because of Superior quality products, Experienced professionals, Excellent quality controllers, Well-furnished infrastructural unit, Wide distribution network, Ethical business policies, Transparent dealings and last but not the least on time delivery.
“As a quality oriented firm, our company always strives hard to offer our clients the high quality range of products. The products are manufactured using the high-grade raw material and are in complete accordance with the set universal standards. The products that we are offering are widely demanded in the market for their quality legacy, low maintenance, packaging as per requirement and extended durability. Furthermore, we have a team of quality control experts who deeply examine our entire process on several parameters to make sure that we are offering only the finest quality products to our esteemed clients," says Fakhruddin.
As a quality oriented firm, our company always strives hard to offer our clients the high quality range of products
Looking At The Future
Being a completely green field project the top line of Rounak Polychem has grown by almost 40 percent every year pre Covid. Cumulatively the company has drip irrigated 2.50 lakh hectare area in last decade. They are having presence in about 10 states in India serving almost 400,000 farmers directly or indirectly. Nowadays due to cut throat competition in the segment a lot of unethical practices are prevailing in the market in terms of weight, measurement and usage of reprocessed raw material in formulation keeping the stake holders unaware of it. They have zero tolerance for all short cuts at Rounak Polychem and come what may; they plan to strictly adhere to their core values.
Speaking about the future ahead of the company, Fakhruddin concludes, “Our organization is backed by the state-of-the-art infrastructural base for manufacturing. Properly divided into various sub-functional units like production, quality control, sales, and marketing, etc. our infrastructural unit is handled by our experienced professionals, who have been selected on the basis of their knowledge and skill in their respective domain. Our infrastructure is well-equipped with all the modern machines, tools, and equipment to carry out the smooth production process. Recently we have started a high tech new facility with a goal of manufacturing 1000 KM of drip laterals per day”.
