Atul Limited, formerly known as Atul Products was established on 15 September 1947. It was the first private sector industry inaugurated by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. It was founded by Shri Kasturbhai Lalbhai and is a part of Lalbhai Group of industries based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It's a chemical conglomerate specializing in the production of over 900 products. Headquartered at a village named Atul in Valsad district of Gujarat, it is spread over 1,300 acres of land. It is one of the greenest chemical complexes in the world and is guarded by the Parnera hill on one side and the Par river tributary on the other. Over 72 years of the journey, the company has collaborated with various venture companies in the USA, the UK, China, Brazil, and the UAE to serve its clients and accordingly upgrade the expansiveness and profundity of its business. It has been ranked 345th in Fortune India 500list of 2018.
History
1947-1980
Atul Ltd was founded by Kasturbhai Lalbhai in 1947, in Valsad district of Gujarat. It specializes in the manufacture of dye, dye intermediates, agricultural as well as aromatic chemicals. Manufacturing industries such as Atic Industries and Citabul were also boosted and aided by Atul in 1956 and 1960 respectively. Atic Industry was a manufacturer of dyes and it sold a large bulk of dye to Atul all the times, thereby making the latter, a shareholder of 50% of its capital. Also, Atul Limited holds 65% of the share capital of Citabul, a non-Indian manufacturer of resins.
1981-2000
In 1985, Atul took over Piramal Rasayan by owning 100% of its capital and thereby renaming the latter as Amal Rasayan in 1986, Amal Products in 1995, and Amal Ltd in 2003. In 1988-89, Gujarat Aromatics was amalgamated into Atul, due to the drastic decline of the former. Gujarat Aromatics had an expertise in the production of mixed cresols out of toluene which unfortunately had no market demand. After the amalgamation, Gujarat Aromatics was considered a loss venture as it ate up all the profits of Atul. In 1995, para-cresidine and para-anisaldehyde manufacturing plants were commissioned. In 1995-96, manufacture of non-benzidine dyestuffs with a capacity of 1700 tonnes per annum was commissioned and the manufacture of para-cresol was commissioned in 1997-98. In 1996-97, the agrochemicals and prescribed drugs division received ISO 9002 certification for phenoxy and urea herbicides from TUV Bayern of Germany.
2001-2019
In 2000-01, a project regarding the installation of a third liquidized boiler was adopted, with an aim to become independent in power generation requirement. A unique tissue culture production of date palm was then set up by the company in Jodhpur, Rajasthan in 2012-13. The same year saw the expansion of para-cresol production and an establishment of 22000 square feet research facility for API business too. A 79% average effluent cut-off was adopted in 2013-14 from 41 products and zero liquid effluent discharge facility was adopted at the Ankleshwar sector. The research and development sector also flourished in this year, leading to a production of 67 new products. In 2014-2015, the company executed three important open-source systems namely- Atul mobSales, Atul i-Quote, and Saral. Atul mobSales is an integrated mobility solution for brand sales. Whereas, Atul i-Quote is a vendor portal to ensure better connect with vendors. And, Saral is a human resource self-service multi-lingual kiosk system. Eco-friendly steps of converting mercury-based caustic/chlorine plane to membrane-based plants were adopted in 2015-16. An add-on achievement of the year includes a USFDA approval to the Dapsone manufacturing unit of the company. Expansion in terms of geography was also observed during January and September with the inauguration of offices at Ahmedabad and Goregaon respectively.
Operations
The company's chemical production-related operations form the core of its business; other divisions of the company include various products in the field of bulk chemicals, intermediates, colors, aromatics, polymers, pharmaceuticals, and crop protection bulk actives.
Major Associates And Subsidiaries
Rudolf Atul Chemicals Ltd
Rudolf is a Germany based industry, tied up with 20 subsidiary ad joint ventures throughout the globe. The Company is engaged in the manufacture of textile chemicals. It thrives with a motto of ‘best makes buddies’. Rudolf Atul Chemicals Ltd is a 50-50 joint venture agency of Rudolf and Atul Ltd, aimed at manufacturing and marketing of fabric chemical substances in India.
Atul Bioscience Ltd
Atul Bioscience Ltd is a completely-owned subsidiary agency of Atul Ltd. ABL was established with an aim to meet the Active Pharma Ingredients need of the Pharmaceutical Industry. ABL manufactures API intermediates for anti-asthmatic, anti-depressant, anti-diabetic, anti-infective, anti-inflammatory, anti-neoplastic, anti-retroviral and cardiovascular therapeutic purposes.
Anaven LLP
Anaven Limited Liability Partnership firm is a joint venture between AkzoNobel and Atul, incorporated on 17 May 2017. It is registered at Registrar of Companies, Ahmedabad. Its overall duty of contribution amounts to INR. 1,340,000,000. It is an MCA production plant which will use hydrogen and chlorine manufactured by Atul, and environment-friendly hydrogenation method of AkzoNobel. From an initial annual capacity of 32,000 tonnes, the plant has been designed with the aim of 60,000 tonnes expansion within a year. The facility will produce enough MCA to satisfy Atul’s growing demand for MCA and supply the expanding Indian market.
Anchor Adhesives Pvt Ltd
Anchor Adhesives Pvt Ltd is a Non-govt company, established on 24 July 1992. It is classified as 'company limited by shares'. It majorly manufactures metal and chemical products from the last 27 years of active business operation. It is headed by Lalit Patni, Suresh Kalra, and Satya Narayan Mundra as the current board members. Its legal capital amounts to Rs 60.0 lakhs and it also has 97.692505% paid-up capital, which is Rs 58.62 lakhs.
Atul Infotech Ltd
Atul Infotech Private Limited is a Non-govt company, established on 31 July 2000. It is classified as 'company limited by shares'. It is an IT services and solutions company. Its major task is to enhance the enterprise boom of its clients with creative Design and Development to supply marketplace-defining solutions that create value and reliable benefits in the sector. Company's legalized capital amounts to Rs 300.8 lakhs and it also has 7.863098% paid-up capital which is Rs 23.65 lakhs.
Atul Rajasthan Date Palms Ltd
Atul Rajasthan Date Palms Ltd deals with the production and marketing of tissue culture raised date palms in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. Its main goal is to raise the ecology and economic system of the arid areas of India. ARDP was promoted by Atul Ltd in cooperation with Rajasthan Horticulture Development Society based on Public-Private Partnership model. It is deploying modern-day technology to manufacture tissue culture raised date palms obtained with the aid of Atul from Date Palm Research and Development Centre of United Arab Emirates University. A treaty was signed between the chairman of Atul, Mr. Sunil Lalbhai and Dr. Abdullah Al Khanbashi on 22 October 2008. In a manner, the endeavor of ARDP of greening the deserts is not only a Government collaboration but also a symbol of international cooperation between countries.
Products
Atul Ltd is a diversified company meeting the needs of varied industries such as Aerospace, Adhesives, Agriculture, Animal Feed, Automobile, Composites, Construction, Cosmetic, Defence, Dyestuff, Electrical and Electronics, Flavour and Fragrance, Glass, Home Care, Paint and Coatings, Paper, Personal Care, Pharmaceutical, Plastic, Polymer, Rubber, Soap and Detergent, Textile and Tyre across the world. It produces various products in the field of bulk chemicals, intermediates, colors, aromatics, polymers, pharmaceuticals, and crop protection bulk actives. It is the solitary indigenous maker of the tissue culture date palm plants, up in Rajasthan utilizing overseas technology. It has approximately 3000 employees and 6000 customers at national as well as international level. As of March 2019 statistics, its turnover sums to Rs.3915.81 crores and the net profit to Rs.428.64 crores.
