Bodal Chemicals, formerly known as JK Phrarma, began operations in 1989 with two enterprising young men, Suresh Patel and Ramesh Patel, willing to take on the world of chemicals with their quality offering. And thus began JK Pharma, a partnership firm with a production capacity of 60 tonnes of vinyl sulphone per annum.
The company’s huge motivation is the ability to use its products in the most optimum way, and it has made it to lead from one partnership firm to a well established Limited Company. The year 1994 saw the conversion of the partnership firm to a private limited company with the change in name to Bodal Chemicals Pvt. Ltd.
About 17 years back the company started producing vinyl sulphone in a small way, and with the passage of time and with the foresight of the main person instrumental for its growth, Bodal is producing 25 major dye intermediates with a monthly capacity of 2000 MT. It has now emerged a supplier of one of the finest quality of dyes and dyes intermediates.
Dye intermediates R&D at Bodal, in these two decades, has successfully launched several products for industries such as textiles, leather, paper, etc. Bodal has made significant strides in the field of dye intermediates and other related products since inception.
Strong foot on Vinyl Sulphone Ester had given the company the strength and competence to go ahead with forward integration and that gave rise to the Dyes Division. In order to be more self-reliant and competitive, Bodal decided to go for backward integration and thus saw the inception of Basic Chemicals and Sulphur Chemicals Division.
Thanks to forward and backward integration from the Dye Intermediates Division, the company has been able to use 50 per cent of its own raw materials to produce dye intermediates and consumes nearly 60 per cent of raw materials while producing dyestuffs.
“Forward and backward integration has been one of the biggest strengths of Bodal which is the most integrated Indian dyestuff company”, says Mr. Bhavin S. Patel, Executive Director.
More than 50 per cent of the production is exported to countries like the US, Brazil, the UK, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Italy, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Bangladesh and Pakistan. In addition to its comprehensive worldwide network, Bodal also has superior distribution facilities strategically located throughout Europe, Asia and the Asia-Pacific region. Through warehousing, storage depots and office set-ups, the company is able to respond quickly to customer needs and deliver products to suit their convenience. Today Bodal is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of intermediates in India.
A 450 tpd sulphuric acid plant was successfully commissioned at the company’s Unit No.VII located at Dudhwada, Vadodara, in July 2010. Bodal has also manufacturing facility for production of dyes and dye intermediates at the same location. Hence, the company has a unique locational advantage which helps it in saving transportation cost, easy and timely availability of acid for dye intermediates.
From a negligible turnover in the beginning, Bodal has crossed the Rs. 500-crore mark for the very first time and touched a level of Rs. 558 crores in 2010-11, out of which exports accounted for 45 per cent.
The company spokesperson Mr. Bhavin S. Patel, is confident that the group would reach the Rs. 1,000-crore milestone before the end of this decade. Out of total dyestuff sale, about 80 per cent is exported, and as for basic chemicals it is mainly sold in the domestic market.
Last year, Bodal Chemical launched a unique brand of reactive dyes called ‘Bodactive’ for the textile industry. Introduction of the Bodactive range heralds the launching of nanotechnology for the first time. These are the pure and superior quality dyes for the textile industry.
Bodactive BNC (Bodal Nano Chemistry) Technology is highly effective to gain reproducibility, and the level dyeing of cellulosic materials provides latest generation of dyes with features of high solubility & outstanding high strength. Molecular structure of each product in this range has been designed according to the economic recipes and right-first time dyeing.
Bodal has started marketing its own Brand name “BODACTIVE” dyestuff products with its own distribution channel partners in India and worldwide. At present, it has 35 distributors in India and 15 agents in different countries.
The company continues to put relentless focus on developing high quality products to drive growth and also endeavour to reduce cost. It relies on a sound platform with its forward and backward integration. It is also supported by a strong backend in procurement, manufacturing, product development, IT and human resource management.
Being in the chemical industry, Bodal is subject to various environment & pollution control regulations, including safety and emission norms. The company addresses these issues through advance planning and allocation of sufficient physical and human resources, effluent treatment facilities and process controls.
Bodal Chemicals Ltd. now enjoys the status of Two-Star Export house. The company also has ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certifications for production of dye intermediates & dyestuffs.