IF YOU BELIEVE that you can find rags-to-riches stories only in movies, then Ande Prathap Reddy’s tale will make you sit up. His 10-km walk to school from a remote hamlet in Telangana (earlier Andhra Pradesh) served as an everyday motivation to become a “moneyed man” someday. “I have seen poverty. Those days inspired me to take risks and do something big,” he says.
Reddy was barely 25 when he started his first venture in 1976, with a bank loan of ₹25,000. After dabbling with around eight successful small-scale ventures in RCC (Reinforced Cement Concrete) spun pipes, asbestos cement pressure pipes and the like, he changed tack in 1988. “I diversified because it was no longer viable to run these small businesses,” says Reddy.
By then, he had realised the high export potential of ‘speciality chemicals’. In common parlance, speciality chemicals are either single-chemical entities or mixtures of various chemical ingredients designed for some specific industrial applications. Back then, no Indian manufacturer was considering this sector as a potential business opportunity. “I started Balaji Amines [in 1988] with a small plant using indigenous technology. Alkyl Amines was my competitor, which took its amine technology from a UK company. But, I was the first [Indian] to take a local [amine] technology and perfected it at one-fourth of the price,” he says.
Esta historia es de la edición May 14, 2023 de Business Today India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición May 14, 2023 de Business Today India.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
"Inaction is worse than mistakes"
What was the problem you were grappling with?
TEEING OFF WITH TITANS
BUSINESS TODAY GOLF RESUMES ITS STORIED JOURNEY WITH THE 2024-25 SEASON OPENER IN DELHI-NCR. THERE ARE SIX MORE CITIES TO COME
AI FOOT FORWARD
THE WHO'S WHO OF THE AI WORLD GATHERED AT THE TAJ MAHAL PALACE IN MUMBAI TO DELIBERATE THE TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT OF AI ON INNOVATION, INDUSTRIES, AND EVERYDAY LIFE.
Decolonising the Walls
ART START-UP MAAZI MERCHANT IS ON A MISSION TO BRING INDIA'S FORGOTTEN ART BACK HOME
"I'm bringing Kotak under one narrative, one strategy, one umbrella”
Ashok Vaswani is a global banker who spent most of his career overseas at institutions like Citi Group and Barclays, among others.
CHOOSING THE CHAMPIONS
The insights and methodology behind the BT-KPMG India's Best Banks and NBFCs Survey 2023-24.
'INDIA IS AT AN EXTREMELY SWEET SPOT'
The jury members of the BT-KPMG Survey of India's Best Banks and NBFCs discuss developments in the banking sector and more
FROM CRISIS TO TRIUMPH
Dinesh Kumar Khara stewarded SBI through multiple challenges during his tenure, while ensuring that profits tripled, productivity soared, and the bank consolidated its global standing
AT A CROSSROADS
BANKS ARE FACING CHALLENGES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALANCE SHEET-ASSETS AS WELL AS LIABILITIES-WHICH ARE PUTTING PRESSURE ON MARGINS.
EXPANSIVE VISION
Bajaj Finance, an outlier in terms of digitisation, faces stiff competition. But it continues to expand its reach