Building a giant

When he’s not fulfilling his duties as Founder and Managing Director of chemical engineering giant Aether Industries, which produces compounds that make up products that are crucial for everyday life, Ashwin Desai likes to unwind in nature.

“I like to do adventurous things,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “I like to go on bike rides, and my wife and I go paragliding in the three major mountains.”

As an avid adventurer, Desai doesn’t mind spending time in remote locations, both urban and natural.

“The world is changing so fast that you need to be dynamic,” he says. “You have to continuously change according to the situation and market and global conditions.”

Having built the company from scratch 13 years ago to a current market capitalization of US$1.05 billion, Desai knows a thing or two about what it takes to start a business.

“My journey started with one person, and I’ve been through all the trials and tribulations of growing the company. To grow an industry as a single person, you also have to grow your experience,” he remembers.

“It was absolutely slate zero in 2013, we didn’t have any product. We built up the pilot plant from scratch.”

In chemical engineering, pilot plants allow the testing of chemicals before they enter large-scale commercial production. Products are tested and optimized, serving as a crucial transitional phase between research and full-scale manufacturing.

“In the span of 13 years, we have created one of the world’s biggest pilot plants,” Desai says.

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Located in Surat, Gujarat, Aether Industries’ pilot plant has more than 180 reactors, allowing a broad array of simultaneous chemical reactions.

“We understand the whole parameters of our chemical engineering from the pilot, and we then transfer that data to the design department,” he says.

Although Aether Industries now has an impressive roster of corporate partners from across the world, that was not always the case, with Desai building its reputation brick by brick.

“At first, major multinational companies didn’t believe in us,” he says. “So we began by testing Indian products, and because we were the first Indian company in a lot of product segments, we kept a very strong presence in the United States, Asia and Europe as well.”

Global challenges

Its deep integration with global markets has brought the company prosperity but also presents its most pressing challenge.

“Today, when we talk about consumer products, we have huge competition from China,” Desai says.

The market share Chinese firms enjoy makes competing with them difficult, he explains.

“They’re getting all the support of government and local bodies, so as long as they’re creating employment and jobs, they are not being affected,” he says. “But we are answerable to so many regulatory and stakeholder factors with our products.”

To counter this trend, Desai says Aether Industries is increasing its investment in key partnerships and is in the process of launching joint ventures with key suppliers.

“Today, we are shifting to a B2B model. New multinational companies, with whom we have built strong relations over the last 10 years, now view us as a very good, dependable supplier and are choosing India as their key manufacturing base,” he says.

“We now have a huge plant opening up near Ankleshwar. We are building a world-class facility there.”

These relationships with key partners such as Caruso and Sandhya Organic Chemicals will give Aether Industries competitive advantages that it needs to meet the competition, Desai believes.

“In countering the Chinese competition, we need to be dynamic. If a company completes a project in the United States in two years, we will do it quicker – in four to six months. People are shocked at how efficiently we deliver around the world,” he says with a laugh. “But with the speed, the quality remains the same.”

Micro sustainability

Ensuring the sustainability of the company is another challenge, although Desai says his approach to increasing value might not necessarily be covered by an ISO department.

“In our business, our whole approach is micro-sustainability,” he says.

“Micro means there are small changes that have to be taken care of in a particular part of the factory, while the bigger thing is sustainability. I also believe in that. This starts with the safety and health of our staff.”

Desai also points to Aether Industries’ high staff retention, which has allowed the company to thrive, with many employees building lengthy careers.

“It is still a relatively young company, and my employees are the best source of joy for me,” he says. “Some have been given a lot of empowerment, and empowering people is one of the main aspects of building sustainability.”

“We have very useful people working for us who are hungry, dynamic and genuine.”

He believes this dynamism will provide the backbone of the company’s continued success in a rapidly evolving global market.

“In whatever segment you are, if you are not dynamic, you may be left behind by the competition,” he says. “In modern corporations, we have put a lot of faith in our R&D and a lot of faith in our people.

“You have to keep evolving, changing and adapting to the market conditions. And that is what we are continuously doing.”