RJA Corporate Profile - CN Doshi of Rajoo

Corporate Profile

The Renaissance Man “A business purely based on technology”, this was how the late CN Doshi, Chairman of Indian machinery maker Rajoo Engineers Ltd, described the nature of the business he founded more than 30 years ago. The description outlined his vision for the company that is today technology-driven and bears the innovation trademark.

In this tribute, PRA treads the path taken by CN Doshi, who passed away of a heart attack early this year.

Of the tributes that poured in one said, “Doshi was totally unpretentious in all aspects his life – always willing to evaluate and explore new ideas. He always believed that what is good for society is truly ethical. He abided by the true definition of “Dharma”, which is not to do anything to anyone that you would not like to be done to yourself”

16

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013

Down memory lane In 1982, at the age of 29, with a degree in D.Pharm, work experience in the banking sector and a capital of US$6,000, CN Doshi, together with his younger brother RN Doshi, set up a workshop in a small village known as Manavadar, Gujarat, producing plastic films for packaging incense sticks and tea bags. His first Rajoo venture had only one machine operator and three unskilled workers. The machine subsequently broke down and, to conserve resources, had to be fixed internally, resulting in a customised machine.

Doshi branched out into extruded foam films and thus, the first generation blown film machine was born. This also gave Doshi the idea of starting up a machine manufacturing business.

And hence in 1986, armed with an investment of US$25,000, Doshi set up a 1,000 sq m facility to make cutting/sealing machines, increasing the number of workers to a dozen.

Two years later, the company designed India’s first PPTQ blown film line, as a substitute for imported machines. Thereafter, in 1990, the firm launched the first PE resin blown film line for producing chemically foamed film.

This was also a milestone year for the firm as it entered the international market, exporting a blown film line to Tanzania.

In 1991, Rajoo pioneered an Indian-made co-extrusion feed block for a multi-layer sheet line, a technology that has until today been raking in a large market share in sheet extrusion lines in India.

Innovations continued It was Doshi’s spirit of innovation and adaptation that was the driving force for Rajoo’s growth. In 1994, having moved to Rajkot, the firm entered into a technical collaboration with UK-based Wittey Machinery, a distributor of blown film lines, corona treatment units and trim recycling machinery. Rajoo also went public, with the share issue being oversubscribed by nearly 24 times. That same year, it introduced the country’s first oscillating haul-off system for multi-layer blown film lines.

But Doshi was not keen to rest on his laurels just yet. In 1995, Rajoo introduced an Indian-made extruder incorporating grooved feed bush, barrier screw and crosshole mixing section as well as the country’s first wide-width blown film line with a lay flat width of 3,000 mm. A year later, the company exported its first CE-certified machine to the UK.

In 1997, the Indian plastics industry witnessed the first made-in-India internal bubble cooling (IBC) system for multi-layer blown film lines at the Plastindia exhibition.

Striking the millennium chord with more innovations In between innovating new features for machines, Doshi

Corporate Profile was continuously looking for avenues to provide the right combination of a diversified product mix for the Indian industry, say those who worked with him in the early years.

Hence, as the world braced for the Y2K scare, Rajoo instead welcomed it with two pioneering technologies: an advanced PET sheet line and, what it says was, Asia’s first stack-type Universal Co-extrusion Die (UCD).

A year later in 2001, it introduced the Aquaflex, said to be the world’s highest output PPTQ downward extrusion blown film line.

In the preceding years, the firm developed India's first electro-hydro-pneumatic plug-assist thermoformer with in-mould cutting for PP and PS containers; a CE-compliant high-output sheet line (exported to Germany) for processing PET flakes regrind at a rate of 700 kg/hour; and the first sheet line for physically foamed PE sheets, using carbon dioxide as a blowing agent.

But it was not only on the home front that it was making news. In 2005, it exported a seven-layer blown film die to Columbia; and a three-layer blown film line for making resin sacks to Iran.

The following year, Rajoo presented three new innovations: the 1,000-kg/hour three-layer wide-width blown film line incorporating a 1,200 mm die and 4,000 mm LFW; a fully-automatic touchscreen-controlled threelayer blown film line featuring 2,100 mm roll-width oscillating haul-off and fully automatic centre-surface-gap winder, and a seven-layer blown film line with an inverted conical spiral stack (INCOSS) die.

In 2007, Rajoo entered into a technical collaboration with Commodore of the US for the manufacture of XPS sheet lines and thermoformers. It, thus, launched India’s first XPS line and exported it to Ghana, which garnered it an award from IPMMP IMDIR.

Crossing the boundaries The global market is mostly the end-all goal of many homegrown enterprises. With expertise in technology, to pit against the machine manufacturing race, the Doshi brothers decided to hone Rajoo’s expertise to be competitive in the global scene.

In 2010, Rajoo formed a joint venture with Bausano of Italy to set up a plastic pipe machine making facility in India and also undertook the merger with Indian thermoforming machine maker Wonderpack to offer a unified approach to the industry. That same year, Rajoo entered into a technical collaboration with Germany’s Hosokawa Alpine.

Still at full speed ahead, the 59-year old Doshi continued on the technology rush, as recent as last year. The company developed the world’s first smallest three-layer blown film line, clinching an award for this also. In 2012 also, Rajoo launched India’s first PP nonwoven fabric making machine and drip irrigation pipe line, plus it supplied fully-automated seven-layer blown film lines to the domestic market and to Turkey.

Rajoo flag at half mast Today, under the helm of Doshi, Rajoo has grown into a group comprising a machinery unit and Essen Specialities (polymer processing unit). It has more than 500 employees, a capital investment of US$10 million and boasts an 81,000 sq m facility in Rajkot.

But as other companies looked forward to a brand new year, Rajoo had to take in stride the passing of its Chairman.

When asked who would be taking over to steer the firm, President of Rajoo, Sunil Jain said, “The board and family members have yet to come up with a formal decision. However, the group has come a long way since its inception. From a family-managed group, it is now professionally managed

with systems and procedures in place.”

Doshi’s younger brother and co-founder RN Doshi, the company’s Managing Director, will continue to oversee the design and development and manufacturing operations, nonetheless, taking on more responsibilities. Meanwhile, having led the marketing and sales, and at the same time having spearheaded the technology acquisitions, Sunil will continue to handle these areas of the business.

Groomed by her late father to manage the marketing communications, human resource capital management and customer support services, Executive Director Khushboo Doshi is also hands-on in the family business, as are a host of younger family members. These include Ustav Doshi, who heads the engineering facilities, and Pallay Doshi, who takes care of Essen Specialities, supported by CEO Lakshmi Ramakrishna.

“All in all, there is an apt mix of second generation family members and professionals (to man the business),” said Sunil.

Business aside, Doshi devoted his spare time to providing educational aid, clothing and food to underprivileged children, as well as conducting various environmental and healthcare initiatives.

“My father’s philanthropy and service were really commendable and this was amply demonstrated by the thousands of people who turned up to pay homage,” said Khushboo.

Ultimately, Doshi’s motivation, commitment and ethical business practices of being truthful and sincere were key to the success of the business, says Sunil.

“CN Doshi will certainly be missed. He charted the growth path for the group and his legacy will be carried forward by all of us at Rajoo,” concluded Sunil.

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013

17