Back

Meet the man who built a 450,000 CR company at 91. 1. Born to a family of door-to-door hair oil salesmen, Rajnikant Shroff dreamt of doing something big in his life. When his family shifted to chemicals and started a factory in a buffalo shed in Jogeshwari, Mumbai, he began thinking about something. 🤔 2. He wanted to start something of his own. In 1969, he started a company in Vapi, Gujarat, with a mere Rs 4 lakh capital and a small team of 20 employees. United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) was born. 🚀 3. Due to the label commercialisation, matchboxes were in high demand in 1970. So, Rajnikanth launched red phosphorus, a key ingredient used in the manufacturing of matchboxes. As he started to gain initial success, another opportunity came knocking at the door. 👇 4. The green revolution started picking in India in the 1970s, and farmers adopted new practices. However, existing inputs got hugely overpriced by large MNCs. Rajnikant knew this was a time to sell 100% natural and cost-effective agrochemicals. In 1980, he retook a big step. 🤞 5. UPL expanded its production capabilities by setting up a 1000 MT facility in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, to produce yellow phosphorus, a critical raw agrochemical material. The idea was such a hit that four years later, UPL became a listed entity on the stock market. ✅ 6. Post listing, UPL went international and purchased MTM Agrochemical in the United Kingdom. As it commenced operations in Jhagadia (Gujarat), it started a caustic chlorine plant in 1996 and sold a pre-emergence herbicide, Devrinol. But the best was yet to come. 👇 7. Rajnikant knew the problem was global, so he went shopping for agrochemical companies. Within six years, UPL acquired Reposo SAIC (Argentina), Cequisa (Spain), Advanta (Dubai) and Cerexagri (France). By 2007, it was present in 14 countries and clocked sales of 7534 CR. 💰 8. UPL kept expanding and entered integrated farm services, including crop protection, nutrition, and advisory services, with the launch of Optimal Farm Solutions in 2014. It became an unstoppable force and touched the 100 billion mark. In 2016, it clocked revenues of 13,413 CR at a profit of 2828 CR. 📉 9. And the big moment came. On 1 February 2019, it acquired Arysta LifeScience for 30,153 CR, making the combined entity's revenues 35,732.5 CR. UPL became one of the top five global agrochemical companies. 💪 10. Today, UPL has a revenue of 43,098 CR and a profit of 5515 CR. It continues to be one of the top five companies in the world, with 1500 products, 44 manufacturing facilities, and a presence in 130 countries. It is worth 450,000 CR. 💸 ➡️91-year-old Rajnikant Devidas Shroff retired from the board in 2022 but continues to support 15 lakh beneficiaries in education, health and environment through the Shroff trust. 🙏