Latest News

  • Home
  • National
  • From working as a peon to building $1.36B empire, the story of India's Fevicol Man
From working as a peon to building $1.36B empire, the story of India's Fevicol Man
Monday, September 9, 2019 IST
From working as a peon to building $1.36B empire, the story of India

This is the story of Balvant Parekh, one of the first-generation entrepreneurs of post-independence India. Known widely as the Fevicol Man, Balvant launched Pidilite Industries in 1959, a company that went on to become synonymous with adhesives in the Indian market. His initial journey of building the company was, however, fraught with struggles and hardships.
 

 
 

Born in Mahuva, a small town situated in Gujarat's Bhavnagar district, Balvant went to Mumbai to study law. Leaving his studies midway, he jumped into the Quit India Movement, launched by Mahatma Gandhi in Gujarat. After staying in his hometown and participating in different social activities over the next year, he came back to Mumbai and finished his education.
 
Once he had a lawyer's degree, Balvant was reluctant to practise law, owing to the amount of lies the profession demanded. Life in Mumbai was difficult, as he had to initially work at a dyeing and printing press, and later join a wood trader’s office as a peon. He lived in a warehouse along with his wife, reports Desh Gujarat.
 
Eventually, with the help of an investor who recognised the talent in his business skills, Balvant started importing cycle, areca nut, paper dyes from western countries, and eventually launched his own company supported by his younger brother Sushil Parekh. This company, named Pidilite Industries, was started with just one factory, manufacturing a single product, Fevicol.
 
Over years, Fevicol built a monopoly in the adhesive space, a glue carpenters would swear by. The other two flagship brands launched by Pidilite, Feviquick and M-Seal, too went on to build around 70 percent market shares each, making Pidilite synonymous with adhesives in India.
 
Since 2006, the brand focused on international expansion, with factories set up in the US, Thailand, Dubai, Egypt and Bangladesh. The company also built a research centre in Singapore. With clever advertising campaigns, Pidilite Industries took a seemingly unexciting product and made it into a top brand.
 
An ardent philanthropist, Balvant founded two schools, a college and a hospital in Mahuva, his hometown. He also started the Darshak Foundation, an NGO that studies the cultural history of Gujarat. He also made a generous donation of Rs 2 crore towards Bhavnagar’s science city project, and established Balvant Parekh Centre for General Semantics and Other Human Sciences.
 
Balvant Parekh passed away in 2013, at the age of 88. The previous year in October, he was ranked Number 45 on Forbes Asia’s India Rich List with a family fortune of $1.36 billion.

 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 199K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in National

 Article
New Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe to sell airline, print money to pay wages

he swore to declare a new 'alleviation' spending plan to supplant President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's "advancement" financial plan that stirred up ...

Recently posted. 598 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
18 Heart-Melting Moments That Perfectly Describe Family Love

Home is a place where you feel surrounded by warmth, care, and understanding from your relatives. We all have our special moments that make us value our family me...

Recently posted. 807 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Your Face shape And Your Personality

The face is the identity of a human being. People remember you by your facial features. But did you know that the shape of your face can decide your personality a...

Recently posted. 1K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Worldwide ransomware attacks hint at North Korea link: Security researchers

Security analysts on Monday revealed indications of a potential North Korea connection to the massive cyberattack crusade that started ruin in PC frameworks worldwi...

Recently posted. 838 views . 39 min read
 

 Article
Pakistan displays Bhagat Singh's case file for the first time

Lahore: Eighty-seven years after Bhagat Singh was hanged for the murder of a British police officer, Pakistan today for the first time displayed ...

Recently posted. 656 views . 1 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.
H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top