AksharChem (India) Ltd is a specialty-chemicals maker that turned a single export-led product into a global franchise, then used the cash and know-how to build a second, entirely different business from scratch. Founded in 1989 by Mrs. Paru M. Jaykrishna in Gujarat, the company started with dye intermediates and pigments, becoming one of the world’s largest producers of CPC Green pigment and capturing roughly 40-45% of India’s exports of Vinyl Sulphone. The pattern that explains everything else is a low-cost-producer model built on large-scale capacities, vertical integration, and plants deliberately placed near suppliers - a philosophy it has now applied to a greenfield Precipitated Silica plant that began production in 2021 and is already supplying every major tyre maker in India.
Business segments
Two engines at different stages - a legacy organic-chemicals export franchise that still anchors the company, and a younger inorganic-chemicals platform built for domestic industrial demand - each sharing the same manufacturing discipline and Gujarat chemical-belt location.
1. Dye intermediates and pigments: the export franchise that built the company
Vinyl Sulphone and CPC Green are mature, globally competitive products where the company holds export market shares that rivals find hard to dislodge, because decades of customer relationships and backward integration create a moat.
- One of the world’s largest in its niche - the company holds a global market share of approximately 10% in CPC Green pigment, and accounts for roughly 40% of India’s total Vinyl Sulphone exports, making it a frontrunner in both products.
- Backward integration locks in supply - it makes H-Acid, the crucial intermediate that gives reactive dyes their fastness properties, in-house at its Mehsana plant, so it is not dependent on third-party suppliers for a key input to Vinyl Sulphone.
- Non-carcinogen grade opens premium export doors - the company produces a high-quality, non-carcinogen grade of Vinyl Sulphone that drives consistent demand from export customers for high-end applications, and its CPC Green division holds REACH registration to sell up to 1,000 tonnes per annum into the European Union.
- Customers stay for decades - relationships with international buyers stretch back 20-25 years, with the company treated as a “Preferred Supplier,” and it reports 95% repeat business and a zero-return record on quality grounds.
- China is the ever-present threat - the “China price mechanism,” including dumping and selling at lower rates, is the major competitive risk, and a 50% tariff on Indian exports by the USA in the first nine months of FY26 added further pressure on the segment.
2. Precipitated Silica: the domestic industrial play built from the ground up
A greenfield plant making a high-performance rubber-reinforcement material has, in under four years, won commercial approval from every major tyre company in India - turning a diversification into a credible second engine.
- A brand-new plant, deliberately placed - the fully automated Dahej facility, controlled by a centralised Distributed Control System, sits close to a sea port, highways, and all key raw-material vendors, and began commercial production only in July 2021 after an initial investment of roughly ₹100 crore.
- Every big tyre maker in India is now a customer - the company’s “Aksil” brand has achieved commercial acceptance and approval by all key tyre and non-tyre rubber companies in India and abroad, and it is in commercial transactions with all of them domestically.
- Capacity is scaling in steps - installed capacity rose from the original 12,000 tonnes per annum to 18,000 tonnes after a ₹37 crore expansion, with manufacturing approved from June 2025, and a Phase 3 expansion is already on the drawing board.
- Tailor-made grades for different jobs - the plant produces multiple grades, tailor-made to customer requirements, and the company is actively exploring portfolio expansion to micro-pearl and highly dispersible silica, serving not just tyre and rubber (which account for 60% of demand) but also specialty applications in animal feed, agrochemicals, and chemical intermediates.
- Sold entirely at home, riding a steady tailwind - all Precipitated Silica sales are domestic, and demand grows at roughly 7% annually, driven by the automotive and tyre industry’s shift toward eco-friendly alternatives to carbon black.
Manufacturing, technology and quality infrastructure
Two Gujarat plants share a common operating playbook - large-scale procurement, automation, captive solar power, and zero-liquid-discharge discipline - that lowers costs and de-risks production across both businesses.
- Scale and location tilt supplier negotiations - both plants sit in Gujarat’s chemical belt near most suppliers, with large-scale procurement and a wide supplier network; 75% of suppliers are long-term, giving the company leverage on input costs.
- Automation runs the floor - the Dahej plant is fully DCS-controlled, Programmable Logic Controllers optimise water treatment and boilers, and packaging is automated with both small-bag and jumbo-bag lines that can be customised for customers.
- Quality control is in-house and exhaustive - laboratories equipped with high-end instrumentation test raw materials, in-process samples, finished goods, and even packaging materials using ISO/ASTM methods, underpinning the zero-return record.
- Captive solar cuts the power bill - a 5.19 MWp ground-mounted solar plant feeds the Indrad factory, and a 2.4 MWp installation serves the Dahej plant, both for captive consumption, alongside an earlier 94.50 KW rooftop installation.
Group structure and partners
A standalone, founder-led company with no subsidiaries or joint ventures - it funds itself through a mix of bank debt and equity, and carries investment-grade credit ratings.
- No subsidiaries, no foreign ventures - the company has no subsidiary, joint venture, or associate company, and no foreign investments or collaborations; it operates as a single reportable segment.
- Founder at the helm - Mrs. Paru M. Jaykrishna, who founded the company in 1989, remains Chairperson and Managing Director, and was the first woman elected President of the Gujarat Chambers of Commerce and Industry in 74 years; her co-leader, Joint MD & CEO Mr. Munjal M. Jaykrishna, brings a senior leadership team with an average of nearly three decades in the chemical industry.
- Two-bank funding with stable ratings - State Bank of India and HDFC Bank provide financing, and the company holds CARE A- (Stable) for long-term bank facilities and CARE A2+ for short-term facilities.