POCL Enterprises is a metals recycler that turns scrap into pure lead, zinc and specialty chemicals - it started as a trading house in 1988 and built factories only when customers demanded more than it could source. That pattern of moving from buying-and-selling into making, then into higher-margin downstream products, repeats across its history and explains why a company rooted in lead now makes PVC stabilisers and is buying recycling plants outright.
Business segments
Four engines built on the same recycling backbone - a lead-metal cash cow that feeds two downstream chemical businesses, an emerging zinc platform, and a copper-scrap trial that extends the model into a new metal.
1. Lead metal and alloys: the furnace that funds everything else
POEL recycles scrap lead into refined metal and alloys that carry the company's own brand on the London Metal Exchange - a quality credential that opens export markets and locks in battery-maker customers.
- Branded on global exchanges - its pure lead (99.97% purity) has been awarded Brand Listing from the London Metal Exchange (LME) and is empanelled on India's Multi Commodity Exchange for lead futures delivery under the brand name POEL.
- Scrap-fed, not mine-fed - the company imports roughly 70% of its raw material from scrapyards in the UK, the US and Southeast Asia, then smelts and refines it, which keeps the cost structure dominated by raw-material spend (85-90% of costs) but insulates it from mining-capital intensity.
- Hedged against metal swings - because both purchase and sale prices move with LME quotes, POEL uses back-to-back hedging and locks in raw-material prices on a monthly average basis, so margins come from the processing spread rather than commodity bets.
- Batteries are the demand anchor - at least 80% of refined lead goes into lead-acid batteries for vehicles, inverters and solar storage, and the customer list includes Exide, GS Battery and HBL Power Systems.
2. Metallic oxides: the chemistry layer on top of the metal
POEL takes its own lead and zinc and converts them into oxide powders that tyre and battery makers cannot manufacture without - a captive-consumption loop that lifts margins above plain metal sales.
- Lead oxides feed batteries and PVC - Grey Oxide goes into battery plates, Red Lead into protective coatings and specialty glass, and Litharge (lead monoxide) is the key raw material for the company's own PVC stabiliser business, creating internal demand for its metal output.
- Zinc oxide rides on rubber - made by the indirect process for high brightness and uniform particle size, zinc oxide is used as a vulcanising agent in tyre manufacturing, and the rubber industry accounts for more than 41% of global consumption.
- Tyre majors on the customer list - MRF, JK Tyre, Yokohama and TVS Eurogrip buy oxides from POEL, and the company is expanding zinc oxide capacity by 2,400 MTPA at Puducherry to target emerging export markets.
- Capacity is running hot - the company is considering expansion and modernisation of its lead oxide lines because utilisation is at optimum levels, signalling that the downstream pull from its own stabiliser unit and external battery customers is pressing against existing plant limits.
3. PVC stabilisers and plastic additives: the margin engine
POEL makes the heat-stabiliser compounds that stop PVC pipes and cables from degrading during processing - a specialised chemical business where backward integration into raw materials gives it a cost edge over competitors.
- Lead-based and lead-free side by side - the portfolio spans traditional lead stabilisers (still over 70% of the Indian PVC processing market) and calcium-zinc non-toxic alternatives, with the lead-free unit at Puducherry operating at 2,400 MTPA after R&D and customer approvals were completed.
- Raw-material advantage - POEL backward-integrates to manufacture key inputs for its calcium-zinc stabilisers in-house, a capability it calls a distinct advantage over competition that must buy those intermediates.
- Demand follows construction and water - stabiliser sales are driven by housing, the government's Har Ghar Jal piped-water programme, smart-city builds and the window-profile market, so the order book is tied to India's infrastructure cycle.
- The highest-margin segment - the plastic-additives business contributed a 6.90% profit share on its turnover in FY 2024-25, making it the most profitable slice of the group even though it is the smallest by revenue.
4. Zinc metal: the emerging second metal
POEL has begun selling zinc metal commercially after years of using its recycled zinc only as captive feed for zinc oxide - a move that opens the galvanising and die-casting markets.
- From captive to commercial - the company previously recycled zinc scrap solely for internal consumption in oxide production; it completed successful trials and commercialised zinc metal sales with an initial annual target of 1,200 MT, then delivered roughly 1,815 MT in FY 2025-26.
- Galvanising is the big prize - about 70% of global zinc production goes into galvanising steel against corrosion, so every infrastructure and construction cycle creates demand for the metal POEL is now selling.
- Competition includes the unorganised sector - the company acknowledges it faces rivals in zinc metal, including unorganised players, which means pricing discipline and LME branding (already achieved in lead) will matter for differentiation.
5. Copper scrap processing: the option on a third metal
POEL is running trial operations to recover copper scrap from lead-copper cables - a small, early-stage initiative that applies its recycling know-how to a metal it does not yet manufacture.
- Processing, not smelting - the company is clear that it is not engaged in copper manufacturing; it is processing cables to separate and recover multiple grades of copper scrap, extending its non-ferrous recycling expertise without building a furnace.
- A natural adjacency - the move is described as a diversification within non-ferrous materials, suggesting the company is testing whether its scrap-sourcing network and processing skills can generate value in copper the way they already do in lead and zinc.
Group structure and partners
POEL is a promoter-led, publicly listed company with no parent, and it is rapidly expanding its recycling footprint by acquiring other lead-recycling plants - first an associate in Gujarat, then a subsidiary in Tamil Nadu - and merging them into the listed entity.
- Bansal-family promoter group - the board includes three brothers (Dr. Padam Bansal, Sunil Kumar Bansal and Devakar Bansal) and four members of the next generation, with the promoter group holding 45.10% of equity as of March 2020; the managing directors and whole-time directors divide responsibilities across finance, production, marketing and strategy.
- Merger already approved in principle - a scheme of amalgamation to merge PlanetFirst into POEL, with an appointed date of April 1, 2026, has received a "no adverse observation" letter from BSE; the merger requires no cash and will be settled through share issuance, after which PlanetFirst will be dissolved.
- Trichy Metals: the Tamil Nadu subsidiary - in July 2026 POEL agreed to acquire 51% of Trichy Metals and Alloys, which operates refining capacity of roughly 26,000 MTPA and smelting capacity of roughly 21,500 MTPA in Trichy, with audited turnover of Rs. 163.74 crores in FY 2025-26; the board noted the acquisition also opens potential diversification into copper and aluminium.