Prince Pipes & Fittings Pvt. Ltd.

In Conversation

Polymerupdate : The Prince group over a period of time has made a big name for itself in the polymer industry. When did you get to be a part of this most illustrative group for the first time ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : I joined the group in 1965 when we were not involved in the plastics business. We were in the electroplating business wherein we used to take up jobwork. During the 60s we also specialized in the manufacture of bucket handles. I used to handle production. I started looking after the marketing side after two years. We entered the plastics business in 1970.

Polymerupdate : When did you decide to establish your own separate company ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : I started my own company Prince Pipes & Fittings under the Prince umbrella in 1980. We started with the manufacture of fittings in 1980. We entered the pipes market in 1985. When we started out, our monthly consumption of PVC was 15 tons.

Polymerupdate : Can you tell us something about the product portfolio of your company ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : Our product portfolio includes uPVC pipes, uPVC fittings, uPVC plumbing pipes, uPVC plumbing fittings, uPVC Borewell pipes, Roof Water System, uPVC valves, Solvent Cement, PP-R plumbing systems, ASTM-plumbing systems, uPVC valves/taps.

Polymerupdate : Your company has been manufacturing and marketing  PP-R pipes and fittings for more than two years now. Tell us something about the advantages of this brand ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : The advantage of this system is this can be used for both hot and cold water supply. They also find application in air conditioning systems in residential and industrial buildings. They can be used for transport of liquid food products such as oil, wine and beer. They can also be utilized for transport of industrialized fluids and compressed gas.

Polymerupdate : How many manufacturing units do you have ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : We have two units in operation at Silvassa. We also plan to set up a factory soon in Hardwar in Uttaranchal which will be operational by December 2007. We operate through a dealership base of 1,500 dealers all over the country. To keep in tune with the growth and to meet the expansion needs, the company shifted its manufacturing base from Mumbai to Athal, Silvassa  (U.T.) in 1995 and shifted its extrusion division to Dadra in 2000.

Polymerupdate : What is the consumption of raw materials from your manufacturing units ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : The company is planning an increase of nearly 10 percent every year in PVC consumption and with pipes and fittings contributing to 66 percent of PVC consumption, there are plans to increase its production capacity from 12000 metric tones per annum to 18000 metric tones per annum in the year 2007-08 at its extrusion plant and from 4000 metric tones per annum to 5000 metric tones per annum of injection moulding.

Polymerupdate : Do you have an export market for your products ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : We mainly export fittings to Middle East, Africa and SAARC countries.

Polymerupdate : What is the turnover of your company?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : The company has a turnover of Rs.130 crores today and hopes to cross the barrier of Rs.500 crores over the next 3-4 years.

Polymerupdate : How do you see your company growing from here ?

Mr. Jayant Chheda : Our long term vision is to become a complete plumbing solution provider in plastics to the construction industry. In this process, the future generation comprising of Mr. Parag Chheda, Executive Director and Mr. Vipul Chheda, Director are already proving their mettle and have the planning and expertise to carry the company forward to the next level of efficiency.