The Surat Giants: Rohan Desai, Director, Aether Industries Formed in January 2013, Aether has seen a growth CAGR 44% from FY 2018 to FY 2023 in terms of revenue.
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Rohan Desai, Director of Aether Industries, started his entrepreneurial journey in 2002, after graduating from SVNIT in Surat, Gujarat when he joined his father's company, Anupam Rasayan India Limited as one of the youngest directors. At Anupam Rasayan, he handled commercial portfolios, learning a lot from his elder brother, Anand Desai, the current MD of Anupam Rasayan.
In 2013, they separated from Anupam Rasayan and formed Aether Industries Limited, with his father (Ashwin Desai), mother (Purnima Desai) and younger brother (Dr. Aman Desai) put in their entire capital and efforts to build the organization from scratch. At Aether, they studied data for the chemicals being imported and based on the market size of those products at that time, started doing R&D at their manufacturing site (Hojiwala), where they built their R&D Centre and India's largest pilot plant in 2013.
With continuous R&D for the initial 4 years, without any revenue, the team size of Aether grew to over 200 in 2016. They also procured another plot of land in Sachin GIDC, Surat, to build a large scale manufacturing plant which came up in December 2016 which is when actual revenues started for Aether.
Formed in January 2013, Aether has seen a growth CAGR 44% from FY 2018 to FY 2023 in terms of revenue. Their EBITDA levels have increased from 23.61% in FY 2019 t0 30.38% in FY 2023, which has also increased their PAT levels from 11.48% in FY 2019 to 19.53% in FY 2023. Selling products and providing services (CRAMS) to more than 250 plus customers today, within India and other 19 countries, they also have their presence in some of the regulated markets like USA, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, and Netherlands among others.
But does being from a small town pose any challenges for growth?
"We think we have got more opportunities to grow in Surat. It is no more a small town as it is a major hub for textiles, diamonds and now for chemicals as well. Good connectivity to various cities of India via road, rail and air modes is easily available," Rohan Desai, Director, Aether Industries told us.
Fact sheet
• Year of inception: 2013
• Turnover for FY 2022-23: INR 6,511 million
• No. of Employees: 889 as on March 31, 2023
• Head office location: Plot No. 8203, Road No. 8, GIDC Industrial Estate, Sachin, Surat - 394230, Gujarat, India
The author can be reached at bkabir@entrepreneurindia.com and Instagram.com/kabirsinghbhandari
