Interview With A Rubber Leader_R V Gandhi_GRP

Know A
LEADERIn 10 Questions
Rubber & Tyre
rubbermachineryworld.com / tyremachineryworld.com
INTERVIEW WITH
R.V.GANDHIManaging Director, GRP Ltd.
ONE MUST
DARE TO DREAM
NEW
On
Pg 24
Leadership Insight
from
Around The World

The above verses best summarizes Rajendra V. Gandhi,
MD and the chief promoter of GRP Ltd.
From building an ethical corporate organization in GRP,
to serving on prestigious boards and industry bodies,
public and private trusts that serve the cause of education
in rubber, women empowerment, training in ethical
values, water resource management, Gandhi’s immense
contribution to Indian rubber industry has established
him as an inspirational business leader and an iconic
corporate citizen.
While the global reclaim industry depended on the
European technology for manufacturing, Gandhi boldly
decided to design, fabricate and install an entire plant
and machinery for the manufacture of Reclaim Rubber,
with complete indigenous components when India was
largely deprived of foreign funds for imported machinery.
This pioneering effort, at the start of his career as a
young graduate engineer from IIT, Mumbai, ensured the
beginning of a reclaim movement in India.
Under Gandhi’s leadership, GRP Ltd has emerged as one
of the largest manufacturer of reclaim rubber in the
world, setting benchmarks for others to follow.
Its an honour to know him and present you his leadership
wisdom in this edition. We also have ‘Leadership Insights
from Around the World in a Page’ as an additional
knowledge resource for you. As always, I welcome your
feedback on rubbermachineryworld@gmail.com.
Best Regards
Prasanth Warrier
| Interviewer’s Note |
“Great leaders don’t set out to be a leader.
They set out to make a difference. It’s
never about the role - always about the goal.”
Gandhi’s immense
contribution to
Indian rubber
industry and social
causes make him
an inspirational
business leader and
an iconic citizen.
3
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Know A Leader - Rubber & Tyre Machinery World APR 2016|
(Disclaimer: All the pictures and statements in this special supplement are sourced from web or shared by respective companies.
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genuineness, hence will not be liable for any misrepresented data. The images are used for representation purpose only.)

4
| LEADER - INTERVIEW |
Know A Leader - Rubber & Tyre Machinery World | APR 2016
“The only driving force then
was a desire to start a business
which I can call my own
creation no matter how small”

5
PRASANTH WARRIER (PW):
Hello Rajendra Gandhi. First of all thank
you for accepting an interview with
Rubber & Tyre Machinery World and
sharing your thoughts. The decade of 70s
was not a period conducive to
entrepreneurs in Indian ecosystem. Yet,
as a young graduate out of IIT Mumbai,
you embarked on a journey that created
an enterprise, people today know as GRP.
So let me start with a personal question -
What would you say were secrets to your
success? What are the take away for the
next generation of leaders in your
inspiring story?
RAJENDRA V. GANDHI (RVG):
It is true that the decade of 70's was not a
period conducive to entrepreneurs in
Indian ecosystem. But after graduating
from IIT Mumbai, and having spent some
time in my family textile business, I had
inkling to start something on my own
instead of enjoying the family business
legacy. At that time I came across an
article which spoke how there is a good
future for the recycling industry in a
developing country like India. I was
struck by that article and decided to
pursue an opportunity in recycling.
After reviewing several options, I zeroed in
on rubber recycling. I must admit that I did
not have any fixed roadmap to succeed in
this venture when I set out. The only driving
force then was a desire to start a business /
industry which I can call my own creation
no matter how small. It was then that I was
introduced to K.M. Philip who was fondly
known as the 'Father of the Indian Rubber
Industry'. He encouraged me to set up a
reclaim rubber plant with technical
guidance from Wamanrao G Desai who was
an accomplished rubber technologist with
several years of experience in the reclaim
rubber manufacturing. Thus Gujarat
Reclaim & Rubber Products Ltd Company
was set up in 1974. Philip graciously agreed
to become the Chairman, while Desai was
appointed the Managing Director and I was
the Joint Managing Director. For me this
was a journey in faith.
The company was established on certain
values and principles, which later turned
out to be the valuable 'assets' of the
company. We decided that instead of
importing the machinery by bribing to get
an import license through DGTD, we would
design and make the entire plant based on
indigenous parts and equipment. Desai had
One Must Dare To Dream.
Entrepreneurship is about dreaming, conceptualising.
Interview With Rajendra V. Gandhi,
Managing Director, GRP Ltd.

6
the adequate experience and it was my
choice to have faith in his experience
and expertise. Philip's advice was very
reassuring. So, initial years were spent
in designing equipment necessary for
manufacture of reclaiming rubber,
preparing plant layouts, etc. We were
able to purchase locally a second hand
imported cracker mill for initial size
reduction of waste tyres.
I realised the importance of patience and
perseverance during this period. We
were able to convince the financial
institutes to give us loan on the basis of
self -designed and fabricated plant and
machinery. This indeed provided us lot
of encouragement and confidence. But
my family was more cautious and
offered a limited capital for the venture.
It meant that for the remaining capital I
had to look for other sources. We decided
to set up our plant in Ankleshwar,
Gujarat which was then declared as a
backward district and various financial
incentives were available for
entrepreneurs setting up a unit there.
After mustering some capital from
relatives and friends, I decided to make a
public issue to raise the balance capital.
Unfortunately, the period from 1975-77
was a time of emergency declared by
Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. The
capital market was indeed very
depressed just as the economy then. For
a paltry sum of Rs 15 lakhs that I needed
from public issue, I had to spend more
than two years to get this amount
underwritten by various institutions. This
delay resulted in cost escalation and we were
trapped in liquidity crisis.
During this time I lost my father. I was scared
and at times frustrated. But I believed that if
one's intentions are honourable, one will
receive support.
KM Philip, inspite of his stature and respect,
decided to fully stand by me. With the public
issue in 1978 we were able to invest rest of
the capital and as a result we were able to
commission the first line at Ankleshwar in
around Oct 1978 with our indigenously
designed and self-fabricated machinery.
Obviously there were plenty of teething
troubles in the equipment, resulting in
frequent stoppage of plant. It took us about 4
years to resolve all technical issues. In the
process, we paid heavy price in terms of
further cost escalation.
We were fighting against heavy odds. It
needed lot of patience, perseverance, and
faith to continue. In KM Philip I found a great
motivator and supporter. While dealing with
the debugging of equipment, I also learnt the
need to establish good practices in corporate
governance. I realised the importance of
giving respect to my colleagues at all levels. I
realised those working with me as a valuable
human asset.
“I was scared and at times
frustrated. But I believed that
if one’s intentions are honorable
one will receive support”

10
In this journey of over 40 years with
GRP and in the rubber industry, here
are few take away as I reflect back.
• One must dare to dream.
Entrepreneurship is about dreaming,
conceptualising.
• One must have healthy reservoir of
patience and perseverance.
• One has to have long term focus.
• It is important to have right values
and healthy precedents to be
introduced in the very beginning of
a start-up enterprise.
• Taking risk is an integral part of
entrepreneurship.
I can broadly divide my role in 3 parts;
a) In Business as an entrepreneur,
b) In Industry as a member of different
rubber bodies, and
c) In social area, as an active citizen.
In Business: When I decided to enter the
reclaim rubber industry, I was aware that
there were few established players then. So I
cannot call myself a pioneer then. As I began
to grapple with the routine issues faced by
any new enterprise, I realised soon that I
need to do things differently, to carve out a
niche. The idea of designing and self-
fabricating all equipment for manufacture of
“It is important to have
right values and healthy
precedents to be introduced
in the very beginning of a
start-up enterprise.”
PW: You have donned quite a few hats
in your career – a rubber reclaim
pioneer, visionary entrepreneur,
representative of various bodies,
advisor, mentor, educationist,
championing causes of woman
empowerment and employment
amongst other corporate and personal
initiatives. Which is the position that
you enjoyed the most?
It is true that I have donned manyRVG:
hats in my career. Of course, all hats were
not donned at the same time, but at
different times.

reclaim rubber offered many challenges
and opportunities to learn. I enjoyed
interacting with different vendors and
trying to understand where they can be
vulnerable or what their real strengths
are. It was an interesting experience to
trust my vendors and machinery
suppliers with our drawings and
proprietary information. While few
betrayed that trust most others turned
out to be trust-worthy. Even today we
have a dilemma. If we develop a
concept or an idea and we would like to
engage a machine supplier to test our
idea on his machine, we need to share
our objective and to seek the vendor's
input how best to tweak his machine
for our objective. At that point the
vendor is keener to know what our real
objective is, so that they can offer their
machines to others for a similar
objective. While the vendor want to sell
multiple machines based on our idea
where as we are keen that he sells his
machine without sharing with others
what our objective is. In such a
situation there exists a trust deficit.
In trade bodies: I was fortunate to be
part of the AIRIA Managing Committee,
initially as a representative of the Indian
Reclaim Rubber Manufacturers'
Association and in later years as a
special invitee. I witnessed in earlier
years how K.M. Philip, and other senior
members of the rubber fraternity were
grappling with the issues confronting the
Indian rubber industry. I recognised that
most members were not equally
committed to serve the rubber industry
selflessly. Often there is a dilemma whether
the trade body should adopt a protectionist
attitude to support their members' interest or
to develop a larger picture for the potential
growth of the entire industry. Either you
choose to grab the larger piece of a cake or to
think of carving out a larger cake itself and
thereby to increase your size. I wish when
members come on a trade body, they develop
a foresight to see the larger picture and
potential. I also hope that more and more
members use such a platform to broaden
their vision and serve selflessly instead of
using such platform for personal gains and
indulging in petty politics.
I believe the Indian Rubber Industry can
attain much greater heights if its trade
representatives adopt a bolder and wider
vision.
In Social areas: In our upbringing we have
been taught that we must learn to 'pay-back'
to society in whatever way we can. So from a
young age, I have tried to be an active citizen
by participating and joining social
community activities.
“While the vendor want to sell
multiple machines based on our
idea where as we are keen that
he sells his machine without
sharing with others what our
objective is. In such a situation
there exists a trust deficit.”
11

“K.M. Philip, inspite of his stature and respect,
decided to fully stand by me... I found a great
motivator and supporter (in him).”
Rajendra V. Gandhi with Kandathil M. Philip.
K.M. Philip, fondly known as the ‘Father Of Indian Rubber Industry’, is also the
Chairman (Emeritus) of GRP Ltd.
12

PW: What have been the significant
changes you observed in the rubber
industry in the last 4 decades? What
were the drivers for this change?
When I decided to set up theRVG:
Reclaim Rubber factory in 1974, Indian
economy was a socialist / control
economy. For procuring any raw material
or for making any product you needed a
DGTD quota or DGTD Registration/an
industrial license. These quotas and
license were made available on very
selective basis. As a result few enjoyed
monopolies and prospered because of
artificial scarcity created by such quotas
and licenses. There were few exceptional
tyre companies who could genuinely
claim to be home grown during that
period.
However with the advent of
liberalization in early 90s, the shape of the
rubber industry had changed dramatically.
With the markets opening up and with
growing consumer demand there was rapid
expansions in the production capacities of
all rubber goods manufacturers.
In the 70's and 80's, the Indian rubber
industry was very inward focused and
prospering or surviving on the domestic
market only. But since 90's those companies
which started expanding their markets
beyond boundaries began to see lot more
opportunities. Of course entering export
market meant intense competition and
quality improvement.
I believe there are several shining examples
of Indian rubber manufacturing companies
who have established niche for their
products in the global markets because of
their high quality and competitive process.
I am proud of the fact that my company GRP
Ltd. is one such company.
“I believe there are several
shining examples of Indian
rubber manufacturing
companies.”
Image from Web: Schematic Layout
Of Tyre Recycling Machinery
14

Consequently, when our Company in early
90s decided to enter export market we
realized, we had to re-educate technical
people in the compounding division of our
customers to see the benefit of Reclaim
Rubber as a technically sound ingredient /
raw material rather than cheap inexpensive
filler. It took a lot of time and efforts to
build trust with our customers.
After 2005, with the Chinese economy
galloping at more than 10% annually, there
was a concern worldwide about possible
shortage of Natural and Synthetic Rubber.
The prices of Natural and Synthetic Rubber
along with crude oil price began to rise
rapidly. In addition, with the adverse effect
of global warming, several Governments
became conscious about sustainability and
environmental degradation.
“By late 70's barring one or two
Reclaim Rubber producers
almost all manufacturers ceased
to exist in USA / Europe. As a
result, Almost one generation of
rubber technologists did not
have the knowledge of use of
reclaim rubber in compounding.”
PW: Reclaim Rubber is widely used in
manufacturing of automobile tyres and
tubes as well as many other rubber
products. How do you ensure that
industry acknowledges the
'sustainability & environment friendly'
aspect of Reclaim Rubber and
consciously increase its usage in their
products; especially when there are
favourable price fluctuations for them
in NR and SR?
In the aftermath of the World War II,RVG:
Reclaim Rubber emerged as a significant
player in countries like USA to offer the
third source of rubber hydro carbon after
Natural Rubber and Synthetic Rubber. But
with advent of cheap crude oil prices in
the 50's and 60's, and huge production of
Synthetic Rubber saw demise of Reclaim
Rubber Industry in the western world.
By late 70's barring one or two Reclaim
Rubber producers almost all
manufacturers ceased to exist in USA /
Europe. As a result, almost one generation
of rubber technologists did not have the
knowledge of use/advantages of reclaim
rubber in compounding.
Image from Web: Tyre Recycling Plant
18

GRP since then has been highlighting the
role of Reclaim Rubber from the point of
view of sustainability and as a
environmental friendly raw material. We
have succeeded to some extent in this
endeavour. In recent times, however
with the crash in the commodity prices as
well as in the prices of Natural and
Synthetic Rubber, there are fewer
incentives for using more Reclaim Rubber
despite of it being more environment
friendly raw material.
End-of-Life Tyres (ELT) are anPW:
important source of recycled rubber
around the world. This is also a key
input for Pyrolysis Units that focus of
CB and Oil Recovery. In the wake of this
competition, how do you foresee rubber
reclaim industry shaping up in the next
5-10 years?
It is true that pyrolysis has enteredRVG:
in India in a big way. Many small scale
entrepreneur saw in it an opportunity to
make quick money by sale of oil recovered
from this process. The risky operation
associated with pyrolysis caused few fatal
accidents in several states compelling the
state authorities to clamp down on such
unsafe units.
Further with the crash in the crude oil prices
and consequent lower prices of fuel oil,
pyrolysis does not appear to be as lucrative.
In the western world, a number of start-ups
are engaged in producing carbon black and
oil recovery through pyrolysis but most of
these plants are highly capital intensive and
so far we are not aware of any commercial
viable plant in operation.
In India the fortune of pyrolysis units in the
coming years will be decided by:
a) The operations margin available
“With the crash in the crude oil
prices and consequent lower
prices of fuel oil, pyrolysis does
not appear to be as lucrative.”
Image from Web: Pyrolysis Plant
19

depending upon the Government
monitored price and furnace oil. It is
believed that most of the sale of
pyrolysis oil takes place on grey market.
b) How effectively state pollution control
boards are able to monitor the unsafe
working condition in such units?
As an industry leader, what arePW:
your expectations from machinery
manufacturers/suppliers to propel the
growth of rubber reclaim?
I believe machinery manufacturersRVG:
can play a significant role in the growth
of Reclaim Rubber Industry in India.
There is a need for designing of 'right' size
reduction machines such as shredders,
crackers and grinders which can
effectively handle steel belted radial tires.
In the coming years there can be good
opportunity in this area.
There is also need for machinery
suppliers to offer cost effective material
conveying system (MHS) which can
substantially bring down labour cost.
There is also opportunity to offer
innovative packaging solution to Reclaim
Rubber industry.
Continued on Page 27
R.V.Gandhi receiving the prestigious KMP Gold Award on Jan 21, 2013
for his outstanding contributions to Indian Rubber Industry.
Know A Leader - Rubber & Tyre Machinery World | APR 2016
20

Disclaimer:Thisimagefromwebisonlyfor
representativepurposeandnotoftheadvertiser.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
A US $20 million company in India
proposes to set up a modern rubber
conveyor belt (Synthetic fabric and
Steel cord reinforced rubber
conveyor belts) manufacturing
plant in India for Mining and
Industrial sectors.
This company is desirous to enter
into a strategic agreement with a
renowned brand (technology
partnership/equity stake).
Genuinely interested companies
from Japan, Korea, Australia, USA,
UK, France, Canada, Germany, Chile,
Brazil, South Africa, Poland etc may
email in conﬁdence to
rubbermachineryworld@gmail.com
for further communication.
Dated:06April2016|Rubber&TyreMachineryWorld
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS FOR CONVEYOR BELT MANUFACTURING IN INDIA

| ONE PAGE LEADERSHIP INSIGHT |
ONE PAGE
LEADERSHIP INSIGHT
FROM
AROUND THE WORLD
24

| ONE PAGE LEADERSHIP INSIGHT |
Source: HARVARD BUSINESS PUBLISHING. Image From Web.
25

What new ideas and opportunitiesPW:
are energizing the reclaim industry
globally? How much of these are
facilitated by developments or
improvements in machinery?
Unlike India, globally rubberRVG:
recycling is seen as an activity to get
rid-off the stock pile of end-of-life tyres.
Incentives are available to entrepreneurs
by way of tipping fees if they have any
process which can get rid-off such stock
pile up. Therefore globally machinery
suppliers are producing size reduction
equipment of different types to produce
ground rubber from end-of-life tyres.
Such ground rubbers are available in
different particle sizes for a variety of
low cost consumer application. It will be
interesting to see how machinery
manufacturers globally can design
machines which can while consuming
less power produce micron size rubber
powder. Developing size reduction
equipment which is power efficient and
capable of giving micronized powder
offers tremendous opportunity.
Manufacturers find it difficult to carryPW:
hand-in-hand ‘superior-technology’ and
‘low-cost’ expectations in machinery? As a
pioneer in customizing equipment in-house
to suit your technological processes, what
are your views to this dilemma?
In my opinion there is a trust deficitRVG:
between machinery manufacturer and user
of such machines like us. Since Reclaim
Rubber has to be produced from variety of
end-of-life waste rubber products, innovative
reclaimer like GRP looks for flexibility in the
process and their machines to deal with such
variety of waste.
The machinery manufacturers particularly in
India are not prepared to do any R&D to
modify their equipment or to build certain
flexibilities in it so that these machines can
handle variety of waste. If those rubber
machinery manufacturers show their intent
of investing upfront in R&D and also show
their intent to be trustworthy partners then I
am sure customers across different sectors of
the rubber industry could mutually benefit
on the basis of such cooperation.
Image from Web: Tyre Recycling Plant
ContinuedfromPage20
27

What do you envision for GRP inPW:
the next 10 years? What challenges do
you foresee to achieve this vision?
As I take a back seat and allow theRVG:
younger generation at GRP under the
able-leadership of Harsh Gandhi,
Executive Director to provide direction
and future momentum to GRP, I have
great confidence in the future of GRP.
With the aid of Information Technology
(IT) and multi dimensional skills
available with the younger team, GRP is
preparing itself to carve out not only
niche products for the existing
customers but also looking at products in
the adjacent sectors. I am confident that in
the coming 10 years GRP will continue to
maintain its leadership status both in India
and globally as it grows from strength to
strength.
“As I take a back seat and allow
the younger generation at GRP
under the able-leadership of
Harsh Gandhi, to provide
direction and future momentum
to GRP, I have great confidence
in the future of GRP.”
Harsh Gandhi (Executive Director) with R.V.Gandhi (Managing Director)
29

KELACHANDRA MACHINES
(MFRS. OF RUBBER INDUSTRIAL MACHINERY)
Chingavanam - 686 531, Kottayam, Kerala. India.
Phone Off: +91- 481-2430325. Fax: +91- 481-2430596
e-mail: km1912@gmail.com

RMW
PW: Great! And one last
question. What advice on
‘machinery selection’ would
you give to buyers in rubber
and tyre industry?
I advice buyers to partnerRVG:
with machinery suppliers, who
are trust-worthy and respect
the confidentiality of
information you share with
them. If you are discussing
specific customized machinery,
a trust-worthy supplier should
always display ethics by
protecting your business
interests and idea even when
he has the urge to increase his
profits through additional sales
of your custom machine to
other buyers. The machinery
manufacturer should also
invest in R&D and have the
foresight to modify their
equipment or to build certain
flexibilities in it so that these
machines can handle all your
process requirements
effectively.
R.V.Gandhi
31

AMCL MACHINERY LIMITED
SERVICE TO THE NATION FOR FOUR DECADES
For all your enquiries please contact:
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Works: Plot No.A1/1, MIDC, Butirobi-441122, Nagpur
Mumbai ofﬁce: 202, Ackruti Centre Point, MIDC Central Road, Andheri (East), Mumbai-400 093.
Contact person: Mr. S.H. Mehta
Mobile No. +91-9004697430. Email: Website: www.amcl.inshmehta@amcl.in
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