The Story Of India's Fevicol Man, Balvant Parekh

People who don't have a strong sense of self belief always blame their luck and others for their failure. If you want to learn how to touch the pinnacle of success against all odds and difficulties, then you must read about Balvant Parekh, 'India's Fevicol Man.'

Balvant Parekh, 'India's Fevicol Man' | Pidilite Industries

Balvant Parekh was one of the first-generation entrepreneurs of post-independence India, who contributed to strengthening the economic condition after independence. Today Balvant Parekh's company, which was founded in 1959, has a billion-dollar turnover annually. But Parekh¡¯s initial journey of building the Pidilite Industries was, however, fraught with struggles and hardships. Today, we learn about the journey of a man who came from a humble background but went on to become the 45th richest Indian according to the Forbes list of 2013.

Who is Balvant Parekh?

Balvant Parekh was born in the small town of Mahuva in the Bhavnagar district of Gujarat. As per Gujarati¡¯s trend, Balvant also had a desire to become a businessman but his parents wanted him to study law and become a lawyer. After a lot of family pressure, Balvant Parekh moved to Mumbai to pursue law at Government Law College in Mumbai.

Participated in Quit India Movement

Balvant Parekh studied at Government Law College in Mumbai. It was the time when almost the entire country was coloured in the thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi. As many from the young generation took part in the Quit India Movement, Balvant Parekh also jumped into the movement, leaving his studies midway. After staying in his hometown in Gujarat and participating in different social activities for India's independence, he later went back to Mumbai to complete his education.

Studied advocacy but did not advocate

Balvant Parekh's father wanted him to become a legal expert like his grandfather. But it wasn¡¯t something he aspired to do in life. His mind was stuck in making it big in the city of dreams ¨C Mumbai. He was not a business student and neither did he have any family backing, but he attracted wealth through his hard work and built a larger-than-life brand. Despite completing his degree in law and clearing the bar council exams, the bundle of lies that came with the profession made him very uncomfortable and he quit despite his family¡¯s resistance.

Balvant Parekh, 'India's Fevicol Man' | Forbes

Without having any jobs in hand Balvant was married to Kantaben, and soon was facing a financial burden. So in order to make a living in Mumbai he initially worked at a dyeing and printing press, and later joined a wood trader¡¯s office as a peon.

Failures and upsets galore

It was a tough situation for him as he had to make his own living and survive without any support. During these days Balvant lived with his wife in a friend's warehouse. Peon¡¯s job was not working out for him and he was looking for a better opportunity, and here he had started developing contacts and began supplying a list of import-export items to the relevant businessmen. Through one of these contacts, Balvant got an opportunity to go to Germany. During his foreign trip, he learned the tips and tricks of business, which later benefited.

When was Fevicol founded?

Parekh got his first major break while working for a firm that represented Hoechst in India. Later, in 1954, he finally set up shop with Parekh Dyechem Industries in Mumbai¡¯s Jacob Circle. Here Balvant Parekh started manufacturing pigment emulsions used for textile printing, along with his brother Sushil Parekh.

Balvant Parekh, 'India's Fevicol Man' | Pidilite

Pidilite was born later, in 1959, as an industrial chemicals company, as adhesives were sold unbranded at the time. Since then Fevicol has become synonymous with glue and Indian carpenters swear by it. Started with just one small shop and manufacturing a single product, Fevicol Pidilite Industries soon tasted success in the Indian market when Fevicol successfully built a monopoly in the adhesive space. Thereafter Pidilite launched two other products Feviquick and M-Seal, which went on to build around 70 percent market shares each, making Pidilite the known and go-to brand for adhesives in the country.

Pidilite Industries Limited international expansion

In 1984 the company's consumer product division was born and in 1989 the company entered the Fevicryl Acrylic Colours transform fabric and multi-surface painting market. Fevicol, the premier brand of the company, ranked among the Top 15 Indian brands by FE Brandwagon Year Book 1997. Beginning with Fevicol, now Balvant Parekh¡¯s company makes more than two hundred products like M-Seal, Fevikwik, Fevistik, Dr. Fixit and Hobby Ideas. Pidilite was the first company in India that started the production of violet pigment in the year 1973.

Balvant Parekh, 'India's Fevicol Man' | Pidilite Industries

Since 2006, Pidilite Industries Limited has focused on international expansion, with factories set up in the United States, Thailand, Dubai, Egypt and Bangladesh. Pidilite also built a research centre in Singapore.

A big impact of Fevicol¡¯s creative and funny commercial advertisement

Almost everyone who's spent their time on the TV screen in the ¡¯90s can't ever forget the exceptionally funny and creative commercial advertisement of Fevicol. According to his son Madhukar, who took over Pidilite as managing director in 1992, the company¡¯s consumer-facing persona only started developing in the 1970s. It was then that the company made a tentative move towards advertising its adhesives under the Fevicol brand. The first was in the 1970s, when some ads were shown on Doordarshan. Also, the elephant symbol of the brand was created under the guidance of advertising agency Ogilvy and Mather (O&M).

Awards and achievements

Balvant Parekh always believed that no milestone is far if you pursue your dreams with passion and enthusiasm. Balvant was not only an entrepreneur but also had done a lot of social welfare work. Balvant had provided support in starting an Arts and Science college in Mahua, Gujarat. He donated Rs 20 million for Bhavnagar¡¯s Science city project and also donated to Gujarati Sahitya Parishad. In 2009 Balvant founded Balvant Parekh Centre for General Semantics and Other Human Sciences in Baroda Gujarat India.

Balvant Parekh, 'India's Fevicol Man' | Pidilite Industries

On 28th, October 2011, The Institute of General Semantics in Texas conferred on BKP the prestigious J Talbot Winchell Award, making him the first Asian to receive this honour. Ranked at number 45 on Forbes Asia¡¯s India Rich List with a family fortune of $1.36 billion Parekh passed away in 2013 at the age of 88.

Balvant Parekh¡¯s journey from a nobody to ¡®India¡¯s Fevicol Man¡¯ and one of the biggest industrialists motivates us to become the best version of ourselves.