Borosil : A glassware company

Have you heard of borosilicate in your chemistry class? You would be glad to know that someone started a business on this compound. Here is the story of a glass company that has made its niche of borosilicate glass reach the world.

Borosil was started as a joint venture with Corning Glassworks, USA in 1962. It is now a completely family owned business after Corning divested its entire stake in 1988 to Kheruka family. This business now has seen a company transformation over 3 generations of the Kheruka family. Shreevar Kheruka is the current CEO and MD of the company. He joined the family business after his graduation from prestigious Wharton school of Business. There are two companies Borosil Limited and Borosil Renewables. Borosil Limited deals with consumer glassware, scientific and industrial products business and Borosil Renewables deals with solar glass business. Let's know more about borosilicate glass before diving into businesses.

Borosilicate glass is majorly made of Silicon and Boron tri-oxide. This unique compound gives more advantages over traditional glasses. Firstly, borosilicate glass is more resistant than any other glass to thermal shock i.e. it can withstand heat changes . Secondly, it is more resistant to chemicals i.e. it can be used to carry different chemicals. Therefore, borosilicate glass has a premium demand in chemical laboratories.

Borosil Limited is broadly divided into two categories - Scientific & Industrial products and Consumerware products . The Scientific products generates 32% revenues whereas the consumer products generates 68% revenues. The company has a 64% market share in India in Scientific products segment. Also, the entry barriers in this business segment are restricted due to high standards requirements and approvals. Company produces all necessary lab apparatus such as Beaker, Flasks, Burette, Pipette, test-tubes etc. Glasses are also used for pharmaceutical packaging. Many giant pharma brands such as Cipla, Lupin, Alkem, Cadila, Dr Reddy's, Mylan, Ranbaxy (a sun pharma company), etc are their customers. They are also expanding their lab domain of electronic lab equipment under a brand Labquest.

In consumer ware, company offers products such as bottles, lunch boxes, tea kettles, storage boxes, kadai's, cookers, toaster, juicers, etc in product categories of dining, cookware, storage, appliances, opalware. Opalware products consisting of dishes, bowls, etc are sold under the brand name Larah. Their 50% sales come from distribution network, 20% sales from retail chains, 10% from e-commerce and 20% from B2B and CSD canteens. Though consumer ware segment has huge scope for future growth, it also faces a open and stiff competition. Company is also competing with products made from other materials such as stainless steel, plastic, ceramics. Brands like La Opala, Milton, Hawkins, Prestige and Tupperware are the major competition in the consumer segment.

Borosil Renewables is India's first solar glass company. The company was formed after company restructuring in 2020. Solar panels are covered with glass surface mainly for two reasons. First, it is used to protect from rain water, dust and other external natural factors. In a long run this increases the life of solar photovoltaic panel from ~15 years to ~20 years. Second, with anti-reflective coating, it can increase the efficiency of solar energy as less solar light will be reflected back. These glasses are heavy for large solar panels. Borosil Renewables have recently come up with a 2mm thin solar glass which is a light weight glass, making a breakthrough over traditional 3.2mm solar glass available in the world.

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