| MOULDING
SUCCESS WITH PLASTIC |
 People
have today turned in a big way towards using metal
and plastic furniture, as environmentalists
and the government are focusing on finding an alternative
to wood furniture to save depleting forests.
In this scenario, plastic material, being light,
durable, economical and easily mouldable into any
shape, has become the best alternative to wood.
But the story is something different with Mr.
Sunil Agarwal. He started a moulded plastic
furniture unit for different reason. He has been
engaged in bullion trading since 1992 and his business
turnover was about Rs. 150 crore per annum when
he jumped into the plastic furniture manufacturing
company, Titan Plast Private Limited.
"I have observed that the 'S' type chairs,
which are used in offices, need more maintenance
than others. The wire will tear off after every
three or four months and the screws often cause
damage to clothes. I felt that the plastic furniture
is the best alternative to metal and wood, and the
growing demand for the plastic furniture attracted
me into this business," said Sunil Agarwal,
managing director, of Titan Plasts. His other members
of the family own different factories for producing
biscuits, craft paper, plywood, etc.
 Started
with a capacity of 5 lakh units per year, in December
1999, Titan now (i.e., in February 2001) produces
15 lakh units per year. The remarkable growth
of 200 per cent in a short span of 14 months shows
how Titan's products are gaining popularity over
other established brands. "The leading brands
slashed their product prices from Rs. 300 to Rs.
200, when we got ready to launch our product. We
took the challenge and launched our product at Rs.
175 per chair, without compromising on the quality.
This strategy paid us good dividends. We captured
a sizeable market all over India," said
Sunil confidently.
 The
Titan product range includes chairs, stools, baby
chairs and tables. The vibrant colours and attractive
backrest patterns make them truly different from
others. The cartoon characters like micky mouse
and donald duck adorn the backrest patterns
of baby chairs, while the normal chairs come with
flowers and patterns along with general wire mesh
pattern which generally appears in most of the 'S'
type chairs. "The success of Titan goes
to the Taiwanese technology and the Taiwan
machinery that we use now. The imported machinery
helped us a lot in producing different new colours
like 'Cloudy Blue' and 'Marble Green', which gave
our products a cutting edge over the leading brands,"
remarked Sunil.
 "Now,
we are targeting all sections of people in society.
Most of our customers are primarily of middle class.
But now, people of high society are also preferring
Titan chairs to other leading brands, because our
chairs are moulded according to the body structure,
which keep the users in an 'untired' condition.
You can see that, I am also using Titan chair instead
of a revolving chair," explained Sunil,
while talking about quality and comfort of their
products.
"We have a good dealer-to-distributor network
all over India. Our products are available in Kerala,
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka besides all
parts of Andhra Pradesh. Though we are not
directly engaged in exports, some of our products
are exported by our dealers," said Sunil.
With this success Sunil is planning to set up a
manufacturing unit to produce branded furniture.
Address: Titan Plast Pvt. Ltd., Survey
No. 252, Gagan Pahad, Hyderabad - 501 323. Phone:
401 0552, 401 2053, 401 3824.
Fax: 401 7043.
E-mail: titanchairs@vsplash.com
URL: www.titanchairs.com
|
-Mohan G Jagan
Photographs by: Devadasan K.P.
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