"Banks can finance the growth plan of any business"

In an interaction with Entrepreneur magazine, Anil Khaitan, Chairman and MD, Sunil Healthcare, discusses more about its expansion plans towards global market.

Can you please elaborate about the phases that you have gone through your entire entrepreneurial journey?

Since the inception of the company, we have diversified from Indian market to international market. At present, our export business comprises 52 per cent and the rest 48 per cent of the products we sell in the domestic market. Our capacity to compete with the international market led us to gain success in the export market. Today, the company is the second largest manufacturer of Empty Hard Gelatine Capsules (EHGC). Over a period of time, the company has gained credibility in various global markets.

How difficult was it for you to start from the ground?

Raising funds was one of the major challenges at the initial stage. But our strategic partnership with banks helped us to overcome this challenge because we believe that banks can finance the growth plan of any business. Another big challenge was to build the reputation of the company because earning money does not take much time but building reputation takes years as it depends on one’s integrity, sincerity and credibility.

Lack of skilled manpower is one of the basic problems in our country. We have taken a new approach, which is before we allow them to touch the machine we send them to an independent skill development centre where they were imparted with skills on various aspects. Our team of qualified and experienced scientists, pharmacists and researchers are working round the clock towards developing new innovations and upgrading the quality continuously.

Can you please give a snapshot of the brand Sunloc?

Sun came from the word Sunil healthcare and loc came from the word lock as we were the first in India to introduce double-locking capsule. At Sunloc, it is through our ‘continuous improvement’ policy and adherence to stringent quality monitoring measures that today the brand is widely accepted as one of the best EHGC brands.

We were the pioneers of the ‘Double Lock Capsules’ – a first of its locking system that has been later adopted by all capsule manufacturers and became a standard in the industry. Research and development plays a significant role in our daily operations and contributes to delivering excellent solutions to an ever demanding environment.

What is your geographical presence?

We have about 16 offices spread over the country like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi. These are the main offices that help us to penetrate into various markets since our pharmaceutical customers are spread all over the country. Besides, Tier II and III cities are the best to enter now because the costs of setting up a project in smaller cities are much cheaper than in large urban cities.

What is the percentage of the stake that the investors hold in your company?

We hold 70 per cent of stake and the rest 30 per cent stake are hold by investors.

Where do you have demand for your products in the world?

Countries in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia along with Iran and Iraq have demand for our products. Now we have entered Europe, mainly in Germany, the UK, Czech Republic and Poland.