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Business News/ Money / Calculators/  In a bigger league
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In a bigger league

Sudip Dutta's ambition is to make his company Ess Dee Aluminium an institution

Sudip Dutta is chairman of the pharmaceutical packaging firm Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd. Photo: S. Kumar/MintPremium
Sudip Dutta is chairman of the pharmaceutical packaging firm Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd. Photo: S. Kumar/Mint

“Of all my achievements, this makes me the happiest," said a proud Sudip Dutta, chairman of the pharmaceutical packaging firm Ess Dee Aluminium Ltd. He beams as he holds up a laminated certificate of academic excellence awarded to his son by Barack Obama. Dutta definitely knows the value of education; his education ended with his 12th standard board exam. Today, he is the founder of around 1,685 crore company that counts some of the biggest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, such as Mondelez India, Perfetti Van Melle, Nestle and pharmaceutical companies such as GlaxoSmithKline, Sun Pharmaceuticals Ltd, as its clients.

More than two decades ago, a 17-year-old Dutta caught the train to Mumbai from Durgapur in West Bengal. All he wanted was to earn a “princely" sum of 10,000 a month to support his family of seven following the sudden death of his older brother and father. He had aspirations of becoming an engineer, but instead chose to support his family.

Dutta took up a job in 1989 in a packaging company as a helper, earning a meagre 400 a month. When the manufacturing unit he was working for had come up for sale, he bought it for 16,000 after borrowing money from friends. He became the owner of the company in 1991 when he was just 19 years old. And since then, there has been no looking back for Dutta.

In the 1990s, packaging was a duopolistic industry with India Foil and Jindal Ltd controlling the supply of foil. But as pharma companies began launching newer and different kinds of products, the need for flexible packaging arose. Dutta’s company was quick to adapt to a hub and spoke model and was present wherever there were pharma plants.

Riding on the growth of companies such Lupin Ltd, Cipla Ltd and Sun Pharma, the small-scale enterprise swiftly transformed to a professionally managed mid-cap company growing at an average of 25% year-on-year.

From making money being the original driver, Dutta’s ambition for his company has undergone a sea change. “My ambition is to not only to make this a large-cap company, but also an institution in the league of multinationals such as Unilever and P&G," said Dutta, who has a 60% stake in his company.

The company is currently at the crossroads, where it is investing 450 crore in technology which will give it a leg up in its bid to go global. Currently exports account for about 20% of its revenue and Dutta believes the company’s international presence will play a crucial role in becoming a large-cap company it aspires to be. It is for this reason that he along with his family moved to Singapore from Mumbai in 2012 as he expects the company to grow at 35-40% for the next few years.

This endeavour obviously means more travel and more time away from family—wife Aarti, (whom he calls his best friend) and two sons aged 14 and 10. His children study in the Singapore American School in Singapore. “The business is my first baby, and my family understands that," he said.

What does Dutta prefer doing with all the money he makes? “I’m not good at handling personal investments. I let my family office handle it," he admitted. However, he is a big believer in investing in start-ups. “Long ago, someone trusted my idea, now it is my turn to do the same," said Dutta.

When he is not busy dreaming big for his company, he unwinds by playing tennis with his elder son and believes in making time for fitness of the mind and soul. “Physical fitness keeps my mind active, while my belief in spirituality sustains me." He is an ardent fan of the king of clay, Rafael Nadal, as well as keen believer of Goddess Kali.

When asked about creating a succession plan, he said he would like his children to chart their own course, and that there will come a time when they will not need their father’s money. As for himself, he does not plan to work after he turns 50. He wants to spend his life after that giving back to the society.

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Published: 18 Aug 2014, 12:25 AM IST
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