A few billionaires added to their wealth in an otherwise gloomy year for wealth-makers. Nitin Sandesara, the CMD of Sterling Biotech, increased his wealth by Rs 806 crore (Rs 8.06 billion), or 28.54 per cent, by creating a globally-competitive gelatine business.
In the mid-1990s, the Sandesaras exited the traditional tea-trading business to set up a plant to manufacture gelatine at Karakhadi near Vadodara.
They were looking to enter a business that would be globally competitive, high-tech and high-growth with strong entry barriers. In less than a decade, Sterling has emerged as the largest gelatin manufacturer in Asia, with key customers in the US.
Sterling's advantage is access to cheaper raw material (bovine bones, which it sources 30-60 per cent cheaper than plants in the West) and labour, helping it emerge among the lowest cost producers.
Image: Sterling Biotech plant, Nitin Sandesara (inset)chairman, Sterling Biotech
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