K Raghavendra Rao

MUMBAI, May 7: The story of Kailasam Raghavendra Rao, Managing Director of Orchid Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals Ltd, who bagged the `Indian Express Indian Young Business Achiever Award' is one of real rags-to-riches. Unlike many of the traditional Indian businessmen who were born with a silver spoon, this unique businessman had a humble origin.

Born in 1958 in the middle-class family of a railway clerk, he virtually climbed up the corporate ladder to control a Rs 192 crore business empire at the modest age of 38 through sheer merit and hardwork. The company that he set up in 1993 grew to a multicrore pharmaceutical company in the country which is now competing with global giants in the pharma business. Orchid, a 100 per cent export-oriented unit (EOU), achieved a turnover of Rs 192 crore with a net profit of Rs 31 crore last year. ``I want to make it a Rs 500 crore company by the turn of the century,'' Rao says.

After obtaining a gold medal in B.Com. at the age of 19, he continued his march ahead by obtaining an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, with a national merit scholarship in 1979. His first job in Indian Inc started with a sick company - Pure Ice Cream - as financial controller, but he could turn around the loss-making entity into a profit-making one within one year. His academic excellence stood him in good steady and he turned around the sick company by exploiting noval ideas like frachising.

From ice creams, he moved to the automobile company Ashok Leyland Ltd as Assistant Manager, Corporate Finance where he excelled in corporate planning. However, he joined his true vocation when he joined Standard Organics group as Vice President in Hyderabad and successfully set up four sophisticated diagnostic centres.

Like millions of youngsters he turned to West Asia to earn a quick buck to launch his own business in the homeland. His Muscat job with the Al Buraini Group in Oman gave him enough international exposure. He was instrumental in raising the group turnover from $ two million to $ 75 million. He set up an antibiotic plant for the group with a capacity of 300 tonnes and carried out his assignment with a missionary zeal from conception to commissioning.

Like Dhirubhai Ambani of Reliance Industries, Rao's Gulf experience provided a springboard for him to launch his own company, Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in Chennai in 1993. His professional Midas touch turned his company virtually into a gold mine. But he strictly adhered to the rules of the game. Himself a thorough professional, he built an enviable team over-flowing with talent, innovation and global vision. He paid a lot of attention to reserch and development which many corporate managers neglect nowadays, and never compromised with quality of products as he wanted to capture a share of the world market.

Orchid was the yougest company in the pharmaceutical industry to get the ISO 9002 certification. Orchid also pioneered the establishment of most modern pollution equipment emerging as the first zero discharge company in the pharmaceutical industry. This speaks volumes about the social obligations of his company to the society in general. ``We wanted to show to the rest of the world that we are equally good or even better,'' Rao said after receiving the award.

Within a short span of three years, Orchid achieved not only a leadership position in the industry but had spread itself to 26 countries across the globe. Orchid currently holds over 16 per cent of the world market share of Cephalexin and between 6 to 13 per cent world market share for its sterile products. ``Rao has been personally responsible for Orchid moving to a higher order technological and product plans. He conceptualised the move to third generation atibiotic drugs and continues to explore further avenues with an R & D facility of Rs 12 crore,'' said one of his colleagues.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.