Son rises at Nirma as company buys out Lafarge's India cement biz

Detergent maker Nirma’s buyout of LafargeHolcim’s India cement business on Monday has brought back into the reckoning a company which had in the 1980s taken on another international giant Hindustan Unilever.

While the company’s earlier charge was lead by founder Karsanbhai Patel, the brain behind the latest move is his 42-year-old son Hirenbhai Patel, says a report in The Economic Times today.

The report, citing sources, says that the company’s diversification into cement was the brainchild of Hiren. However, its plans to scale up the business was stuck in land acquisition troubles .

Analysts have termed Nirma’s move to buy out Lafarge’s business in India as a a golden opportunity to grow for the Gujarat-based company.

Hiren has termed the acquisition a ‘landmark and transformational step’. “With a strong platform like Lafarge’s India business, we plan to take the cement business to the next level and continue to serve customers with the philosophy of better products at better value for better living,” he has been quoted as saying in media reports.

Quiet and publicity shy, Hiren has been working behind the scenes by holding negotiations with Lafarge’s London team to buyout its India assets, says the ET report.

He has the right mix of genes and educational qualification. An MBA degree with specialisation in finance and marketing from Drexel University, Pennsylvania, and a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Steven’s Institute of Technology, New Jersey, the scion of the Nirma Group joined the firm as a director in 1988 and became MD in the millennium.

However, action seems to be heating up in the cement sector of late. The reason clearly is the major thrust on infrastructure by the Narendra Modi government. Analysts have pointed out that a recovery in the investment cycle will add more zing to the economy.

The cement companies seem to be preparing for a boom period ahead.