--By Gaurav Aryal and Om Prakash Khanal

 

Chachan Group evolved into a manufacturing and trading house when it changed its course into manufacturing from the family owned trading business. This move not only made the group grow leaps and bounds but also established itself as a leading industrial and trading house. The group in its initial days traded various commodities such as leather and leather products, cement, vegetable ghee, food grains, lentils, oil seeds, spices, consumer goods, fertilizer, pulses, edible oils and animal feeds. Today, the group not only trades these commodities but also produces them.

 

The group’s expansion was not merely driven by the market force. There were visions and entrepreneurial skills of earlier generation of businessmen, Mahabir Prasad Chachan and Shree Maliram Chachan, who steered the business towards what it is today. When the group passed onto the new generation of businessmen, Babu Lal Chachan and Parmeshwar Lal Chachan who are Chairman and Vice-Chairman respectively, the group had reached to a position from where it would never have to look back.

 

Growing Larger

Satish Chachan, Director of Chachan Group says that the group is continuously following the tradition established by its founders towards further growth of the company. He proudly says, “Compared to the group’s initial days, the company has achieved a remarkable success in cement manufacturing besides continuing its decades old cement selling business.”

 

Within the last decade, the group has established three cement grinding plants each having a production capacity of 350 metric tonnes (MT) of cement per day in Birgunj. Similarly, the group has begun the construction of fourth cement grinding plant in Nepalgunj with the same capacity as that of a single unit in Birgunj.

 

Chachan says that the group had established a poly-plastic bag industry two years back in Birgunj. This factory has enabled the group’s cement plants to use its own cement packing bags. “This polyplastic bag industry has also earned a big business faith in the major sectors of the country. This clearly indicates the satisfactory present and past situation of the company and its growing capability to contribute a large amount of revenue to the nation.”

 

Gaining Strength

The group has shown remarkable progress in goods manufacturing that it has decided to specialise on. At present, it is producing cement, vegetable oil, leather goods, poly-plastic goods and various food products through its food processing units. Likewise, the group is also involved in trading through its three companies who have direct presence in over 19 different cities across the country.

 

Chachan Group is today considered one of the leading business houses of Nepal based in Birgunj for producing variety of commodities with a wide reach across the country. Chachan claims that the products range that the company trades in and its wide network are suggestive of their market and the robust financial strength of the group.

 

He shares that the annual turnover of the group exceeds Rs 4 billion. He also adds that the staggering 70 per cent of the total turnover is generated by the cement wing of the group. While sharing the strength of the group, Chachan boasts that his business has been employing 1500 people directly along with a huge number of indirect employments in transportation and handling of the raw materials and finished products. He also adds that 300 employees are working in the cement wing alone. The group’s beneficiaries such as construction companies, commercial enterprises, transporters, traders, farmers and consumers are spread over major parts of Tarai and hilly regions of the country.

 

Changing the Course

For decades, the group had been trading various commodities. Chachan says, “This trade grew bigger and flourished gradually, which ultimately evolved into the establishment and identification of the Chachan Group. This can be regarded as the first and fundamental turning point of the company.” Gradually the trading business expanded; meanwhile, various new manufacturing units were established.

 

Around one and a half decade ago, the group decided to establish cement manufacturing units realising the growing demand of construction materials and cement in particular. This demand was identified when the state owned cement plants such as Hetauda Cement, Udaypur Cement and other private cement producers were unable to meet the major percentage of cement demands. This inspired the group to establish Narayani Cement Udyog Pvt Ltd in Birgunj. This company today has production capacity of 1050 tonnes per day.

 

Roadmap Ahead

Chachan believes that the group has kept its promise of offering best quality products and services at a reasonable cost and claims that it would open up new avenues for the group to expand its manufacturing and trading businesses in the days ahead. “Our past experience gives us confidence that we have further opportunities and scope for expansion. We want to establish our own clinker producing units so that we can stand as one of the leading cement and clinker manufacturer of Nepal,” envisions Chachan.

 

He reveals that the group has a clinker producing plant in the pipeline. He elaborated that this new plant will have a production capacity of 700 to 750 tonnes per day. Likewise, once the Nepalgunj based cement plant comes into operation, the group is planning to add another cement grinding plant there with production capacity and design similar to the existing one. Similarly, Chachan reveals that the group is planning to acquire a limestone quarry in a hilly area of Makawanpur district, few kilometres away from Hetauda. “Besides this, we have been thinking to buy some additional land to establish the clinker producing plant. Though we are already in touch with some of the renowned Indian companies for establishing the clinker plant, we think this will materialise only after three to five years from now,” he added. Similarly, Chachan is ready to expand other plants depending on the market demand and financial status.

 

Market Positioning

Products of Chachan Group has a wide market coverage including major cities and towns such as Birgunj, Hetauda, Kalaiya, Narayanghat, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, Banepa, Batar, Pokhara,  Bhairahawa, Krishna Nagar, Dang, Nepalgunj, Dhangadhi, Nijgarh, Gaur, Lahan, Janakpur, Jhapa, Morang, Ilam and other places in hilly and Tarai region. According to the group, major market for cement is in all the belts extending from Birgunj to Jhapa and in Hetauda, Narayangarh and major cities and towns of Bagmati zone.

 

According to Satish Chachan, Director of the group, product placement is done through various dealers and transporters. Group’s contact or branch offices and dealers are channels for distribution. Major product range includes daily commodities, construction materials, leather goods, fertilizers among others.

 

All the factories of the group are being operated in full capacity to meet the market demand.  Products are sold under different brand names such as Trishakti and Bajrashakti in the cement segment while other commodities also have their own niche brand value recognised in their market targets.

 

CSR Commitments

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), the group has given prime importance to environmental protection and freeing its locality from pollutants. The group is also strengthening and accelerating its sustainable environmental efforts through the reduction of environmental impacts and the conservation of the biodiversity. “We have been aiming to provide satisfaction and gratification to as many stakeholders as possible. To this aspect, we believe and act ethically and relentlessly to seek improvement in the quality, safety, information security and reliability of our products and services,” explains Chachan.

 

Satish Chachan, Director of the group says, “We respect our customer and their culture and the community they belong to while we deal with them in the course of our business activities. We also engage in dialogues with various stakeholders in society and incorporate their feedback to enhance our CSR activities so that we can contribute our best to improve our surroundings, quality and the effectiveness of our activities.” 

 

Similarly, the company has dedicated itself in creating a safe and comfortable work environment for all its employees so that they can realise their full potential and have a fulfilling career, as a responsible corporate culture.