Startup Mantra: Finding viable solution to address industrial waste
Four years of R&D efforts bore fruit as Alok developed bricks, adhesives and plasters from construction rubbish
Pune: While all factories in the country chug along smoothly manufacturing various products, adding to our gross domestic product (GDP), the fallout of this growth is the industrial waste that is generated. According to sciencedirect.com, we produce more than 10 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of industrial waste every year and almost 100% of that is dumped into our landfills. Not a very pretty picture, this.
Alok Kale had an idea of industrial waste as his family runs an auto component manufacturing business. Alok was not completely aware of its enormity until he went to work with different auto companies across the world that he realised the magnitude of the problem.
“I realised that every industry as a part of its manufacturing process generates some amount of waste. Foundries use huge amounts of silica sand for their manufacturing, and since this sand loses its bonding capacity, it is rendered useless. This sand is then disposed of as per the government mandate most often in landfills,” Alok said. He now had an in-depth understanding of the problem.
On returning to India after working at various firms across the globe, Alok made another observation. “As India rapidly urbanises, the construction industry too grows. And this industry is responsible for at least 37% of global carbon emission with natural sand consumption being a large reason for this. This sand is mined, crushed and processed before being transported to the construction sites. Using this sand also gives rise to pollution at the sites. Today we see a lot of construction sites in Pune and Mumbai being asked to stop work due to this pollution,” he said.
With the enormity of the problem staring him in the face, Alok could no longer be a bystander. He decided that there must be a way out. A way where the disposal of the industrial waste could be managed in a better and environment friendly way. His family business notwithstanding, Alok decided that he must look for the solution. With this in mind, he started his research and development (R&D) project in 2010.
Failure’s lessons
Based on various construction site visits since 2010, Alok was researching ways to develop products like tile adhesives, mortars and plasters. “While the initial results were good, the products would de-bond and fail in the long term. For plaster and adhesives, I asked some of my friends in the construction industry to try these at their sites at several places, like underground car parks and the like to see how my adhesives and plasters were working. Every time there was an issue, I would go back to my lab and work out a new equation,” he said.
After four years and over 100 iterations, in 2013, Alok had his formulation right. But just finding a solution was not enough as many founders who have done research would know. They have to consider several factors such as price, scalability and so on. While on his search for a solution, Alok was also involved with the family business and had a close-up view on these very important concepts that run a business. “My initial solution was far too expensive to be used commercially,” he said.
But this failure did not wear him down. His commitment to the cause continued. “I continued with my R&D to find a viable solution for adhesives when I thought why not use the discarded silica to make bricks as an interim solution to the problem of industrial waste?
“Brick making is not difficult in the sense you have to simply compress the sand with the right bonding agents to get bricks. This helped us as an entry point into the construction industry,” he said.
Alok managed to get this part of the recycling business going whilst still working with the family’s business. “I very soon started selling 5 lakh bricks per month. But realised that this business would not be able to help me be very effective as I wanted to be. The issue with brick making is that though it involves a simple technology, a large portion of its cost is the transportation. To grow in this business, I would need to get to different geographies and that would mean setting up a brick making facilties every 200 kms. Hence, limiting my scalability,” he said.
“Whatever money I made through this business, I reinvested it into my R&D,” he said. Moreover, given the nature of brick selling, Alok was eager to shift to a more mature sector where the buyer would not haggle over paise literally.
Try, try till you succeed
The R&D efforts for adhesives and plasters bore fruit in early 2020. This came after rigorous testing over prolonged periods in harsh conditions — like testing his products on the foundation of a large industrious chimney constantly exposed to vibrations. When asked why, he said, “To be doubly sure, as my product is ‘recycled’ not ‘established’ like my competitors’ products are. Any person making a house using my products should not face any issues. People should be able to trust a recycled product.”
The foolproof first-of-its-kind formula was patented in 2023.
Go-to-market
A market is full of competition and Alok knew he would have to play the game with large multinational companies (MNC) with deep pockets. “These are all big guns and well-established brands. But none of them so far use discarded waste silica like I do. And that is my USP (unique selling proposition). My plaster will not only just do your job, but will also help the environment and reduce the carbon footprint of the industry,” he said.
As per data from a life cycle analysis conducted by green design consultancy firm Sustain & Save, products of Magnus Ventures, launched by Alok, have a carbon footprint of 0.34 kg CO2eq./kg of ready-mix plaster and 0.32 kg CO2eq./kg of tile adhesives, which is one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.
While the environment benefit was a huge USP, Alok also understood that price played a big role in the real estate industry. He also ensured that the price of his products was at par with competitors. In 2023, the products got “Green Pro” certified by Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) — a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) initiative, which incentivises real estate companies for using green products by giving rebates in the form of additional FSI (floor space index).
But no new product gets easily accepted until proven. After making a sales pitch for his plaster, Alok managed to get Kohinoor Builders to agree to try out his product. “That was a big chance I was getting. For any startup the first big break is the most critical. Kohinoor used my plaster at its various sites and waited for six months to see how it performed,” he said.
It worked! In more ways than one. Not only did Alok get an order from Kohinoor, but they agreed to buy his products for the next three years! “In addition to this sale, my product got ratified from a leading quality conscious brand in the city which gave an opportunity to new product. I could now approach other builders with this ‘proof of the pudding’,” he said.
Which he did. Shapoorji Pallonji, Goel Ganga, and many more. “These companies take their time to take a decision but once they are convinced with quality, they are ok with trying something different,” he said.
Money’s role
Since the start of commercial sales in February 2020 to date, Alok has invested over ₹6 crore in Magnus Ventures. “I am completely bootstrapped and have reinvested every penny made back into the business. Setting up an R&D facility, purchasing the machinery and setting up the factory (in Talegaon) has had costs attached. As of now, we sell over 2,500 tonnes per month with a plan to grow by 3x in the next year. Though I do not take a salary, I have hired a team of 12 people and will hire 30 more for business development in the next quarter. The target is not just sales, but to reach maximum companies to communicate the benefits of using eco- friendly materials,” he said.
“I do not foresee any need for fund raising as of now. Perhaps when I have to penetrate additional geographical regions and scale rapidly I might. Meanwhile, I want Magnus to be able to capture 10% of the market we service,” he said.
The way ahead
“As of now, we are focusing on Pune district. But I want to sell all over Maharashtra before getting into other states. I think if we have managed to serve one state, we would have had enough experience to manage other states. At that time, I will have to set up manufacturing units and a marketing base in different states. That’s the plan,” he said.
With his production centre using 60 MT tonnes of waste silica sand per day, Alok has stayed true this commitment.
“Like any entrepreneur, there are days when you do get disappointed, but I guess my goal to reduce the burden on our earth was far more strong. I never lost sight of that,” he said.
In fact, his work is already speaking for itself.
“I have been approached by some companies who want me to work on some solutions for the waste generated by their processes. I am going to work on that too.” So, while our factories keep manufacturing and spewing waste, startups like Magnus will do all they can to reduce that burden. Thank God!
