Willowood - Hard work, dedication, and quality helped this CEO to grow to 1100 crores+
"There is no substitute for hard work”
Parikshit's journey to success-
A lot has happened in the last decade. A company pioneered under the guidance of Mr. Vijay Mundhra, based in Hong Kong, is now one of the fastest growing in Asia at an average growth of 25% p.a. since inception. Willowood Chemicals Private Ltd. has become a fully integrated crop protection solution provider to the Indian agro-chemical industry. You would think that the man at the helm of a 1100 crore plus company would be an engineer who has been studying chemicals, agriculture and the like and preparing for this mammoth task, but “You are in for a surprise".
Parikshit Mundhra, a B. Com (Hons.) graduate from St. Xavier’s, Kolkata has combined his business intelligence, astute thinking and sharp networking skills, to make Willowood Chemicals what it is today. Ask Parikshit what made him choose this field and pat comes the reply, “My uncle, Mr. Vijay Mundhra, was already in this business. His vision for the business backed by the product quality and response from his customers is what excited us to build the same in our own country." Ambition, self-belief and Parikshit’s hyper focus has made Willowood a force to reckon within the country.
Parikshit is quick to point out that high quality products, innovative packaging & efficient servicing have been the cornerstones of their brand business in India. The company’s dedicated team of 700+ individuals working directly with over 6000 dealers, distributors and farmers have gone a long way in creating a positive brand image in the minds of the customers
Achievements galore-
In a remarkably short time, the company has been featured in the Top 20 agro-chemical companies in the country. It has been recognized as the fastest growing agro chemical company for the year 2017. Willowood was featured amongst the Top 100 SMEs in the Dun & Bradstreet Leading SMEs of India in 2015. They have been finalists in the “Best Company from an Emerging Region” category at the Agrow Awards held at London in 2016. They have also featured in the best 100 Companies in the MSME sector by AXIS Bank. Moreover, the company has regularly featured amongst the fastest growing companies in the sector since last four years. In 2015, the company’s testing laboratories received the NABL certification, which is the highest quality parameter in India, whilst simultaneously holding the ISO 9001, 14001 and OHSAS 18001 accreditation as well.
Working tirelessly round the clock-
According to Parikshit, “There is no substitute for hard work and today when I look back, I realize how going that extra mile in every aspect of the business has paid off." We have always concentrated on
hiring a young and vibrant team which is capable of shouldering responsibilities under the able guidance of the management. ”Select the best man and set them free” is a principal, we followed. In today’s time while one must be ambitious but should not be too adventurous because as they say you mostly take the worst of your decisions in the best of your times. An obsession with solving the pain points of customers and a zeal to constantly evolve is the key. “Our relationship with our Customers is the key to success, because as they say, there is always another supplier at the price at which you sell."
How Parikshit maintains momentum-
Parikshit strongly focuses on being an integrated crop protection solution provider to the farmers, continuously innovating through their in-house R&D teams and finding out the best possible remedies to problems faced by farmers. He believes that this, combined with their quest for continually achieving the highest standards in quality and service will help them stay relevant in this ever-changing industry.
Aiding the family of farmers-
With free soil-testing for farmers, on-the-spot demos, trigger sprayer/N-WilIstay controlling the denitrification of fertilizers and other innovative schemes and packaging initiatives, Willowood is changing the way farmers tend to their crops. They are making the lives of farmers and everyone in the agricultural industry better. To further give back to the agricultural community, Willowood built a fully dedicated CSR wing and launched many campaigns such as “Paryavaran" for promoting agro-forestry and ensuring sustainable farmer livelihood. Willowood regularly provides free health check-up camps and free soil-testing camps which have aligned the farmers towards sustainability