Family has set up school to support special kids

CHENNAI: Kaushik Palicha has a learning disability that restricts his ability to understand numbers. Every time he sits with his accounts team, the key numbers are spelt out for him to gauge the performance of the business. Kaushik, aged 42 years, and his brother Divyesh, aged 50 years, are at the helm of Ramcharan, a chemical distribution company started as a small partnership by their grandfather 50 years ago .
Today, Ramcharan is a 300 crore manufacturing and industrial distribution business, nurturing an in-house startup in logistics.Building on Kaushik’s experience with the disability, the family’s Ajit K Palicha Foundation has now set up a school to support children suffering from dyslexia, with trainers and psychiatrists sourced from within and abroad.
“The idea is to create an environment where there is a mechanism to help the children get up and move on when they fall,’ said Kaushik. The school is fully equipped with electronic media and counsellors to support the children. The long term plan is to create a mental health first aid centre in Chennai, which will work toward promoting and building capacity for mental health targeting public and professionals.
Ramcharan had its humble beginnings as a pepper business in Allepey, Kerala started by the duo’s grandfather in 1967. The business graduated into a chemical distribution company with a presence in Chennai, Hyderabad and Puducherry. When Kaushik and Divyesh took over the business in 1996-97, they were in search for something exciting to do. “The business was doing well but we needed a change,” said Kaushik. Till 2000-01, the company was handling two-three products and the brothers slowly built the company’s portfolio to include over 700 products.
With 24 warehouses across the country and adding 25% to its warehousing capacity year-on-year, the company deals with 400 different products of all forms and shapes. Delivering products within 1.5 days, Kaushik and his brother realised they were delivering products to areas that were dotted with various industries/factories. “We see an opportunity, we jump into it and once we take a decision, we make it work,” he added. Setting up a unit for the logistics business, they deliver various products such as resins and plastics, fixed auto components, hydraulic press for 5 customers as of date.
They plan to increase the customer portfolio to 75 by the end of 2016. The company is in discussions with the Chinese ecommerce major Alibaba group to handle their logistics in India.
The family owned business has contemplated diluting its stake in the past and is still considering the decision. “We want to get the culture right. We want to build credibility before we dilute stake or hive off the logistics business,” he said. Last year, the company wove in technology to build an app for its customers. “We want the customers to have transparency and security when their goods are in transit, while reducing our reliance on manpower,” he said.
While currently the company does not employ any of the graduates from their educational facility, the owners say there is always room for them in the future.