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Dr Keki Hormusji Gharda is the Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Gharda Chemicals Ltd – a research based company with business interest in agrochemicals, dyestuffs and (till recently) polymers. He stands out amongst all Indian entrepreneurs for his daring and determination to develop & commercialize indigenous technology for his company.
He is an alumnus of the Bombay University’s Department of Chemical Technology (UDCT, now UICT). He went on to secure a PhD from University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. Following this, he taught process design as an Assistant Professor at the University of Oklahoma, USA and also served as a visiting lecturer at UDCT before deciding to start his own enterprise in 1964. The company that he founded (Gharda Chemical Industries) as a three-men-in-a-garage operation in 1964 has grown leaps and bounds into a Rs 700 crore company known for very strong in-house research, technology development and commercialization capabilities. In 2005, the Polymers Division of Gharda Chemicals was bought by Solvay when the annual revenues of the division alone was around Rs 500 million.
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