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Success Story: Everyone likes to write with colorful pencils in childhood, but there were three friends who created a new identity by bringing indigenous pencils in India. Shopkeepers used to laugh at this dream of theirs and today the same three friends have built a company worth Rs 500 crore.
You must have written a lot with pencil in your childhood. Different colored pencils are a memorable companion of every child. Some people like rubber pencils and some like cap pencils. But do you know that a famous pencil company in India was started by three friends.
I still remember the strength and smooth feeling in my hand while writing with Nataraja and Apsara pencils in my childhood. Actually, this company was formed with the courage of three friends, on whom people used to laugh by saying – ‘You guys will become millionaires by making pencils’.
In the year 1950, millions of children in India had the dream of education, but did not even have a good pencil. Rich kids would buy expensive foreign pencils, the rest of the local ones which were weak would break quickly. For the middle class, expensive pencils were out of the question, children used to work with reed pens and inkpots. If someone had a wooden pencil, he would become a VIP among his friends.
BJ Sangvi alias Babu Bhai grew up in this situation. He was bright in studies, but financial constraints stopped him after high school. The dream of engineering remained unfulfilled. Growing up, I saw that poor children did not even have a simple pencil. Decided to end this problem.
At that time, some indigenous companies like Camlin were making pencils, but the quality was not as high as foreign brands. Made in India is considered low quality, people do not trust it. But in the late 1950s, the government promoted Swadeshi and tried to reduce imports. This was the opportunity.
BJ Sangvi decided to make pencils with friends Ramnath Mehra and Mansukhani. Making pencil is not easy. Technology only with foreign companies. All three went to Germany, saw and learned how the best pencils were made there. There was a problem of raw material. High quality wood i.e. cedar wood comes from America, expensive. The graphite core requires a precise mix of carbon and clay, which is smooth and strong. Neither wood nor pure graphite is available in India.
But all three did not give up. Roamed the forests of the states for wood, tested samples, failed but did not stop. There was also the issue of machines, then we talked to local engineers and carpenters and made the machine using Jugaad. BJ Sangvi is so worried that it is difficult to sleep without sleeping pills. Mental health affected, but did not give up. Upgrades made, the machine became faster.
In 1958, Hindustan Pencils Limited was incorporated and Natraj 621 was launched. But people do not trust Made in India, shopkeepers are not ready to keep it. Then the strategy changed. Gradually the company grew and today Natraj’s parent company Hindustan Pencils Private Limited has earned more than Rs 500 crore in the financial year 2024. The hard work of three friends made the dream come true and taught us that anything is possible with courage and innovation. Nataraja-Apsara now a part of memories.
