Corporate Report

Published: Aug 31, 2022
Updated: Aug 31, 2022

ICE MAKE REFRIGERATION: Pole player in cold storage

Ice Make Refrigeration’s excellence in providing cold storage solutions for various rsequirements has made it a hit with top clients both in India and overseas. Its promoter Chandrakant Patel a selfmade man started small in 1989 and hit the jackpot in 1993 when he collected as much as Rs 6,000 crore from an IPO, though he needed only Rs. 23.71 crore.

Increased orders from satisfied customers has meant that its revenues have zoomed in the last nine years from around Rs 39 crore to around Rs 200 crore, with net profit also growing around ten-fold during this period. Furthermore, Mr Patel is excited about the business opportunity provided by the new solar-powered cold storage segment.

Ahmedabad-headquartered Ice Make Refrigeration, which has emerged as the fastestgrowing cooling storage company in the country during the last three decades and has touched a Rs 200-crore sales turnover in fiscal 2022, is now focusing on raising its topline with consistent growth at 25-30 per cent. The company, whose product portfolio consists of a comprehensive and highly customised suit of cooling products and accessories, provides premium quality products to its customers backed by five robust business verticals — cold room, commercial refrigeration, industrial refrigeration, transport refrigeration and ammonia refrigeration. Ice Make caters to industries like dairy, ice cream, food processing, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, cold chain, logistics, hospitals, hospitality and retail. Hailing from an agriculturist family, the company’s promoter, Chandrakant Patel, also studied farming and obtained a diploma. But he yearned to do something different. In 1989, he started a small unit to manufacture refrigeration equipment and provide after-sales service. His excellent service, insistence on high quality and his policy of putting the customer first helped him grow rapidly. In 1993, he promoted Ice Make Refrigeration and entered the market to raise Rs 23.71 crore for the purpose. Investors put their faith in Mr Patel and the issue was oversubscribed by – hold your breath – a record 260 times, with Mr Patel collecting as much as Rs 6,000 crore! He has lived up to his investors’ faith as the shares issued at a price of Rs 57 are today quoted around Rs 172.

The company has two modern manufacturing units at Dantali Industrial Estate in Gandhinagar near Ahmedabad and at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It caters to the complete value chain — from concept and design to production and after-sales service. Revenues from its five business verticals are: cold room (59.82 per cent), commercial refrigeration (6.12 per cent), industrial refrigeration (6.12 per cent), transport refrigeration (10.70 per cent) and the newly created ammonia refrigeration (2.15 per cent).

FINANCIAL ROCKET

Growing demand from satisfied domestic and overseas customers has enabled it to make rapid strides on the financial front. During the last nine years, revenues have expanded from Rs 39.25 crore in fiscal 2013-14 to Rs 200.17 crore in fiscal 2022, with the profit at net level skyrocketing from Rs 88 lakh to Rs 8.40 crore. The company’s financial position is steadily improving, with reserves at the end of March 2022 standing at around Rs 49.52 crore, more than three times its equity capital of Rs 15.70 crore.

Ice Make has also executed a multipurpose dairy processing plant at Kota in Rajasthan for milk, paneer, curd and distiller milk with a milk handling capacity of 30,000 litres.

SOLAR SOLUTION

Three years ago, the company launched a solar-powered cold storage unit for far-flung interior areas where adequate storage temperature and infrastructure is not available amid irregular power supply. Maintaining that “Ice Make’s eco-friendly and energy-efficient solar cold room is a low-cost solution to manage storage temperature in rural areas,” Mr Patel adds, “We have successfully developed our first portable solar-based cold storage room with in-house technology, design and capability.”

Little wonder that the Ice Make name has spread far and wide and it has even received a solar cold storage order from an African country. It has also delivered a complete food processing plant with a 1,000- litre capacity in Kenya. At home, various leading food ordering and delivery platforms like Zomato, Swiggy and Big Basket are the company’s clients

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Prospects for the solar cold storage project are highly encouraging. Smiles Mr. Patel, “The government would like to preserve perishable food products and fish to support farmers with the goal of reducing farm wastage, which is estimated at around Rs. 92,000 crore per year. Says a jubilant Mr Patel, “This will open up a new business opportunity to the tune of Rs 450 crore for our segment. We are highly excited at this opportunity and are all set to grab marketshare.” Success has not gone to Mr Patel’s head – he continues to be humble and devoted to the principle of ‘customer first’. However, his ambition is boundless. “Going ahead, I would like the company to grow at an annual rate of 30-40 per cent. In the context of the tremendous growth prospects, this is not difficult,” he says with a glint in his eye.