Blog 02.2015 - c

2BLOG
EDITORIAL
Balmer Lawrie's uniqueness lies in its 'Diversity' and no mass communication in this organisation can be
complete if it doesn't capture the various facets and hues of this diversity. BLOGwas introduced in October
2011 and through the various issues it has highlighted different businesses, organisational initiatives,
sustainability and CSRactivities, and people centric programmes. However, you'd agree with me that today
we would not have been a successful conglomerate if we didn't change with time and keep pace with the
changing technology landscape. If today our businesses are working in synergy and leveraging each
other's strengths, Information Technology (IT) has a great role to play. I feel happy to say that our IT
Department has acted as a catalyst to integrate the various businesses and support functions together on
one platform and has translated the 'diversity' into 'the power of one'.
This issue of BLOGis dedicated to Team IT and while you read on, you will know how this team is constantly
supporting the Company to improve business processes, achieve cost efficiencies, enhance customer
satisfaction, drive revenue growth and stakeholder integration and help the businesses to maintain a
competitive advantage in the marketplace. Bill Gates once said - "Information technology and business are
becoming inextricably interwoven. I don't think anybody can talk meaningfully about one without talking
about the other. "
We will soon step into the next Financial Year. Hope the businesses will be able to create more opportunities
in the new financial year and bring in better top line and bottom line growth for the Company.
LEADERSHIP SPEAKS
Mr. Viren Sinha
Chairman &
Managing Director
I recall that in the early 80's Balmer Lawrie was one of the first companies to
have installed an IBM Main Frame. It was a showpiece of sorts and was given
uncanny names such as 'EDP Department' or 'Electronic Data Processing
Department', 'MSD' or 'Management Services Division' etc. It was a
department where primary focus was on, "automating" the accounting
process. At times, they would bring out the odd report which in today's context
is pure garbage. With time, the department evolved and developed our own
home grown ERPssuch as GLIOS, IPIOS, BLLMS, CFAetc. While we changed
the name from 'MSD' to 'Information Technology (IT)', the basic focus for quite
some time remained on the department churning out information which at
best could be labelled "slightly more than accounting".
Over the last 3 years there has been a sea change from the department being
manned by clumsy old Data Entry Operators to a cool and geeky centre with a young team that is not only
ensuring that IT is used as a key business enabler but it is also helping leverage organizational knowledge
and analyze data to make strategic business decisions.
Significant portion of our businesses now run on world class business system call 'SAP' and some others on
tailor made ERPs.We must take this opportunity to thank all our colleagues in the IT department who have
relentlessly worked 24/7 to bring about this tectonic shift in how we handle information across the
organisation. This process of transformation has been tough and challenging and the various new
initiatives that are in the pipeline will require even more efforts as it involves not only process and system
changes but also a major shift in our work culture.
Today's business environment is evolving at a very fast pace requiring business to innovate and respond at
lightning speed, bandling mammoth amount of data. The challenge before any manager is to be able to
handle thjs data so that we can remain competitive and create value for our customer. I am confident that
rrn- .Balmer Lawrie will shape the future of how we leverage appropriate technologies and emerge as
leaders in our business segment.

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LEADERSHIP SPEAKS
The Company has been passing through very challenging times over the past
couple of years. Although there are definite signs of growth in economic
activities in the country since the change of Government in May'14, the
Company is faced with stiff competition in the market place for all its products
and services leading to severe pressure on margins. In this highly competitive
environment, the only way to survive and grow profitably, in my view, is
through technological interventions and making the various processes more
automated / technology enabled. There is a strong need to have data
analytics, information about the customers / markets in a structured form,
making our production processes more technology enabled to make the
products superior in quality than competitors as also to enable cost reduction,
etc. So, Information Technology, in my opinion, has a very big challenging role
in Bl in the coming years.
Prabal Basu
Director [Finance]
The Company has tremendous expectation from the members of the IT department and I am quite
confident that our IT department is capable of rising to the occasion and will help this Company achieve
greater heights in the future. We had started the journey of getting into SAP in 2012 and are fast
approaching the completion of first phase of implementation of SAPin BL. I have spoken to various experts
in this field about our experience / progress in respect of SAPimplementation and I am glad to inform you
that they have all been quite impressed with the progress that we have made in this regard given the
complexities of our operations. However, I must admit, that this is only the beginning of the journey and we
have a very long way to go. There is a lot of work to be done in this area and we need to implement our
various ongoing projects like MIDOFFICEfor SBU: T&V, Defence portal for T&V, new operating package for
lS, SRM,operationalising our own mail messaging system, Disaster recovery site at 39 BCRoad, etc.
However, I assure all members of the Bl family that our IT department is fully geared up to meet these
challenges. The IT team has a perfect blend of youngsters and people having long experience of working in
Bl and I am confident that together they will facilitate the Company to achieve its growth targets in the
coming years.
My best wishes to the entire team.
EVOLUTION OF THE IT FUNCTION AT BALMER LAWRIE
Forty years of Information Technology in Balmer Lawrie
Balmer lawrie has been an early bird in adopting Computers for business needs in the country and started
off with the Hollerith Punch Card systems in mid 70's.
80's:
Personal Computers came into operation and Applications were written in-house using BASIC program for
Financial Accounting (single entry system) and programs were developed using dbase III for the Cargo
Division. 8" floppy drives and spool tape drives were used for backups. Line printers came into existence in
the late 80's.
90's:
The Company had the then latest IBM compatible PCs. Multi-user, time-sharing systems (servers) using
UNIX based operating systems were procured. Networking using serial ports came into being for
connecting dumb terminals and PCsto these servers. Multi-user programs were developed using COBOl
for Financial Accounting, Payroll, Travel, Cargo, lP, G&l and Pc. 5 %" floppy disks were used for backups
along with tape cartridges. Remote computers were connected using modems & multiplexers wherever
required.
In the mid 90's, the Company embarked on a major journey towards change by introducing RDBMS
platform and selected Sybase in this regard. Various Applications were developed jointly by external
consultants and the company's in-house team, both for SBUs and Support Functions - G&l (!BOAS),

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Financial Accounting (FINACT), Non-officers Payroll (NOPS), Perquisite system (MPSYS), T&T (BLTRAP)
and LS (CMS).
Local area networks were upgraded from serial connectivity using line drivers to a concept called structured
cabling using Hubs, Switches & appropriate panels / connectors. Optical fibre cables were introduced for
external cabling. 3" floppy disks replaced the 5%" disks and compact tape drives replaced the cartridge
tape drives.
GUI (Graphical User Interface) based front-end application development tool was introduced and this
gradually replaced the initially developed non-GUI based applications, and the Dumb Terminals were
gradually replaced with the latest PC's(available at that point oftime). IPIOS for SBU: IP was the first to get
developed using this GUI. This development was done with the help of external consultants jointly with the
in-house team.
2000 onwards:
IAS for SBU: PCwas the first complete 'in-house development' using a GUI and this was followed by TRIO
for SBU: T&T, GLIOS for SBU: G&L, BLLMSfor SBU: LS, CFAfor Financial Accounting and CPAYfor Payroll &
Perquisites. All these in-house developed applications had integration with CFA.Along with these the first
package for CFSwas also developed and this was with the help of external consultants. The function which
was called as Management Services Division (MSD) was named as Information Technology (IT)
Department.
Software as a consultancy business was tried out and the software that was developed for a Logistics client
using MS-SQL & VB was subsequently adopted at our LS division with necessary modifications /
improvements. This first and only project, apart from giving us good software (which is in operation till
date) gave us a decent profit also.
The Company's data centre was set up at the Corporate Office and centralised data storage and application
deployment were established and the local networks were integrated into a single company wide network
using leased lines. This centralization helped in phasing out the SBU wise servers and also in standardizing
the MIS which eventually helped in the subsequent companywide IT initiative that was to follow.
Some of the other major initiatives / milestones that were achieved during this period are as follows:
• The Company's Website was launched and the official mailing system using "balmerlawrie.com"
was standardized during this decade.
• e-Procurement using outsourced agencies was started in the Company.
• A Disaster Recovery (DR) setup was implemented with the DRcentre at Delhi.
• RFID/ GPSbased container tracking system for SBU: LI was implemented at all the CFS's.
• A vendor registration & evaluation portal was launched ..
• The Company embarked on ERPimplementation.
- Inputs from T 5 Sankar, Binayak Biswas and Ujjwal Pachal
THE FUTURE
Balmer Lawrie Keeping Pace with Information Technology Headway
Balmer Lawrie has made significant progress in the last few years in implementation and adoption of IT in
various SBUs/functions. User centric applications are running all aspects of business and are channelling
data to and fro with core ERPsystem.The diagram on Pg.-5 illustrates as to where we are and what could be
the possible direction as we go forward.
Business Dashboards - Will provide snapshots of key performence indicatore across SBU'sand Functions.
SBUs and Functions will generate transaction data, social media data, mobile data, complaints/grievances
data, employee data, assets data etc. which fall into unstructured and structured data categories.
Churning this data to understand will require Big Data Analytics.

THE FUTURE
Balmer tawrie &T
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Balmer Lawrie has understood the huge reach of Social Networks and has already established a Facebook
presence. We will have to enhance our focus on these platforms to achieve diverse objectives ranging from
brand building to providing information through social networks. The vacations business will possibly
embrace these technologies most as it reaches out to end consumers.
Cloud Computing - Essentially means one can lease/rent shared assets and will not have to take the
cost/effort of owning and maintaining it all. We can immensely benefit from this model where it will allow
our manpower to conserve energy on running businesses instead of managing infrastructure. We could
explore some low risk Cloud Deployment for an initial understanding. We also need to ensure that we are
complying with Government guidelines for leveraging cloud services.
Immediate demand for information and ability to manage critical business functions from anywhere is
driving Mobile Computing. Our Logistics businesses are already using handheld applications for real time
business communication. Retail business of G&L, Employee-related applications and Travel Portal are likely
to leverage mobile computing using smart phones, tablets etc.
Services SBUs may be early adopters of Customer Relationship Management applications to ensure a
homogenous customer experience - irrespective of the communication channel. A 360-degree view of the
customer - immediate transactions, leads generated, status of invoices - will be the intermediate stage.
The end state will be to ensure Analytics can leverage these for enhanced Customer Satisfaction leading to
retention and profitability.
SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES
Milestones covered in the recent past (2011- till date)
ERP Implementation:
ERPwas envisaged as the Enterprise Software and a feasibility
study for adopting an ERP was done. As an outcome of this
study, a management consultant was selected and SAP as the
ERP Software along with the implementation partner was
chosen. Core committee was constituted by taking members
from each SBU / Function. The as - is & to - be studies were
done with GAPanalysis so that the required customization was
appropriately taken care of. SAP HR module started from April
2013. SBU: IP went live on SAPfrom I" Aug 2013 along with the -
L----=~=:::::::::::::2.~.~ SAP's financial module called FICO for all the SBU's including
~-~--....Ithose on legacy packages / systems. On the t" of April 2014,

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SIGNIFICANT MrLE5TONES
SBU: PCwent live on SAPand the exercise on G&L is currently underway.
The IT landscape as given below shows that Post ERPimplementation the Manufacturing Businesses will be
on SAP and the Service Businesses will have their own applications which will be integrated with SAP.
F- :::::
Manufacturing :
BUs
• J
y
SAP
SBU: Logistics Infrastructure
• "iCOMET", a web based application software solution for our CFSs was implemented in 2012 - 2013
and keeps track of the operations right from gate-in to billing and also maintains a decision support
system with built-in MIS reports.
• A RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) based Solution along with an Application was implemented in
the year 2012-2013 which helps in locating / identifying containers stacked in the yard quickly and at
an accuracy level of +/- one container.
• A Customer Interface Portal (a Mobile Application tool) was implemented in the year 2013-14. This
web based tool enabled our customers to handle a whole gamut of operations by themselves that they
needed and which were crucial to them.
SBU: Logistics Services
• Mobile Application to capture status of Air Import and Air Export operations implemented on 1s
t
March
2014
• A new project has been launched to implement a package (CORVI) to replace BLLMS
SBU: Travel &Vacations
• A Back-Office Application called "CashX" was implemented on I" January 2012. This has enabled the
SBU to generate invoice along with ticketing and simultaneous accounting.
• A travel portal for Flight and Hotel functionalities was implemented on t"April 2012.
• A self-booking solution that enables Corporate and Travel Management Companies to integrate all the
elements oftheir travel has been implemented for several marquee corporates.
• A mid-office application called "NEXTRA" is under implementation to take care of the B2B and B2C
business. This has all the above facilities / features in-built into it and will be replacing the above
applications / tools for T&V as and when it gets implemented. The Figure on Pg.-7 depicts the solution
footprint of NEXTRA.
Infrastructure:
• The data centre at Corporate Office has been modernized / upgraded with more powerful blade
servers and storage devices like SAN & DLT's.
• Implementation of a Mail Messaging Solution is in progress.
• A disaster recovery site is being set up at 39 BC Road, Kolkata.
<

BLOGl
SIGNIFICANT MILESTONES
..PRODUCT/
CHANNEL
MOBILE SBT B2B B2C PORTAL
DOCUMENTATION
PRE / ON / POST TRIP SUPPORT
A.
SUPPLIERS
•••PAYMENT
GATEWAYS & BANKS
•••••Leads, Opportunities,
Sales, Service
CALL CENTRE
t t
!
~
SUPPLIERS BANKS
NEXTRA solution landscape
"Technology is nothing. What's important is that you have a faith in people, that they're basically good and
smart, and if you give them tools, they'll do wonderful things with them." - Steve Jobs

All of you would agree that the IT Abhishek has diversified portfolio
Function is all about People. Team experience in businesses including
IT is lead by Mr. Abhishek Agarwal, Financials, Government / Defence,
Chief Information Officer who
joined Balmer lawrie on 9th Manufacturing/Automotive, Tele-
February 2015. communications and Oil & Gas
during his 20 years of professional
career. His expertise lies in
managing large Business Transfor-
mation Prog ra ms, Softwa re
Development, System Adminis-
tration, Data Center Management,
Program Governance & Manage-
ment, Change Management,
Contact Center Technology for Call
Centers (CCT), CRM, Business
Management Intelligence (BI) and SAP.
TEAM IT
Mr. Abhishek Agarwal,
Chief Information Officer
A seasoned professional, Abhishek
did his B.E.(Computer Science)
from BIT, Mesra, Ranchi and M.S.
(Software Systems) from BITS,
Pilani. During the various stages of
his career, Abhishek acquired
certifications in Sun Microsystems
(SCSA/SCNA), Cisco (CCNA),
Service Management (ITIl),
Quality (CIQA) & Oracle (OCP-
DBA). He is a certified Project
Professional (PMP) since 2008.
Abhishek started his career in 1995 at Ashok
leyland Information Technology (AUT), Bangalore
as Program Analyst. He joined Institute of Systems
Studies & Analyses, Defence R & D Organization
(ISSA, DRDO) at Delhi as a Scientist in 1996. 2004
onwards, he worked with Maruti Suzuki India ltd.,
Bharti Airtel Ltd., Wipro Ltd. in various capacities.
His last stint was with Vodafone India ltd., Pune as
Head - IT for a period of three years.
Some of his major professional achievements
include development of Hire purchase & lease
system for Ashok leyland Info. Tech., development
and delivery of Geographical Information System
and Weapon Simulation software for Indian Army,
Architecting & delivery of Dealer Management
System application and rolling out at 600+
locations in India, Network Designing &
Interconnecting 750+ locations of Maruti Suzuki
on MPlS, Implementation of Tracking system for

BBLOG
TEAM IT
the Maruti fleet of 2500+ trucks, Delivery of eCRM
system at Bharti Airtel, Managing a large
Outsourcing deal of Cairn Energy, Implementation
of SAPin Cairn Energy India Ltd, Migration of Data
Centers (Approx. 250+ servers, network devices
& storages) with minimal downtime at Cairn
Energy as well as Bharti Airtel, Call center
Technology management for 80 Mn. Inbound and
20 Mn. Outbound calls at Bharti Airtel and Rolling
out enhanced Pre-paid system for 140+ Mn.
subscribers and Post-paid billing system of 3 Mn.
Subscribers in Vodafone India.
Abhishek was born in Kota, Rajasthan. His father
is a retired Electrical engineer and mother a
home maker. Abhishek spent most of his
childhood in Kota, Jaipur and his professional
career has been mostly in Delhi. He is married to
Ms. Nitu, a Computer Scientist at DRDO,
Ministry of Defence. He has two sons and his
family is settled in Delhi. When free, Abhishek
spends his time reading management books. He
also likes travelling, photography and driving.
The team is beautiful mix of talented and hardworking individuals representing Gen X and GenY.Wegot the
opportunity to interact and chat with some of them.

BLOG9
Gen Y Speaks f the Corporate IT Team and the
how it felt to be part 0
We asked them away from home.
department was a home
"I
My association witii 'Ba6ner £.awrie is
since June 2012wfien Ijoinea as an
"'Executive Trainee". I ayyreciate the
Work environment in my d:eyartment. It
fee{s {[keI am in a '':J[omeaway from
Home". We Work ana enjoy ([ke afami[y
fiere. 'Due to the ongoing 5.J1.p
irnyCementation, many senior co[Ceagues
keey on Visiting our d:eyartment ana We
get a cfiance to interact witti tfiem.
Working wu« our IrnyCementation
Partner ana otfier service yrovlders is
fiefping us to enfiance our Ski[{sana cater
to tfie needS of the cornyany, in a better
way. Ifee[ yroua to work for a Cornyany,
which is going to cornyCete150years of
eXistence, sfiort[y.
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structur.e has onty acce£eratea tfie
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exceiTent journey a1UfI sincerefit hope
for -ny 1"tWreexcitino years afieadj
-Sfirikcmt YQd4v, .J1sst:Manager [I'I]

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Tete-e-tete with Mr. Partha Mitra, Chief Manager [IT]
How many years have you spent Then private VPN and Central
in IT and how has your Server Based applications were
experience been? implemented for all SBUs and
I joined BL in the IT Dept. in January Corporate Finance and HR. We
1988 at Delhi. I was looking after established our own data center
the entire IT installations at Delhi and disaster recovery site.
which includes Tours & Travel, Automated applications were
Logistics and Co-ordination office. implemented for SBU: LI and
During this period I was engaged in SBU:TT. In this process, we also
implementation of Business procured packages from various
Applications for SBU :T&T and service providers and imple-
SBU: LS. Then, I was transferred to mented them. Now, we are in the
Corporate IT in June, 1994. I process to implement Mid-Office
worked till October, 2014 at Mr.ParthaMitra, application in SBU:T&V.
Corporate IT. I was closely involved Chief Manager [IT] Additionally, I am in a role to meet
in the implementation of various the customers and understand
applications at different locations. lead the project to develop their technology landscape and
Initially I was engaged in interface application to integrate convince them to adopt our Self
development and implementation business applications of all SBUs Booking Tool solution.
of Sybase based applications for ex c e pt S B U : I P. We a Iso What according to you is the
SBU:TT, SBU:LS, Finance and implemented _Self Booking Tool biggeststrengthofIT?
Payroll. In the year 2004-05, I application for SBU:TT. I was I think the biggest strength of IT is
successfully lead the development transferred to SBU :T&V from to adopt technology evolution.
project for first central server based October 2014 to implement Mid- Also, IT understands business
application BLLMS for SBU:LS and Office application. During the last need and delivers to meet
implemented over private VPN. We 27 years I have gathered excellent customer satisfaction.
handled various vendors and experience in this organization. I What steps are being taken to
erected our Data Center to host have spent golderi times with the keep pace with the changing
central servers. We then stalwarts of the organization and technological trends and
successfu Ily implemented an cherished the achievements of IT. provide best in classsupport to
application BLTT for SBU: LS to How have you seen the IT allthe SBUs/Functionsat BL?
co n n ect six m aj 0 r fo re i g n function evolve over the period We are always keeping us updated
associates' systems and integrate oftime at BL? about technology trends and
with BLLMSsystem. I have seen various changes in migrating our applications
I lead another project for Central technologies in this organization. accordingly for all SBUs/
Financial System integrated with all Initially when I joined, it was Functions.
business applications. We central processing at Kolkata HO. What will be your message for
successfully implemented a back- The applications were written in newcomers in IT?
office system CashX integrated with BASIC. Then I have seen We should always keep us
our Central Financial System for decentralized applications being upgraded to deliver applications
SBU:TT. I was engaged in the implemented in COBOL. Then we on latest technology platforms.
implementation of iComet system witnessed a revolutionary change This will give our SBUs a
integrated with our Central with the introduction of RDBMS competitive edge. We should
Financial Accounting System for platform SYBASE. All SBUs and continuously improve our skills
SBU:LI. On I" August 2013 we corporate applications were and enable our organization to
successfully implemented SAPand I developed with RDBMS as SYBASE. attain the defined strategic goal.
Tete-e-tete with Mr. Pradeep Thekutte, AVP [IT Infrastructure]
My journey so far has been
extremely challenging, satisfying
and fulfilling and I have thoroughly
enjoyed working with the
Company. Being placed at Mumbai
during my evolving period has
given me great exposure to work
with almost all SBUs within Balmer
Lawrie and has also taught me to
lead, overcome challenges and
partner with each SBU in
leveraging business benefits.
How have you seen the IT
function evolve over the period
oftime at BL?
IT in Balmer Lawrie has gone
through immense changes and it
How many years have you
spent in IT and how has your
experience been?
I would be completing 26 years
with Balmer Lawrie this April,
during which I have not only
evolved as a person but
professionally progressed as a
Manager. Being instrumental for
introduction of computerisation in
Mu m b a i b a s e du nit s , the
responsibilities entrusted upon me
was not just to set up
computerisation practically at all
Mumbai based units but also to
guide, train and encourage wide
computer usage amongst users.
Mr. Pradeep Thekutte,
AVP [IT Infrastructure]

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Tete-e-tete with Mr. Pradeep Thekutte, AVP [IT Infrastructure]
Tete..e-tete with Mr. Adhip Nath Palchaudhuri, AVP [ERP & Systems]-...;;'------ ...•
has been a truly fascinating
experience to be part of this
evolving process. IT has come a
long way from being a
decentralised architecture to a
centralised one with its Data Centre
at Corporate Office in Kolkata.
Improvements in Network
connectivity has led to Balmer
Lawrie adapting to Virtual Private
Network(VPN) and Internet for
connecting various locations to the
Central Data Centre.
The Centralised setup has
immensely facilitated in stan-
dardisation of Business
Applications packages across
various SBUs. Business
Applications software in Balmer
Lawrie has moved from traditional
legacy applications written in
computer languages like COBOL,
FOXBASE to RDBMS - SYBASE and
MSSQL and later adaption to SAP.
What according to you is the
biggest strength of IT?
It is the team of people which
makes the difference and is the
biggest strength of IT. The team is a
blend of youth and experienced
who have the right attitude and
spirit, going the extra mile and
making sure to drive business
excellence by delivering the right
quality of product. There are some
extremely talented, hardworking
How many years have you spent
in "IT and how has your
experience been?
Ihavespentover18yea~inthelT
industry - though most of it in
Consulting/IT Services outside
Balmer Lawrie.
In the early days, we had the luxury
of longer project execution time -
that allowed learning to seep in
deeper. The earlier era also allowed
for other incentives like ESOPs,
more overseas assignments etc. -
making the industry a lot more
lucrative for professionals. A lot of
that has changed with increasing
cost pressures on the IT industry
and the fact that they have to do a
lot more with a lot less. However,
the industry has grown in stature
and from the point where most of it
had been support and maintenance
- the top players are now in the big
league and working with the latest
technology and influencing business
outcomes for Fortune 500
and efficient people within the
department.
What steps are being taken to
keep pace with the changing
technological trends and
provide best in class support to
all the SBUs/Functions at BL?
Technology is a great business
driver and could be effectively used
to automate systems, drive
efficiency gains and keep pace with
quickly evolving strategic business
goals. During the last few years,
Balmer Lawrie has undertaken a
series of initiatives to keep pace
with the changing technological
trends, one of its initiatives is
introduction of SAP which would
enable it to adopt best practices
from the industry and at the same
time integrate all business
applications to generate Business
Intelligence for decision making.
Most of the Business application
packages within the company is
undergoing upgrade to meet the
competing demand from the
changing business scenario. One
such technological adoption that
has been in use is RFID based
tracking and tracing of containers
for SBU: Logistics Infrastructure
which was introduced over 5 years
ago and has immensely helped the
business in cutting short the
timelines in tracking of containers
within the yard.
There are few projects planned for
implementation, one of them is
MS Exchange Server, which will
allow easy integration with in-
house business applications, faster
provisioning of" new accounts.
Future integration with Lync
(unified communication platform)
would enable user to have a
consistent client experience for
presence, instant messaging,
voice, video and meetings.
Other project being planned for
implementation is Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI) which would
centralise user desktop from local
machines to central data centre and
would enable user to access his/her
desktop from any capable device like
Desktop PC, Laptop or even smart
phones apart from faster
provisioning of user desktops.
What will be your message for
newcomers in IT?
Balmer Lawrie is a wonderful
place to work in. Strive for
excellence, commitment, passion
combined with hard work. Have a
positive attitude and just grab
opportunities that come your way.
Nurture a good reading habit
especially technology and
industry specific articles and look
for solutions to generate business
value for Balmer Lawrie.
Mr. Adhip Nath Palchaudhuri,
AVP [ERP & Systems]
first few SAP implementations in
India, scaling up revenue and
delivery - all throughout being
energized by the tremendous
commitment of young
professionals who, on a daily
basis, go beyond their call of duty
to work during ungodly hours for
anonymous customers in
unknown geographies.
How have you seen the IT
function evolve during your
tenure at BL?
My tenure at Balmer Lawrie has
been relatively short with me
joining with the commencement of
the BLESS - ERP program in
February 2012. However, the pace
of change has been scorching with
the last 3 calendar years seeing a
virtual rehauling of our entire
Applications landscape - with SAP
ERP replacing the legacy
applications of the Manufacturing
SBUs and each of the Services
SBUs, either implementing or
companies.
Speaking for myself, I have enjoyed
the fringe benefits of working in the
industry and have travelled to close
to 20 countries. As a professional in
the IT industry I have relished the
experience of diversity - opening
new accounts in new geographies,
program managing BPO
engagements, working in one of the

12BLOG
kicking off transformational
projects for their operations. A set
of IT infrastructure projects have
also taken off - ensuring that we
remain on newer platforms, in
better control of security and
service levels.
Quite a few youngsters have joined
the IT function and that has
brought in energy and freshness
amongst the entire group. This
period has also seen the BLESS ERP
program being executed from the
Corporate Office. The program
structure - with SBU members
spending considerable time as Core
Team members - has resulted in
stronger bonds between the IT
function and business teams -
which will hold us in good stead.
What according to you is the
biggest strength of IT?
The strength of any Service
function is the quality of people.
And nowhere is it more evident
than the Balmer Lawrie IT
function. As a lateral hire, I
believe that the organization is
blessed to have a team
comprising the likes of Krishanu,
Partha, Kaushik, Binayak,
Hermeet and others. In an
industry where job hopping is
common, the bulk of the IT team
has continued for a long period -
ensuring very deep relationships
with internal customers, rich
insights about the businesses
and strong technical knowledge.
I am proud to be a part of this
team.
What steps are being taken to
keep pace with the changing
technological trends and
provide best in class support to
all the SBUs/Functions at BL?
The paradigm needs to change
from us providing support to the
SBUs/Functions to us providing
them with capabilities with which
they will be able to win in the
market place. We can stay relevant
only if we are able to add value in
helping them either increase
revenues or cut costs. In order to
operate with this emerging
paradigm, the team needs to be
much more business aware and be
articulate in conceiving IT projects
with business impacts. Training on
new technologies, investment in
infrastructure and processes,
recruitment of fresh talent - all
these avenues are being pursued
to ensure that we are able to
maintain high service levels and
act as Change Agents.
What will be your message for
newcomers in IT?
I love cricket and have been
fascinated by the talent and
determination of the Waugh twins.
My message for newcomers is "You
have to be born Mark, but you CAN
BECOMESteve".
Know Your Fellow Baimer lawrief)",,"
was one of the best time which I got to spend at Balmer
Lawrie. Interactions were livid with Senior Management
and the ITTeam. I learned about other SBU's and business
in an easy environment and friendly banter.
Who is your inspiration in life and why?
I have derived inspiration from a lot of people ranging
from my family, friends, colleagues and almost everyone
who are good at something. My thinking is influenced a
lot by my guide at IIT-R, Dr. BK Mishra who helped me to
think logically and made me understand the close
relationship between academics and industry. Another
person who has helped me in shaping my career and
goals is Martin Comroe, my Manager in my previous
organization, IBM. He taught me basics of
presentations, etiquettes, communications, handling
the client and even guided me in my personal matters. I
am deeply influenced by my mother's ability to be a rock
solid pillar during difficult situations. As of today, I am
influenced a lot by my wife and a wonderful kid who
makes me do anything and everything.
What are your hobbies?
I am addicted to English lV Series and Movies in general.
In my free time I read both fiction and non-fiction. Being
in IT I am a technology enthusiast, so gadgets and
reading about new applications is another thing which I
love to do. Writing is another passion of mine and at
times I write articles/satires and short stories.
Place you belong to and who all are there in your
family?
My hometown is Rewa, MP. I have my 89 year old
grandfather, mother, father, younger brother, wife and
2 year old son, Advik.
Any message for Balmer Lawrie employees.
It's not the end of the game but it's the journey which
makes it breath-taking and interesting. We call it "The
Race ison!"
How long have you been working with Balmer
Lawrie and currently what is your role/ dept?
This January I will be completing around one and a half
years here. I am working in the Corporate Office, as
Manager in Corporate IT and I am mainly working on
SAP platform and applications.
What do you like about Balmer Lawrie?
There is a deep sense of pride for the culture and
camaraderie among people. People do try add a
personal touch while working, which is rare to see in
the current business environment. Reaching out to my
reporting officers and discussing issues with them has
been extremely easy which creates a positive conduit
for work.
What is your most memorable moment in Balmer
Lawrie? ,
I will say the IT Meet which we had at VedicVillage, Kolkata

BLOG13
Know Your Fellow Balmer Lawrien ...
How long have you been
wor,king with Balmer Lawrie
and currently what is your
role/dept?
I am working with Balmer lawrie
for almost seven years now. I
have been in Corporate IT
throughout. Currently I am
working in the Infrastructure
team as Deputy Manager(IT).
What do you like about
Balmer Lawrie?
I have started my career with
Balmer lawrie. So I am
emotionally attached to the
organization. I like the fact that Bl
cares for its employees and that
our leaders can be approached by
one and all for voicing concerns.
What isyour most memorable
moment in Balmer Lawrie?
I have had my share of personal
ups and downs while working
Hermeet Kaur Bhangu,
Oy. Manager [IT]
here. I remember a particularly
low phase where my colleagues
had been extremely supportive. I
can never forget the warmth I
received during that time.
Who is your inspiration in life
and why?
I am deeply inspired by my Dad.
He has set an example for me by
following two things- Giving your
hundred percent in whatever you
do and how we should always try
to help the less privileged in life.
What are your hobbies?
I like painting and reading.
Place you belong to and who
all are there in your family?
My hometown is Rajgangpur,
Orissa. There are six members in
my family- My grandfather,
parents, brother and sister-in-law.
Any message for Balmer
Lawrie employees.
Every little contribution in our
work matters. So let's make the
best of this time and opportunities
that are being provided to us.
Tete-e-tete with Mr. Manash Mukherjee
Yourjourney at Balmer Lawrie
I have been associated with the
organization for 21 years 8
months and during my journey
with Balmer lawrie, I have come
across some beautiful minds and
some great leaders. Great ideas
were expressed and we had to
give shape to those ideas with the
application of Information
Technology. Myjourney at Balmer
lawrie was exciting as we were
always in search of something
new, implementing and getting
that adopted by the users.
Bringing change was never
smooth, but with the support of
my seniors and the team beside
me, it was possible and enjoyable.
Your personal and professi-
onal achievements
During my tenure in Balmer
lawrie, I have seen a sea change
in the area of Information
Technology. I joined here with the
knowledge of RDBMS from my
prior employment in Dunlop India
ltd. I was entrusted with the
responsibility of changing the
software platform from COBOl to
Sybase (RDMBS)along with the IT
team. The transformation was an
achievement and it was carried
out successfully across all SBUs.
This was done with the help of a
i
~
I
Mr. Manash Mukherjee
superannuated as SVP[IT] on
sr' January 2015 after
successfully completing around
28 years of service. We spoke
to him to know about his
journey at Balmer Lawrie and
his post-retirement plans.
team who adopted the new
platform and put that to practice.
Online systems were built up and
made operationally working for
each SBU and integrated with
centralized financial accounting
system. All Balmer lawrie
locations were connected by VPN
and locally by LAN. Web based
systems balmerlawrie.com,
mailing systems, intra net etc.
were implemented. ERP
implementation was
conceptualized and for doing that
a Management Consultant,
Implementation Partner and SAP
as the ERPflavor were selected.
Frankly speaking I will like to share
these achievements with the team
which was a part in this journey.
Your most memorable
moment
In April 1996, the first online
Financial Accounting System
started on RDBMS, which was a
memorable day for me as 'huge
effort both technical and
managerial went in to see that go
live in BL. Another memorable
moment was in 2013 when SAP
was operationally used, since it
was a fruit of huge effort put in by
the organization and I was a part
of the project since its inception.
IT function is all about
people. Your thoughts on
Team IT..•
Yes, Information Systems
requires two types of people -
one who makes it and the other
who uses it and both are equally
important part of the system.
Information Technology is
perhaps one of the technology
fields which is evolving at a very
fast pace with high degree of

14BLOG
Tete-e-tete with Mr. Manash Mukherjee
obsolescence. Hence, people who
make it have to keep on learning
new technology quickly and put
that to practice, while the users
have to keep on adopting new
applications in their areas of
working. The IT team that way
has to perform the role of a
change agent to a large extent.
Who all are there in your
family.
I have my mother, wife, two sons
and a daughter in law in my family.
What do you plan to do post
retirement?
There is no end to learning in the
field of Information Technology
and Information Management. I
wish to be in touch with the
academia post retirement.
Any message for Balmer
Lawrie
Look forward, adopt new
technology and be a part of the
change that will make Balmer
Lawrie a technology driven
company.
KKR Walks Down Memo~ Lane...
Krishanu Ray, AVP [Applications], Kaushik
Biswas, Chief Manager [IT] and Ritu Mittal,
Sr. Manager [IT}-KKR- joined Balmer Lawrie
in the IT department and have spent around
two decades together. They took time off to
walk down memory lane.
KK: We joined BL in 1990 just a r:;:,;ii==:=::::::::::=::=;:;:::===:::==:;;;;:::;-J wedding, which was fortunately
couple of months apart. The ~ Balmer LClWf'ie5 CoLtcl on a Sunday.
recruitment advertisement had LIJ ,A ""'.,..",.,u. •.•••••.••••••••l • Kaushik: My initial posting was in
come up in one of the local English :~~~~.::;=·:;:.T..:.:.~~.:::r.~:"'..:t:="'~lP, Kolkata and in September0f0w'1h. we are>iooJung lot """ IqIowing pnfmtL
dailies and both of us had applied r 'oOlL_11on 1997, I was transferred to
Seal, 01 PaYI Ob.lllleatlonl
for the post of "Computer •.•.•••.•.•n' •• m. •• ••• -"... -....... Corporate Office. There were
Programmer". The recruitment l.!"cf.t:'!:':'" ~..=:.!"........ some ongoing issues with
RIS'82~~#lI!:2Y. COOOl.ll"dpc tueh_ ~ofyarious
process consisted of a written-test ::~~~so.l75Q.~,;~~ •••~ ===~......:....computerization initially and I was
(about 100 candidates) followed :''i;';'~~:-;'2~2~':.', ::.,=.:.~ asked by the union not to take up
by a series of interviews before we 2.t~;~:!n~)IOy ~~:~:'::;:;:'-:-..ut~=IMEOPany jobs and just log in my_· ••• tsya ••••• ) •••, " _~_
received the final appointment c;och" ••••••••__ •••• a attendance.
~~~~S:1O-::~~~~ ~~letter. To be selected as a part of a 198,,.,H65S ••••••• _ ••••. K__ •• 'C·, .,.. ••• L Krishanu: I started my journey
bl ~1~fls••".'·'~7.!!',,~~~~~wM~ f G& Ik . J I 1990 APu ic Sector organization was - , •.•••••'''••.''''301..... rom L Ko ata In u y . t
indeed a happy occasion. GEM.RAL that time most of the factory
I d ( h k)
(l)1Nobootv.'TIoIumeftt.~ofBWc.~Adhoe.HAAandCCAoriy ~.ber04f11s • IOk' .. k
Strange y, even to ay, I Kaus i !Io,.",.J •••••••••_., __ oI""""""" •• """"'9 •• _~~...... operations ,I e inVOICing, stoc
1nctnt'I&.gt;JfUity.CPF,PostA.llraf~.1 A•••••. l,eew £nc..rwn.nt. Ll"A AM ~
still have the paper-cutting of that ::":::;:'":.=-.;J!l:= .•.'(,~:~~~e:":',;~~~~=oI*,:ledger, etc. were maintained
b(~ yMf.l:nt"P4K$:ofSClSl~thaI~,f.4) ou.,.iot~ •••w!MlMJk~fII>d
particular advertisement against ~)~~:~~~,~~.;/=~~ manually. So my job was to
which we had applied and been ~=.:.!"..'J:'~=:::'~:'==~';:'~:'~=develop systems to convert thesewtvf8Oll'Vttt.
selected. ~, •••••""t"'_, IdO'l!y.ppIy""""'___ manual operations into computer15 d:ty. him IfIit 1Id"""""""'" door.. ~ h pod appkd to o.n.t.,MMag«
Ritu: My journey in BL started in 1•••••_._Uw< ••• ""'u•..••_~ •••••••_Ca •••••••700•• ,. __ based systems and processes. It
(.l ••••••.•••~ ••• IIJl.Mr-~~"'~~)
April 1996 against a recruitment '------------------' was great fun and a new learning
advertisement. When I joined process for everyone present. The
there was a lot of resistance and had very strange people in the line function of business played a vital
experiences; thankfully I could overcome it with the role, particularly.
cooperation of the seniors. t" project was officers' Kaushik: I still remember the way EDP used to
payroll. The payroll was to go-live for grade E4 and function in those days. Hard-copy documents from the
above and that too in November, the month of my units would be sent to the EDP department and all
wedding. I was working to meet the target before my sorts of codes would be put on them. Data-entry
marriage on 24th November. However, one evening operators would key in this data in the system. This
closer to the date, when we were reviewing the would be followed by processing, steps of which were
checklist I found that the server had crashed as kept written on copies. Outputs was printed and sent
someone had deleted the operating system file. In the to the units along-with the base documents. Our
process I couldn't take even a day's leave before the appointment at the two Kolkata units was probably the

BLOG15
KKR Walks Down Memory Lane ...
first step to de-centralize applications in Kolkata.
KKR: In one instance when our server crashed, the
whole team in the Corporate Office stayed back with
the engineer. Once the machine was up, we stayed
back the whole night to recover data bases so that
people could do transactions the next day.
Kaushik: One incident that comes to my mind was
during the development of an Attendance Monitoring
application. This application absorbed data from the
time recording machines. The time administrator used
this data to provide inputs for preparing salary. The
first day this was to be made operational, I was picked
up from my house early morning and I reached office
before 6 AM when the shift was scheduled to start.
Sadly, due to some understanding problems with the
union, the employees refused to use these machines.
However, things got resolved over a period oftime.
Ritu: In 1997-98, when MS Office was introduced in
BL, since I had prior knowledge, I was chosen to
impart training to the users. I was given the project to
develop Travel system using PowerBuilder. I had no
prior knowledge of PowerBuilder. The new system was
designed and developed by me under Mr. Niraj Gupta
and Mr. Manash Mukherjee. My Delhi trips for user
inputs were very interesting. This package was used
till CashX was introduced and was the first in-house
developed GUI based application.
Kaushik: Another interesting incident that is still
afresh took place when IPIOS was being implemented
at Thurbhe. Till then, BL users had never used GUI
based applications and some of the users (ones in the
higher age group) had great difficulties in tackling the
mouse. It was a great struggle - bringing the mouse to
point to the required field.
KKR: Those days BL had distributed servers across the
country. Effecting changes in these applications was a
great challenge. The way it was managed in those days
looks very primitive in today's parlance. Modifications /
additions were done centrally and documentation used
to be prepared. These would be sent to the locations for
necessary incorporation. There would be understanding
issues and implementation differences were the call of
the day. But in the end, these got sorted out.
KKR: Occasionally we would have to login to the
remote servers and make changes. This connection
was done over STD which was costly in those days.
MSD had one STD connection for doing this and which
was kept locked to avoid misuse. We all shared this as
per requirement. A register was to be maintained with
the details of the usage.
KKR: We were all part of one particular system that was
in vogue at that time in the department. Mr. Niraj Gupta
was the Head of IT. There used to be a register in which
all of us had to sign to record our attendance. After 9:40
am, the register would be taken and placed in his cabin.
Late comers had to go into his cabin and sign. This itself
was a deterrent. To top it, a fine had to be paid for late
comings of more than three days. The amount so
collected was used for partying atthe end of the month.
KKR: With e-mail still in its nascent stage, data was
sent to and fro through floppies.
KKR: Y2K was a hyped episode. Lot of precautions
related to Y2K compliance was initiated. On 31st
December 1999 we stayed back in office till midnight
and checked all the systems. In fact all the team
members across locations were in office. We brought
in the New Year peacefully for BL and all was in place
in spite of the big hype created globally.
KKR: We had an eventful stint till now and we look
forward to the journey ahead which we are
confident would be strewn with memorable
moments to cherish.
Sanjeev Padhee, Sr. Manager [IT] is a person who can't be ignored. When
not working Padhee nurtures hobbies like photography, biking, running and
many more. Padhee loves exploring nature and enjoys trekking and
camping; he never forgets to carry his camera on these jaunts. He loves to
capture nature, people and moments that tell a story, with his lens. As a
child, the l" camera he experimented with was a Yashica A with TLR (Twin
Lens Reflex) owned by his father. Over the period of time, he upgraded to
DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) and the model is Nikon D5200 with DX
format. He has few Nikon F mount lenses like 35mm, 55-300mm and 18-
55mm. A photography buff, Sanjeev has attended few training sessions,
organized by Nikon India.
Padhee owns a B'Twin Cycle and the model is Riverside 3. This is a hybrid
cycle, which is meant for 70'-0 on road cycling and 30'-0 off road cycling.
Till now, his best performance is 74.72 KM in 4 hours and 26 minutes with
an average speed of 16.8 KMs/Hour from Sanpada, Navi Mumbai to
Dodhani. In a single day, he had once completed 96KMs. Padhee has also completed two half marathons of 21 KMs,
one in Mumbai and the other in Kolkata. In the Kolkata Marathon held in 2013, he completed 21 KMs in 2 hours 59
mins. An animal lover ,Padhee loves to spend time with Goku and Tia, his dogs. Goku is a "Pug" and Tia is a "Shih Tzu".

Know Your Leader ...
1. Your corporate journey
prior to joining Balmer Lawrie
Prior to joining Balmer lawrie in
2015, I was working as General
Manager (Lube Complex), and
was in charge of Indian Oil's Lube
operations in Southern India.
I joined Indian Oil as a
Management Trainee in 1983
with a Bachelor's Degree in
Chemical Engineering and an
MBA in Marketing. After rigorous
training in various disciplines,
such as - Operations, Aviation,
Technical Services, Lubes, LPG,
Retail and Direct Sales, I was
initially posted to manage a POL
installation in Salem in Tamil
Nad u and thereafter was
transferred to the Lubes &
Technical Services group. My
journey in Indian Oil has been
mostly in the Lubes & Technical
Services Group at various places,
such as - Chennai, Madurai,
Bangalore, Puneand Colombo.
Between 2006 and 2009 I served
as Senior Vice President at Lanka
IOC PLC, Colombo, an overseas
venture of Indian Oil in Sri Lanka.
During this period I also served
as the Director on the Board of
Ceylon Petroleum Storage
Terminals Ltd, which is the
common user facility for
petroleum storage and
distribution in Sri Lanka.
2. How does it feel to be part
of the Balmer Lawrie family?
It gives me a wonderful and
pleasant feeling to be part of the
Balmer Lawrie family that prides
itself for its Professiona I
Managerial skills and Visionary
Approach. I look forward to an
exciting and abundant future
working in the Balmer Lawrie
family.
3. Significant professional
and personal achievements
During my stint as Zonal Retail
Manager for southern region, I
spearheaded the business process
re-engineering of the Lubesgroup
and was instrumental in the
development and nurturing of
channels of distribution, supply
chain management, distributor
development, retail market
development, brand management
and capability building.
Mr. D Sothi Selvam took over as
Director [Manufacturing
Businesses] on 2
nd
January
2015. A perfect gentleman and
a highly professional person,
Mr. Sothi Selvam is a leader
who leads from the front.
During my three year tenure with
Lanka IOC PLC,I played the lead
role in setting up a modern lube
manufacturing plant with a state
of the art laboratory in Sri Lanka
besides establishing the lube
manufacturing operations and
the lube business in Sri Lanka. I
also played lead role in
establishing the bunkering
business and bitumen business in
the island.
During my tenure at Karnataka
from 2009 to 2012, apart from
steering the retail, institutional
and OE sub-groups, I held the
office of Central Public
Information Officer under the RTI
Act.
During 2012-13, I headed the
largest lube manufacturing facility
of Indian Oil Corporation and was
accredited for bringing in a culture
of total quality management
through a world class quality
management system.
During my early career, I was
instrumental in business tie-ups
with leading automotive OEMs,
such as - Hyundai Motor
Corporation, Mitsubishi, Skoda,
Bajaj Auto, TAFE, Kinetic Honda,
Tata Motors, ELGIand also played
a lead role in many long term
business tie-ups with major
industrial units.
4. Who all are there in your
family?
My family consists of my wife and
two children. My wife is working
as Assistant Director with the
Government of Tamil Nadu. My
daughter is currently pursuing
her Doctorate in Pharmaceutical
Bio-Technology at the University
of Illinois in Chic;ago,USAand my
son is presently doing his BE in
Electronics and Communication
Engineering at Anna University,
Chennai.
5. Who is the person who
influenced you the most and
why?
I cannot single out anyone
person. There are several
persons; however, my parents,
my' wife, my Maths teacher in
School and my first Divisional
Manager in IOC come on top of
my mind. This is because they
were deeply interested in my
well-being and taught me self-
discipline, ethics, honesty,
empathy and made me a
confident person in my life.
6. What is your favourite one
liner?
Attitude is everything.
7. What are your hobbies?
Playing Cricket, Table Tennis and
Shuttle Badminton, Reading and
Watching Television.
8. Which is your favourite
travel destination?
Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu.
9. Two things that you would
want your colleagues to know
about you
(i) I believe in collaboration and
team work rather than command
and control.
(ii) With normal actions you get
normal results and if you want
extraordinary results, you must
take some extraordinary actions.
10. Your management style
ormantra
Vision without execution is simply
day-dreaming. In this time of
challenges, there can be no
substitute for strategic thinking
and tireless, relentless execution.
11. Message for all Balmer
Lawrie employees
I am truly honoured by the
opportunity and responsibility of

BLOG11
Know Your Leader ...
becoming the Director
[Manufacturing Businesses] of such
a great organisation. I am aware,
there are lot of expectations from
me. I am absolutely confident that
despite challenges in our SBUs and
in the environments in which we
operate, our Company with its
strategic vision is incredibly aligned
to face those challenges and to
maintain the growth trajectory.
I believe in Team Work and with
the support of my fellow Balmer
Lawriens, I am confident that
together we can convert the
challenges into opportunities and
take our organisation to newer
and greater heights.
Tete-e-tete with Anand Da ai, ex-Director Manufacturing Businesses
Mr. Anand Dayal superannuated on 3r December
2014 after successfully completing 38 years of
service. It was pleasure talking to him and
knowing about his vision of the manufacturing
businesses.
Your journey at Balmer Lawrie ...
I joined Balmer Lawrie on 1st December, 1976 in the
Travel Division at Mumbai and after four years I moved
to the Container Division. The stint there was a very
short one as I had to move back to Travel again. In
September 1984, I got the opportunity to join
Container Division as Marketing Manager and after 3
years, in 1987 was moved to Director(B)s office to co-
ordinate for the manufacturing businesses with the Oil
Co's who constituted 80% to 90% of IP and G&L
business. This stint gave me a deep dive into both these
businesses. Thereafter, after my movement back to
Containers, Bombay in 1991 since then my work life
was centered on the Industrial Packaging Business of
the organisation. I spent significant years and was
fortunate to be associated with several firsts. However,
I would rate the introduction of lightweight spiral seam
steel drums of 20 gauge thickness as a substitute for 18
gauge double seam steel drums, the launch of the
Valerex 20 and 200 plastic drums as significant
achievements during that time. In the year 1991 we
successfully launched the Valerex 20 litre drum and in
1994 the Valerex 200 lite drum was launched.
Maintaining market leadership for steel drums and
achieving market leadership for Valerex 20 and 200
was particularly satisfying, especially transcending
from 80% Govt./PSU sector business to 80% private
sector business for steel drums.
My journey was greatly satisfying as I got the
opportunity to continuously learn and work under the
tutelage of illustrious mentors and great leaders, who
I acknowledged in my previous .interview. I was
fortunate to have moved through different
businesses, learn the skills of varied areas and finally
don the hat of a Director.
The unique culture of BL was successful in
encompassing me in its warmth and care making my
stint here a very memorable one, dotted with myriads
of cherishable moments.
How do you see the manufacturing businesses
evolve in the next 5 years?
Year 2014 was a very difficult year for all businesses.
All the businesses saw profits going down. Let me
explain businesswise. I'll begin with Performance
Chemicals (PC). We enjoy market leadership in fat
liquors in competition with MNCs like BASF, Clariants
and others. Our USP is the indigenous technology of
Sulpho Chlorination. When we ventured into the
leather chemicals business, CLRI helped us with this
technology. No other company in the country
manufactures fat liquors using this technology. Since
we had a quality edge over our competitors, the
demand was very high. This led to constraint in
capacity and we were finding it difficult to meet the
demand by customers. The Board has approved the
capacity expansion project and hopefully it will be
commissioned by April 2015. This would help in
fulfilment of the pent up demand.
In leather chemicals, we are in the middle segment
that is the wet end. We are not into beam house
(dehairing, cleaning) and the last end (finishing
chemicals). Thus we are at a disadvantage as
compared to MNCs because we do not provide end-
to-end solutions. We have been exploring options to
get the technology to manufacture chemicals in all
the segments and we have been successful. We are in
discussions with an Italian company for
manufacturing finishing chemicals and beam house.
We have tested their products and they are ready to
give us the technology and buy 50% of the output. We
will then be an end-to-end manufacturer of leather
chemicals. PC was making losses; in October it broke
even, in November it made losses but in December it
broke even again and I am confident this will now be
sustainable given that market conditions remain
stable.

18BLOG
Greases & Lubricants (G&L) embarked on the retail
path and I feel this is the only way to increase
volumes. It has taken us more time to reach the
volumes we had thought of. We have enjoyed
excellent credibility as a premium grease product
supplier. We need to leverage this with the oils in the
retail segment. We have strong potential backed up
with strong R&D. G&L went on a tailspin from April to
October. However, in November it broke even and
December it was in the black and I am confident now
onwards it will be making profits. Once again, I would
temper this assertion with the caveat of stable market
conditions. G&L is focused on distribution channel for
growth in the retail segment. Our success will lie in
implementing distribution channel network in 2015-
16, as envisaged, there should be no looking back.
It has been a challenging year for the Industrial
Packaging (IP) business. April to August were very
good months; September to November were loss
making months. As a market leader successfully
getting over the MSME hit was a feather in the cap. We
expect to do more volumes in this year than the
previous year (market remaining stable) even with
the loss of government business. Corrective
measures on raw material procurement should bring
the SBU into profit and sustain it in the months to
come. The Sewri, Kolkata and High Throughput Plant
(HTP) at Taloja are the three biggest challenges. In lP,
Sewri discussions commenced with the collectives on
closure and hopefully this with get resolved amicably.
The Kolkata team is putting together a proposal for
achieving breakeven and viability. As far as HTP is
concerned, it has taken more time than expected to
reach the desired level of productivity and efficiency. I
am confident that it will be making profits in 2015.
The performance of the Refinery & Oil Field Services
(ROFS) business is worse than the previous year but
we have received new orders and this is indicative of
us getting back to our desired performance levels. We
are examining the area of sludge disposal. Today we
only clean and we return the oil and the sludge. By
working on sludge disposal, we can create a niche
area for this business, as nobody does this in India
currently.
Your most memorable moment at Balmer Lawrie ...
PESB had announced my selection as Director in the
afternoon. The next morning when I entered the
Sewri factory, I was welcomed with bursting of
crackers. All the workmen of G&L and IP were waiting
to shake my hand and congratulate me. I met all of
them and their love and affection was deeply
overwhelming. I'm blessed that I could win over the
good wishes of so many people across the
organisation.
Which is that one significant achievement that
you would always cherish?
Seeing the high throughput barrel manufacturing
plant at Taloja working from end to end and watching
a vision and dream come true is something that I will
cherish always. The quality of the barrels
manufactured is par excellence and we have to
continuously work towards fighting competition. The
fixed cost of this plant is lower than that of Asaoti,
which is our model plant for IP. This is remarkable as
Asaoti is a contracted plant. Asaoti can make 2300
drums and HTP can go to 5400 drums in 8 hrs. So, on
a per drum basis we are well placed competitively.
What are your post retirement plans?
The Company was very kind by nominating me to
Balmer Lawrie Van Leer (BLVL), our JV Company. I
will take some time off until I get government
approval and then I will take charge at BLVL.
Message for Balmer Lawriens ...
BL has been a company that cares about people. To
my mind it is this feeling of being cared about, which
inspires superlative performance. I do hope that
everyone will be able to continue this tradition and
wish everyone all the best and success.
Charcoal Sketches by
Prasenjit Roy,
Dy. Manager [HR]

BLOG19
TALENT UNLIMITED
THE 148th
FOUNDATION DAY OF BALMER LAWRIE
It was an immensely honourable and proud moment for all the employees of Balmer Lawrie to be
celebrating its 148th year of existence, which emphatically proves the fact that not many companies can
survive for such a long period in the midst of such fierce competition in the today's world.The CMD of the
company in his speech too, aptly endorsed the fact that not many companies are able to sustain and survive
for -so long. Indeed, it's a great achievement! Hail all the employees! An occasion and an event to
remember; the stupendous and relentless hard work done unceasingly by a team of sincere young and
senior employees of Balmer Lawrie, who put up an extremely flawless and organised show to commemorcte
this grand occasion, was noteworthy.
In the vicinity of Kolkata, in a venue called' Swabhumi' r all the employees with their near and dear family
members assembled. A pretty and lovely compere with a husky voice enchanted the whole gathering and
skilfully led us through the entire day's events ably supported by a gentlemen who had an enormous and
witty sense of humour which sometimes made all of us grin, giggle and laugh. He was undoubtedly very
good. The function was inaugurated by releasing green and white balloons (colour of the company) in the
sky. Its abyss was unusually bright and clear as this day was without a single cloud and was filled with the
brilliance of the sun's rays; symbolising the fact that growth and perfection has no boundaries. Beautiful
white pigeons were released individually by the senior management to convey us the message of PEACE for
all in this world.
Prior to this, breakfast was served and relished by one and all.The auditorium was decorated with green,
white and blue balloons on all sides.The emblem of the company's logo in vibrant colours painted on a large
canvas was placed vividly in the background. With everyone seated, the company's song was sung by ladies
and gents, followed by the CMD' s speech in which the accomplishments of the company and new ventures
were announced. All the time references were made to the untiring efforts and hard work of all employees.
Long service awards were given away and we all clapped proudly. It was a poignant moment for the families.
There was a song and dance performance by the children of the SOS village who are supported by Balmer
Lawrie, followed by a talent contest in music and dance for employees' children. There was a drawing
competition too for children of all ages. It felt very nice to see so much talent around. After a sumptuous
lunch there were fun filled aCtivities like just a minute game played by officers, their wives and children.
It was hilarious to see people trying to complete simple tasks like blowing balloons, tying threads or
sticking bindis in a minute.
With funny comments being made all along by our competent comperes it was sheer entertainment.
Prize distribution was an integral part of the show for children and all who did well in the various fun-filled
competitions organised. The prizes were handed to the contestants by the wives of the senior officers. To
be on stage and present a prize is in itself a nice and warm feeling.
Last but not the least, the highlight of the entire occasion was an enthralling performance by Usha Uthup,
an extremely talented and fairly famous singer in our country. She can sing in thirteen languages. Her
deep, rich, baritone voice resonated the entire auditorium, while singing one hit song after another with
her five man army (as she calls her musicians). Without them, she modestly proclaims she can't sing. She
set the stage on fire and we all enjoyed it to the hilt. It was lovely, an evening to fondly remember.
While I conclude, I feel happy to say that the 148th Foundation Day of Balmer Lawrie was a huge success;
thanks to the tireless work done by the employees and we should all raise our voice in unison and say' AMAR
RAHEGA HAMARA BALMER LA WRIE:
Here is a toast to many more celebrations of Balmer Lawrie' s Foundation Day and may the company grow in
_ unity in all diversities!
- Shalini Gupta w/o Niraj Gupta, Director [Service Businesses]
Edited by Mohar Mukhopadhyay, Corporate Communications Dept., Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd, Printed at Nabapress Pvt Ltd, Kolkata

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