Dattatraya Garway, managing director of Analytical Consultancy or Anacon Laboratories Pvt Ltd, started the lab with an investment of Rs 3 lakh in 1993. Today, it is a Rs 6.5 crore company providing state of the art testing facilities with third generation equipment to almost all major players in sectors like cement, steel, power, food and water.
Recognizing its achievements, the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) has decided to bestow on Anacon the national entrepreneurship award for the service sector for 2010. Garway will receive the award at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi from President of India Pratibha Patil on September 2. Anacon is one of five firms in the country to get the award.
The idea for such a service laboratory dawned upon Garway while he was scientific officer at the Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF) at Nagpur University. "When I started my laboratory in a small set-up at Pratapnagar, SAIF had the latest testing equipment in Central India, but could not attract clients. This was due to general apathy of the industry, which had not realized the importance of quality or standards. Also, to some extent, procedural requirements of government sector were to blame. Today, the same facilities in private sector are making waves," said Garway.
He recalls a time when he was close to shutting the lab, because the only requests he got was for fake certification, without actually testing or seeing anything. However, last financial year Anacon's turnover touched Rs 4.5 crore. The real boom came five years back, in 2006, when the lab expanded to include testing for power, cement, mining, steel and food industry. Garway says, "With industry in Vidarbha not responsive, my first breakthrough came from Grasim Group in cement sector."
Today, Anacon provides not only testing services but also helps industry plan projects with environmental considerations. All major manufacturers of cement and steel, like Ultratech, Lafarge, ACC, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, NECO group, Raipur Alloys, Hira group etc are his clients. Private players in power generation like Sahara Power, Adani Power, Karnataka Emta, Aryan Power and Abhijit Group too come to him for certification. Among pharma companies, Lupin Pharmaceuticals at Bhopal and Ranbaxy unit at Devas in Madhya Pradesh also seek Anacon's services. Firms from food industry include local biggies like Haldiram and Dinshaw.
Anacon is one of the few labs with accreditations from as many as five agencies -ministry of environment and forests, National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Bureau of Indian Standards, NABET (EIA consultants) and TUV NORD ISO9001:2008. The lab also has a network of branches and associates at Delhi, Raipur, Bhopal, Pune, Jamshedpur and Durgapur.
Garway's wife Sugandha says, "Being a chemist myself, I left my job at LAD College to help my husband. But I got frustrated soon while my husband didn't give up. It finally paid off. We will soon be getting BIS license for testing packaged and processed drinking water." The lab can test for residues of heavy metals, pesticides and adulterated elements used in vegetables, fruits and food products to ultra trace levels (parts per trillion). It also test all kinds of agricultural products, ores, minerals, coal, coke, solid fuels, cosmetics, essential oils, etc.
Rajendra Korde, one of the directors of Anacon, said the laboratory has also been designated a knowledge partner by the State food and drugs administration for testing facilities and effective implementation of the Food Safety Act since August 5.
Recognizing its achievements, the Union ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) has decided to bestow on Anacon the national entrepreneurship award for the service sector for 2010. Garway will receive the award at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi from President of India Pratibha Patil on September 2. Anacon is one of five firms in the country to get the award.
The idea for such a service laboratory dawned upon Garway while he was scientific officer at the Sophisticated Analytical Instrumentation Facility (SAIF) at Nagpur University. "When I started my laboratory in a small set-up at Pratapnagar, SAIF had the latest testing equipment in Central India, but could not attract clients. This was due to general apathy of the industry, which had not realized the importance of quality or standards. Also, to some extent, procedural requirements of government sector were to blame. Today, the same facilities in private sector are making waves," said Garway.
He recalls a time when he was close to shutting the lab, because the only requests he got was for fake certification, without actually testing or seeing anything. However, last financial year Anacon's turnover touched Rs 4.5 crore. The real boom came five years back, in 2006, when the lab expanded to include testing for power, cement, mining, steel and food industry. Garway says, "With industry in Vidarbha not responsive, my first breakthrough came from Grasim Group in cement sector."
Today, Anacon provides not only testing services but also helps industry plan projects with environmental considerations. All major manufacturers of cement and steel, like Ultratech, Lafarge, ACC, Tata Steel, Jindal Steel, NECO group, Raipur Alloys, Hira group etc are his clients. Private players in power generation like Sahara Power, Adani Power, Karnataka Emta, Aryan Power and Abhijit Group too come to him for certification. Among pharma companies, Lupin Pharmaceuticals at Bhopal and Ranbaxy unit at Devas in Madhya Pradesh also seek Anacon's services. Firms from food industry include local biggies like Haldiram and Dinshaw.
Anacon is one of the few labs with accreditations from as many as five agencies -ministry of environment and forests, National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, Bureau of Indian Standards, NABET (EIA consultants) and TUV NORD ISO9001:2008. The lab also has a network of branches and associates at Delhi, Raipur, Bhopal, Pune, Jamshedpur and Durgapur.
Garway's wife Sugandha says, "Being a chemist myself, I left my job at LAD College to help my husband. But I got frustrated soon while my husband didn't give up. It finally paid off. We will soon be getting BIS license for testing packaged and processed drinking water." The lab can test for residues of heavy metals, pesticides and adulterated elements used in vegetables, fruits and food products to ultra trace levels (parts per trillion). It also test all kinds of agricultural products, ores, minerals, coal, coke, solid fuels, cosmetics, essential oils, etc.
Rajendra Korde, one of the directors of Anacon, said the laboratory has also been designated a knowledge partner by the State food and drugs administration for testing facilities and effective implementation of the Food Safety Act since August 5.
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