Nirma is a conglomerate based in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

, India, involved in the manufacture of various products, including detergents,

soaps Soap is a surfactant cleaning compound used for personal or other cleaning. SOAP is a computer network protocol (originally an acronym for Simple Object Access Protocol), a protocol specification in computer networks. Soap or SOAP may also refer ...

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel ( aggregate) together. Cement mi ...

cosmetics Cosmetics are substances that are intended for application to the body for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering appearance. They are mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either Natural product, natural source ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

soda ash Sodium carbonate (also known as washing soda, soda ash, sal soda, and soda crystals) is the inorganic compound with the formula and its various hydrates. All forms are white, odourless, water-soluble salts that yield alkaline solutions in water ...

linear alkyl benzene Linear alkylbenzenes (sometimes also known as LABs) are a family of organic compounds with the formula C6H5CnH2n+1. Typically, ''n'' lies between 10 and 16, although generally supplied as a tighter cut, such as C12-C15, C12-C13 and C10-C13, for de ...

, and injectables. It was founded in 1969 by Karsanbhai Patel, a laboratory technician, as a one-man operation.

History

In 1969, Dr. Karsanbhai Patel, a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

at the

Gujarat Government The Government of Gujarat, also known as Gujarat Government, is the supreme governing authority of the Indian state of Gujarat and its 33 districts. It consists of an executive of the legislators appointed by the Governor of Gujarat, a judiciary ...

's Department of Mining and Geology manufactured phosphate-free synthetic detergent powder, and started selling it locally. The new yellow powder was priced at ₹3.50 per kg, at a time when HUL's Surf was priced at ₹13. Nirma sold well in Ruppur (

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

), Patel's hometown. He started packing the formulation in a 10x10 ft room in his house. Patel named the powder Nirma, after his daughter Nirupama. He was able to sell about 15-20 packets a day on his way to the office on bicycle, some 15 km away. By 1985, Nirma washing powder had become one of the most popular household detergents in many parts of the country, which was aided in part by the popular "Washing Powder Nirma" television advertisement. By 1999, Nirma was a major consumer brand, offering a range of detergents, soaps and personal care products. The group also set up a healthcare subsidiary called Nirlife to manufacture

intravenous fluid Intravenous therapy (abbreviated as IV therapy) is a medical technique that administers fluids, medications and nutrients directly into a person's vein. The intravenous route of administration is commonly used for rehydration or to provide nutr ...

s. In November 2007, Nirma purchased American raw materials company Searles Valley Minerals Inc., making it among the top seven

manufacturers in the world. Nirma Group started cement manufacturing in 2014 from a single plant in Nimbol, with a newly established company Nuvoco Vistas Corporation. In 2016, Nirma acquired

Lafarge La Farge, LaFarge or Lafarge can refer to: People * Antoinette LaFarge (1966–), American artist and writer * Christopher Grant LaFarge (1862–1938), American architect and partner in the firm Heins & LaFarge * Christopher Grant La Farge ( ...

India's cement assets for $1.4 billion. In February 2020, Nirma acquired

Emami Emami Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Kolkata. The company caters to a number of niche categories in the personal care and healthcare segments. The company's products are sold across 60+ nations and are availabl ...

Cement for . In September 2023, Nirma acquired a 75% stake in Glenmark Life Sciences from Glenmark for 5,652 crore (US$680 million). In 2024, Glenmark Life Sciences was renamed Alivus Life Sciences.

CSR

The company established

Nirma University Nirma University (NU) is a private university located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It functions under the aegis of the Nirma Education and Research Foundation (NERF). The Gujarat Government has granted "Centre of Excellence" status to Nirma Un ...

in 1995, which is managed by the Nirma Education and Research Foundation (NERF). It also runs the Nirmalabs education program, which has been dedicated to training and supporting entrepreneurs since 2004.

References

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External links

Official Nirma company website
Chemical companies of India Manufacturing companies based in Ahmedabad Laundry detergents Chemical companies established in 1969 Manufacturing companies established in 1969 Indian companies established in 1969 Companies formerly listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange Indian brands 1969 establishments in Gujarat

History

CSR

See also

References

External links