SRF Limited is an Indian multi-business chemicals conglomerate engaged in the manufacturing of industrial and specialty intermediates. The company’s business portfolio covers fluorochemicals,

specialty chemicals Specialty chemicals (also called specialties or effect chemicals) are particular chemical products that provide a wide variety of effects on which many other industry sectors rely. Some of the categories of speciality chemicals are adhesives, agr ...

, packaging films,

technical textile Technical textiles are a category of textiles specifically engineered and manufactured to serve functional purposes beyond traditional apparel and home furnishing applications. These textiles are designed with specific performance characteristic ...

s, coated and

laminated fabric A laminated fabric is a two (or more) layer construction with a polymer film bonded to a fabric. Laminated fabrics are used in rainwear, automotive, and other applications. Windstopper is an example of such fabrics. References * * { ...

s. It has a workforce of more than 8,000 employees across eleven manufacturing plants in India Thailand, South Africa and Hungary. The company exports to more than 90 countries.

History

The company was established in 1970, as Shri Ram Fibres Limited, by DCM Limited as a wholly owned subsidiary. Its initial focus was on the manufacture of tyre cord fabrics. Its first manufacturing plant was set up in Manali, near

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

, in 1973. In 1986, the company set up a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

with

Denso is a global automotive components manufacturer headquartered in the city of Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. After becoming independent from Toyota Motor, the company was founded as in 1949. About 25% of the company is owned by Toyota. Despi ...

called SRF Nippondenso, for the manufacture of automotive components. This was later spun off as a separate company in 1993. Another subsidiary, SRF Finance, started in 1986 was sold to GE Capital in 1997. SRF also had a healthcare division which manufactured plastic optical lenses, which was spun off as a separate company in 1997. In 1989, the company entered the chemicals business to manufacture refrigerants. Consequently, in 1990, it changed its name to SRF Limited. The company started its packaging films business in 1995 when it acquired a BOPET film plant at Kashipur in India from Flowmore. SRF has since then manufactured both BOPET and BOPP films globally. The company entered the specialty chemicals business in 2004 as a supplier of fine chemicals to the agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals industry. The business is engaged in custom synthesis, and contract research and manufacturing.

Business segments

Technical textiles

SRF is the largest manufacturer of technical textiles in India. SRF's technical textile products contain tyre cord fabrics, belting fabrics, and industrial yarn.

Fluorochemicals

Set up in the year 1989, SRF's fluorochemicals business makes refrigerants, pharma propellants, and industrial chemicals. The company has allocated capital to enter the

fluoropolymer A fluoropolymer is a fluorocarbon-based polymer with multiple carbon–fluorine bonds. It is characterized by a high resistance to solvents, acids, and bases. The best known fluoropolymer is polytetrafluoroethylene under the brand name "Teflon, ...

s business.

Specialty chemicals

SRF's specialty chemicals business is involved in the development and production of advanced intermediates for agrochemical and pharmaceutical applications.

Packaging films

SRF's packaging films business manufactures BOPET and BOPP films for use in food and non-

food packaging Food packaging is a packaging system specifically designed for food and represents one of the most important aspects among the processes involved in the food industry, as it provides protection from chemical, biological and physical alterations ...

, labelling, industrial and other end applications.

Market leadership

The company is a market leader in most of its business segments in India and commands a significant global presence in some of its businesses/products, namely Difluoro & Trifluoro Alkyl Intermediates (global no. 1), Nylon 6 Tyre Cord (global no. 2) and Belting Fabrics (global no. 3). SRF is the only Indian manufacturer of ozone friendly refrigerants, namely F 134a and F 32, both of which it has developed using indigenous technology. With the addition of F 125, SRF is now the largest producer and seller of refrigerants in India and has further consolidated its market leadership. SRF obtained ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, Air-conditioning Engineers) certification for R-467A, its low GWP refrigerant blend for stationary air-conditioning applications. It is the first-ever refrigerant from India to have received this certification by the ASHRAE Standards Committee under the Designation and Safety Classification of Refrigerants. SRF acquired the Dymel® HFA 134a/P regulated medical pharmaceutical propellant business from DuPont™ in January 2015 and became one of the few manufacturers of Pharma grade HFA 134a/P in the world.

Awards and recognitions

* Deming Prize for the Tyre Cord Business in 2004 * SRF Limited was listed in the 2011

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's ''Best under a Billion'' list by ''

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''. * Deming Prize for Chemicals Business in 2012 * ICC (Indian Chemical Council) Lifetime Achievement Award to Chairman, Arun Bharat Ram * Sword of Honour by the British Safety Council in 2018 * The Economic Times Family Business of the Year (Large Companies) Award in 2019 * National CSR Award 2018 in the category – Corporate Awards in CSR in Challenging Circumstances – North by the President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind * EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2019 in the manufacturing category conferred on Chairman, Mr. Arun Bharat Ram *Ashish Bharat Ram, Managing Director of SRF Ltd. named India’s Best CEO in the emerging companies category by Business Today in January, 2021 *Best Family Business award in the giga category at the first-ever Indian Family Business Awards 2021, presented by Moneycontrol *Employer of the Future 2022 by Fortune India *Ashish Bharat Ram, Chairman and Managing Director of SRF Ltd., named India’s Best CEO in the mid-sized companies category by Business Today in May 2023

References

{{Nifty 200 companies Indian companies established in 1970 Manufacturing companies based in Gurgaon 1970 establishments in Haryana Chemical companies of India Chemical companies established in 1970 Companies listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange