Jacob Chacko, Owner, JCK COATING INDUSTRIES, Gandhidham

One of the hallmarks of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to see a business opportunity in a seemingly impossible situation. Jacob Chacko, founder of JCK COATING INDUSTRIES, was quick to see such an opportunity in the course of his career. In 2003, he was working as a distributor for a UK company in the Middle East and had built a loyal customer base there. When the principle company was on the verge of shutting shop, he had the option to lose his hard earned customer base or to boldly go ahead and establish his own company with ready clients. Jacob chose the latter and established JCK COATING INDUSTRIES in the Kandla Special Economic Zone in Gujarat.

In conversation with GlobalLinker (GL), Jacob shares how in a short span of time he has established JCK COATING as a leading Indian exporter of Wood Coatings & Thinners and how he believes in the ‘Make In India’ spirit.

GL: Tell us about your business & how you started.

Jacob: We at JCK COATING INDUSTRIES manufacture a premium range of Wood Coatings and Thinners. We are located at Kandla Special Economic Zone, in Gujarat. We started our manufacturing unit in the year 2007. I am a first generation entrepreneur with an extensive experience in the Wood Coating industry in most of the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries and in India since 2000.

GL: Please share your educational background & what inspired you to start this business.

Jacob: I am a graduate in Business Management. Since 2003, I was in the distribution business in Bahrain for Wood Coating products from UK and UAE.  In 2006, the UK Company which was my major principle had some changes in their management had started to show less interest in their Middle East Business.

At that time, I realised that I may not able to regularly supply materials to my clients in the near future and lose the hard earned customer base. This is when I started to think of establishing my own brand to retain my customer base. I started my journey to various free trade zones in Middle East and India and finally decided to setup the unit at Kandla Special Economic Zone in the Kutch district of Gujarat with 100% exports.

GL: What is the USP of your business?

Jacob: The USP of my business is that we manufacture a wide range of premium quality wood coatings & thinners at the lowest price in the wood coatings segment. All JCK Products are 100% ‘made in India’ by a skilled and motivated team of people, applying advanced technologies.

GL: What are some of the challenges you have faced in establishing your business?

Jacob: During the initial phase of my business, my primary challenge was to reduce the product cost. Since we were at the startup stage, we had to buy raw materials in small quantities whereas the established multinationals bought raw materials in bulk, at cheaper rates. When I launched my product we were more expensive than the popular multinational brands. But I overcame the price factor by ensuring that JCK had superior quality and user friendly products. Now, since our volumes have increased, we are offering the same premium products at a lower price.

The second challenge was to find distributors in new regions and countries.

The third challenge was to run the business without credit or bad debts. When I stated that our company will not give goods on credit, customers would claim that they were getting credit from their current supplier. However, I stuck to the ‘no credit policy’ and conveyed to my customers that to succeed in business we must offer good quality products at reasonable prices.

GL: How big is your team? How do you keep your team motivated?

Jacob: I have a team of 28 people. I have delegated responsibilities to managers in each department. And I have given them all the opportunity to share the pride of being associated with JCK COATINGS. As a result of this confidence and trust, my entire team is diligent and feels a great sense of responsibility towards the growth of the company.

GL: Who are some of your major clients?

Jacob: Our major overseas distributors are Al Namal Group of Companies, Bahrain, Nabina Hardwares, Qatar, Power & Energy General Trading Co. Kuwait, and Fibropinturas S.A. Panama.

GL: How important is a good digital presence for your business?

Jacob: We depend mostly on our website to reach our customers worldwide. The customers can download the technical data sheets and understand product features and application methods on our website. Our website is an important medium to connect with our end users who want to buy our materials. I believe that GlobalLinker is an excellent platform to showcase my business and build my network with other SMEs. 

GL: What is your Big Business Dream -- how would you like to grow your business?

Jacob: Last year we started our sales in India and opened our first branch office in India at Kochi, Kerala. India is a very big market and we have a great opportunity ahead to scale up our business here.

My big business dream is to further expand our manufacturing unit with state-of-the-art facilities to meet our growing market requirements. In the coming three to five years we plan to leverage our brand and increase our presence geographically and product wise.

GL: What is your message to aspiring entrepreneurs?

Jacob: Believe in yourself. Stay focused. Love what you do & do what you love! We, Indian manufacturers, have to prove to the rest of the world that we can produce premium quality products in India and that too at a good price, besides competing with other established multinationals. 


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