From 35 square yards of land and repair work to an IPO that was oversubscribed 261 times
In Ahmedabad's Dantali industrial area, a company is creating cold on a grand scale. Ice Make Refrigeration Ltd, founded in 1993 by the Patel brothers Chandrakantbhai, Rajendrabhai and Vipulbhai, now exports to more than 21 countries and posts turnover of over ₹100 crore.
The brothers belong to the Mool Kadi Panth Patidar community. Their elders, Popatbhai and Ishwarbhai Patel, ran a small trade and farmed in their village. In the 1980s the brothers moved to Ahmedabad. One took a job, then moved into refrigeration, and together they began manufacturing as partners. The business began on just 35 square yards of land, starting with repair work. It now stands on about 2.5 lakh square feet.
Hard work, honesty and sound business sense carried them through tough times. Ice Make's IPO, worth ₹23.70 crore, was oversubscribed 261 times. The company has also taken over Bharat Refrigeration of Chennai and has expanded its network.
The range is wide. Ice Make builds cold rooms, display chillers, chilling plants, ice candy and ice cream plants, blast freezers, bulk milk chillers and refrigerated containers, with dozens of products serving fruit and vegetable growers, dairies, bakeries, hospitals and frozen food makers. Exports began with the US and now reach Africa, Nepal and Sri Lanka. An in-house factory even makes 12-metre PUF panels, and raw materials are made in-house.
About 350 staff work here, and the directors themselves are at work from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. CEO Ishwarbhai Ghokai says the people who were with the company from the start are still with it today. The company has won the Indian Leadership Award for Industrial Development (2011) and the India SME 100 Award by Axis Bank (2016).
Its solar cold room is a standout. It turns heat into cold, works where power is scarce and costs under ₹10 lakh. Farmers can store produce and sell when prices rise. The company's own solar system saves 20 to 25% of its electricity. The directors say cold rooms should get a government subsidy, and they want rules applied equally to all.
Ice Make also gives back. Since 2012 it has run a cow shelter. It started Ram Roti, packing food each evening for the needy, and gives scholarships to students, runs addiction-free campaigns, holds blood donation drives and plants trees, with 180 planted so far. A rainwater harvesting system recharges 8,000 litres an hour in the monsoon. Each 15 August, the tricolour is raised at its campus.
From a tiny plot to a global name, the brothers' story, in the words of Vice President Nikhilbhai Bhatt, is a successful attempt to make Ice Make an ideal.