Balvant Parekh

Balvant Parekh (1925-25 January 2013) also known as Balvantray Kalyanji Parakeh and B K Parekh was an Indian entrepreneur and founder of Pidilite Industries. Blavant was known as “India’s Fevicol Man”.

Balvant was born in Mahuva town of Bhavnagar district Gujarat India. Balvant grandfather was a magistrate. Balvant finished his initial school education in Mahuva and got his law degree from Government Law College Mumbai. While he was studying Balvant got married to Kantaben. Balvant never practiced law and worked in a dyeing and printing press in Mumbai. He changed job as a peon in a wood trader’s office where he used to stay in the warehouse along with his wife. Balvant decided to start his own business with a help of investor Mohan and started importing cycle, areca nut, paper dyes from western countries. After starting his business Balvant moved to flat in Sion Mumbai along with his wife, son and brother Sushil.

Balvant joined fifty percent partnership with a German firm Fedco representing another German company Hoechst. In 1954 on invitation from the managing director of Hoechst Balvant went to Germany for a month. After the death of Hoechst managing director, company decided to do direct business. In 1954 Balvant started trading and manufacturing of dye and industrial chemicals, pigment emulsions unit in Jacob circle Mumbai along with his brother Sushil, which he named Parekh Dyechem Industries. Balvant started buying more stocks of Fedco and made a glue name Favicol. The name of glue was inspired by German word ‘Col’ meaning anything that bonds two things and the German company was making identical product named ‘Movicol’. Balvant’s younger brother Narendra Parekh also joined his business after finishing studies from United States. The company was later renamed as Pidilite Industries in 1959

...
Wikipedia