Tata Chemicals’ consumer products and agri-business divisions may be showing the greatest signs of invigoration, but the fact remains that a good half of the company’s revenues come from that old warhorse, soda ash, a vital input for several industries, among them detergents, glass, mining and construction.

Tata Chemicals’ soda ash is produced at multiple sites across the world — the original plant in Mithapur, India, the Brunner Mond plant in the UK, the Magadi Soda Company (MSC) site in Kenya and the General Chemical Industrial Products (GCIP) facility in Wyoming in the US.

A year ago, Tata Chemicals decided to consolidate its many chemicals businesses into a single unit: the Global Chemicals Business. The acquisitions were rebranded to reflect both the unified name and the global spread. Brunner Mond became Tata Chemicals Europe, GCIP became Tata Chemicals North America and MSC became Tata Chemicals Magadi.

What’s in a name?
Tata Chemicals managing director R Mukundan explains the business imperatives that necessitated the rebranding exercise: “Brunner Mond, Magadi and GCIP are all great and well-known names, but we decided to go for one common brand for several reasons. For one, a few key global customers wanted us to create a single customer interface. Plus, the power of a global brand gives us better leverage with financial and government authorities, and improved supply-chain efficiencies.”

The businesses were realigned to present the Tata Chemicals brand across the world, with each region taking ownership of certain important accounts. India, for example, handles the Unilever account, Tata Chemicals Europe handles the St Gobain business and the US takes care of the Proctor & Gamble business.

There was also an internal factor that contributed to the rebranding — employee sentiments. “After the acquisition of Jaguar Land Rover and the launch of the Nano by Tata Motors, the Tata group has become well-known globally,” says Mr Mukundan. “We got feedback from our people that they wanted to be associated with a brand like Tata, one that stands for ethics, values and stability. They wanted to be a part of something bigger, a group that understands business and is willing to invest.”

The rebranding also stimulated Tata Chemicals to undertake a massive consolidation exercise. Instead of the four or five different IT platforms that were being used in different locales, the company moved to SAP. Support functions like finance, safety audit and risk management have been centralised, while human resources, treasury and sales and marketing remain federal. As Mr Mukundan puts it, the whole entity functions like an aircraft carrier-led fleet of ships.

Let’s talk
One positive fallout of the consolidation has been a big jump in networking within Tata Chemicals. For instance, the company now has intra-company safety audits, with a global audit team visiting each of its businesses.

Says De Lyle Bloomquist, the head of the Global Chemicals Business, “We started identifying best practices, but people also began to create networks. It broke the ice. Nowadays people are picking up phones and talking to colleagues across the globe. For instance, if Magadi is facing a technical issue, they’ll call the US site and ask questions. On the commercial and sales and marketing sides, we have quarterly meetings, a King Arthur and the round table kind of thing where we all sit down, talk about different issues and share experiences.”

Another positive move has been the planned shift to a leaner, fitter organisation with higher speeds of response. With one eye on the balance sheet, Tata Chemicals is implementing programmes such as Lean Six Sigma and Economic Profit Management to improve returns on investment.

Christopher Douville, vice president at Tata Chemicals North America, explains, “Since the rebranding, many of our employees have commented that they now see the business as global versus regional. They have first-hand opportunities to interact with their counterparts at other Tata affiliates. This has brought about an exchange of ideas and success stories that will continue to help unify the global entities as one.”

Rebranding, realignment, consolidation — these management terms don’t fully capture what Tata Chemicals is actually doing: making sure that the vintage chemicals business is in a sustainably better shape to deal with the future.

Magadi turns 100 Old as it is, Tata Chemicals in India is among the younger entities in the Tata Chemicals group. The oldest is the erstwhile Brunner Mond, founded in the UK in 1873. And last year, Tata Chemicals Magadi (formerly Magadi Soda Company, which was set up in 1911), celebrated its centenary. Having doubled its capacity in recent years, Tata Chemicals Magadi managing director Michael Odera says the challenge now is to “remain cost competitive while delivering a superior product and service”. Situated 120km southwest of Nairobi, on the shores of Lake Magadi in Kajiado County, Tata Chemicals Magadi produces about 600,000 tonnes of soda ash every year, making it a significant foreign exchange earner for Kenya. Apart from its 680 employees, the company supports a community of over 5,000 inhabitants, including family and ancillary workers. It implements education, health, water, employment, and micro-business programmes, not only for the employees and family but also for the 30,000 local residents of what is known as the Magadi division.

This article was a part of the cover story on Tata Chemicals featured in the March 2012 issue of the Tata Review. Follow the links below to go to the other articles that were a part of this cover story:
	The changing face of Tata Chemicals
	It’s all about consumer interest