Aries Agro Ltd - Stock Valuation and Financial Performance

Aries Agro was founded by T B Mirchandani and Bala Mirchandani in 1969. It is into the business of manufacturing of micronutrients and other nutritional products for plants and animals. It started its activity by manufacturing a small range of mineral feed additives for animals and birds and then diversified into mineral additives for the agriculture use. Its products were immediately accepted by the consumers and slowly it became the brand leader in the field of mineral nutrition with a range of products including mineral premixes, milk boosters, protein concentrates, vitamin premixes, anti-coccidian and anti-bacterial feed additives.

In 1975, it diversified into nutrients for plant. It had in-house expertise in the area of mineral nutrition and thereby decided to concentrate on the same. It conducted research on compounds that could deliver mineral nutrients to plants more efficiently. The research zeroed in on 'Metal Chelates'. The product had to be manufactured in accordance with the locally available ingredients and expertise which posed a challenge for the company. Through in-house R&D efforts, Aries Agro branched out into agrochemicals in 1975 with the introduction of Chelated Micronutrients. It pioneered the concept of Chelates in India with the introduction of 'Agromin', a micronutrient fertilizer in the year 1975, followed by 'Chelamin' in 1976. Agromin (chelated micronutrients) and Chelamin (chelated zinc) are the company's flagship brands. It is one of the leading manufacturer and seller of Chelates in the country.

The company also conducted in-house R&D to develop bactericides for agriculture. It was amongst the first few to receive license for use of bactericides for agricultural use from the Government of India. This was then followed by the introduction of plant hormones. In 2001, Aries expanded its product line to include secondary nutrients -- sulphur, magnesium and calcium. In the subsequent years, it continued expanding its plant nutrition product line to include value-added, water-soluble complexes of nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and potassium (K).

Aries today has several exclusive marketing arrangements with manufacturers of quality plant nutritional products all over the world. All products sourced from abroad are formulated with specific inputs from Aries' market intelligence and technical support from its technical support teams. The R&D efforts of its International partners have therefore taken into account the unique agro-climatic requirements of India. This ensures that all the products that Aries imports from Europe, Turkey, Singapore, USA and South America are all tailor-made to suit Indian conditions. 'Made For India' is indeed, the Aries mantra.

Since the turn of the millennium, Aries has positioned itself as India’s plant nutrients super bazar. It has emerged as India's most respected supplier of quality plant nutrition solutions, having a comprehensive range of primary, secondary and micronutrients all available under the Aries umbrella.

Products

• Plant Nutrition 
• Seeds & Plant Protection 
• Farm Equipment

Certification/ Recognition

The company is ISO 9001:2000 certified

Milestones

• First recipient of the coveted ISI mark for mineral feed supplements -- an honour not yet accorded to many major players in the Industry.
• The company selected by the International Labour Organization, Switzerland to exemplify ideal Labour Relations in the Small Scale Sector in India.
• First company to receive manufacturing permission for Agricultural Chelates.
• First company to receive manufacturing permission for Agricultural Bactericides.
• First company to indigenously manufacture Calcium Chelate.
• Recipient of Transworld Gold Medal.
• Recipient of National Unity Award.
• Consistently represented on the Animal Feeds Committee of the Bureau of Indian Standards.
• Responsible for the establishment of the Feed Additive Manufacturers Association of India.
• Responsible for the establishment of the Indian Micronutrient Manufacturers Association.
• TB Mirchandani was nominated for the International Award for Distinguished Leadership by the American Biographical Institute.
• Aries is the first agribusiness company in India to successfully launch a Dealer Loyalty Programme, christened 'Khazaana', which is today recognized as India's most rewarding customer rewards programme in the agrochemical industry.
• 2010 - Aries Agro has been awarded the ‘Trailblazers Brand Innovator Award 2010’ in the category of Agricultural Inputs.
  - One amongst 10 Agri Business companies selected by the United States Government to showcase agricultural innovation and its impact at the Indo Agri Expo held in Mumbai on 7th November, 2010
• 2012 - The Company and Institute of Technology and Management (ITM) Trust have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together towards the launch of a specialized ITM-Aries Agro PGDM Program in Agribusiness Management.