|
| Augustin D’Cruz, Ushas, Cruz & Sons oil industries, Murukkumpuzha, Thiruvananthapuram |
|
|
|
Download Database of featured talents. (Excel file) |
This is the 2nd incarnation of the firm Cruz & Sons, started by Augustin D’Cruz. If in the 1st instance he had burned his fingers by starting an oil extraction unit to produce coconut oil, now he caters to the need for coconut oil based lubricants.
After working in an oil company in the Gulf, Augustine came back in 1989 with the hope of starting some business here. He pooled together his savings and bank loan to start the oil extraction unit. Unfortunately, the crashing prices of coconuts severely dented the financial viability of the unit. Finally the bank had to recover the loan by attaching the unit.
Though Cruz & Sons had closed down, he started thinking of the other possible uses of coconuts. Based on his observations he came to a conclusion that is path breaking: the addition of a few components can easily make coconut oil a competing lubricant for motor vehicles.
He started producing the coco-based lubricant ‘Mithila’. But lack of advertisement prevented the brand from picking up sales. Although he tried to market the product through vehicle repair shops, the response wasn’t encouraging. But after the distribution was taken up by the agency ‘Maveli Nadu’, things are brightening.
Now his unit produces 100 litres per day. The product is sold at Rs.80 per litre.
According to his observations, the advantages of coco-based lubricants are many: it has better thermal conductivity, it retards the wear and tear of engine parts, it has high viscosity even at high temperature and finally it cleans the carbon particles etc inside the engine.
Courtesy: K.S.Udayakumar, Karshakan, May 2003
Contributed by: Administrator
