Astral (company)
Astral Limited (formerly Astral Poly Technik Limited) is an Indian building materials and equipment company based in Ahmedabad, India. The company is recognized as a market leader in the chlorinated polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl chloride pipes industry.
History
In 1996, Astral Poly Technik Limited was founded by Sandeep Engineer and later became known as Astral Pipes. At first, the company introduced industrial chlorinated polyvinyl chloride pipes in India by licensing the CPVC Resin procurement technology from Lubrizol. However, after three years, they shifted to the plumbing sector, where CPVC pipes became more popular than galvanized iron pipes. In 2004, the company started offering lead-free polyvinyl chloride pressure pipes. Following that, in the next few years, they diversified into other areas such as fire sprinkler system, Soil, Waste and Rainwater (SWR) pipes, underground pipes, and other related sectors.
In 2007, the company went public and got its shares listed with the National STOCK Exchange of India and Bombay Stock Exchange.
The introduction of PVC pipe in 2013 marked the beginning of the business's expansion into the agricultural market. In 2016, it brought an end to its partnership with Lubrizol regarding the production of CPVC pipes and began operations at its own CPVC compounding facility at Santej (Gujarat) in collaboration with Sekisui Chemical.
Operations
As of 31 March 2022, Astral had a total manufacturing capacity of 282,338 MTPA for both pipes and water tanks. It has factories which are located in various regions of India such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, and Odisha. In addition, the company had a combined adhesive manufacturing capacity of 95,980 MTPA, with factories in Santej (Gujarat), Unnao, and Rania (Uttar Pradesh), as well as in the United States and United Kingdom.
The company has a distribution network of over 800 distributors in the plastic segment and over 1,800 distributors in the adhesive segment.
Financials
As of March 31, 2025, Astral Limited's consolidated balance sheet showed total assets at ₹4,753.60 crore, with total shareholders' funds (equity) at ₹3,617.00 crore (including share capital of ₹26.90 crore and reserves and surplus of ₹3,590.10 crore in related breakdowns). Some sections list total assets at ₹5,056.00 crore and equity around ₹3,617.00 crore (with reserves at ₹3,590.10 crore).
According to the DuPont analysis conducted in 2020, the company's current ratio declined from 1.45% in 2015 to 1.27% in 2019. However, as of March 2022, it recovered and increased to 1.78%.
Mergers and acquisitions
Since 2010, Astral has been expanding its business operations and primarily relied on acquiring external companies (between 2014 to 2017) in India, the UK, and the US to fuel its growth.
- In 2014, the company acquired a Kanpur-based adhesive company Resinova Chemie for ₹2.13 billion (US$27 million).
- In 2018, Astral entered the infrastructure market with the acquisition of Rex Polyextrusion, which has its headquarters in Sangli, Maharashtra, and is a manufacturer of double-wall corrugated pipes.
- In 2022, the company acquired a majority 51 percent stake in Gem Paints for ₹1.94 billion (US$24 million). In the same year, the company implemented a capacity expansion project in Karnataka, resulting in the rise of annual capacity by 36,000 kiloliters.
- In October 2022, Astral acquired 80% of UK-based adhesive and sealants maker Seal It Services Ltd for ₹440 million (US$5.5 million).
Controversies
- In November 2021, the Income Tax Department conducted searches at approximately 40 locations across India belonging to Astral Limited and Ratnamani Metals and Tubes.
- In March 2023, a former employee and his son were involved in stealing data from the company's system and using it to conduct business separately with the company's clients, resulting in a loss of ₹50 million (US$630,000) for the company.
Litigations
Trademark and design infringement
In June 2024, Pidilite Industries filed a case against Astral Limited in the Bombay High Court. It claimed that Astral copied the registered design (No. 310662) of its M-SEAL PV SEAL solvent cement container. Pidilite also accused Astral of copyright infringement and passing off. According to Pidilite, Astral’s SOLVOBOND containers looked very similar in shape, cap design, and overall appearance.
On 13 June 2024, the court gave a temporary order stopping Astral from making or selling the disputed container design or anything clearly similar to it. It did not accept Astral’s arguments about novelty or minor design differences. The case is still ongoing as of early 2026, and no final public judgment has been issued.