From Waste to Wealth: Inside Avro India's Journey

The Fonder's story: In Conversation with Sushil Kumar Aggarwal

Sushil Kumar Aggarwal does not speak like a corporate chairman. His story is not curated for investor decks; it is lived, and it shows. In a candid conversation, Aggarwal takes us through his journey, from the streets of his childhood to building one of India's most distinctive plastics enterprises.

Q: Your personal story is central to the Avro narrative. Take us back to where it all began.

A: I think my entrepreneurial instinct was born out of necessity. When you grow up in a household where every rupee counts, you do not sit around thinking about what career to pursue — you start figuring out how to create value from whatever is in front of you. That is what I did. At 13, I was already working in my father's bicycle parts shop — not just helping, but thinking about how to do it better, how to reach more customers, how to grow. By 14, I had taken over the entire business and started expanding it across South India on my own.

That early experience taught me something that no classroom ever could: business is not about qualifications or capital. It is about understanding what people need, finding a way to deliver it, and having the courage to keep going when everyone around you says it cannot be done. Every business I have built since — whether it was LPG bottling, computers, bicycle rings, corrugated sheets, or plastic furniture — has followed the same principle. I enter a sector where I see a gap, I figure out a way to fill it at a lower cost or with a better model, and I scale it as fast as I can. That formula has not changed in five decades. What has changed is the size of the opportunity.

Q: Before Avro, you built India's largest private-sector LPG bottling plant in the early 1990s. Tell us about that.

A: That was the turning point in 1993-94, right after Manmohan Singh's liberalisation. LPG bottling had been entirely government-controlled, and suddenly the private sector was allowed in. I was barely in my twenties with maybe INR 15 lakhs in the bank. The cost of setting up the plant was several crores.

I went to the State Financial Corporation for a loan. They refused. They said this is a new sector, private LPG bottling is unheard of, we cannot fund you. So I funded it myself. I released advertisements in newspapers, called up potential dealers across the country, and said — join hands with me, I am building India's largest private-sector LPG bottling plant in Bangalore. People believed in me. Each dealer gave a deposit of one lakh per dealership. Between that and my savings, I built the plant.

It became a real success. I crossed crores in my bank account for the first time. But then problems started — government agencies were not forthcoming with gas supply, oil companies were not supporting transportation, and consistency became very poor. We faced a choice: cheat customers by short-filling cylinders, or get out. My father said — you made your money, leave with your integrity. So we sold the plant to Shakti LPG in Hyderabad at a premium.

That taught me the most important lesson: never compromise your customer's trust, even if it means walking away from a profitable business.

Q: In 2002, you entered plastics with zero experience. What gave you the confidence?

A: Nothing except the belief that I could figure it out. I had absolutely zero idea what plastic furniture was — how it was made, what machines were used, what polymers were needed. But I saw something the market had missed. The only players — Nilkamal, Supreme, Cello — were all making furniture from 100 per cent virgin plastic and selling at high margins. I thought: what if I use recycled plastic and deliver the same product at half the price?

Nobody had done it. Nobody thought it could work. The first year was a struggle — one machine, capacity of 25,000 to 30,000 pieces per month, investment of roughly ₹1.5 crore. The big brands were charging ₹400–500 for a chair. We came in at ₹150 — same colour, same finish, same strength. Our dealers were making ₹100 per chair. For a vehicle-load, they were making a lakh in profit. People came running.

In one year, we went from one machine to ten. Three locations. And the industry watched. For the first two years, they waited to see if it would fail. When they saw us growing, they followed. That is how a ₹5,000 crore recycled plastic furniture ecosystem got created in this country. More than a hundred units are operating today because of what we started.

Q: In 2002, you entered plastics with no experience. What gave you the confidence?

A: Honestly, the belief that I could figure it out. I had zero idea what plastic furniture was — how it was made, what machines were needed, nothing. But I saw that the only players were large corporations selling at high margins with virgin plastic. I thought — what if I could use recycled plastic and deliver the same product at half the price? Nobody had done it. People said it would not work. For the first two years, the industry watched and waited. When they saw me growing — ten machines in one year, three locations — then they said, oh, it actually works. That is how I accidentally created a ₹5,000 crore ecosystem in recycled plastic furniture across the country. More than a hundred units are operating today because of what we started.

Q: How do you compete with large corporations who use 100 per cent virgin plastic while you use recycled material?

A: Two things. First, the large corporations have huge markups. They do not compromise on their profitability. I am volume-driven. I believe the volume game is something I will win very easily. Second — and this is the real edge — my raw material cost is fundamentally different from theirs. Their costs are tied to global crude oil prices and polymer markets. Mine is tied to plastic scrap, which costs a fraction and does not fluctuate the same way. Even when international markets are volatile — dollar movements, polymer price swings — we are insulated. The scrap price remains almost flat. So our margins are protected.

We also give credit to our dealers. We do not take advances. We offer dealerships with zero investment — anybody, anywhere in the country can join. My confidence is this: when I am giving a product that is so reasonably priced, with great quality and service that nobody else can match, the person getting associated with us will not want to cheat us. It is their livelihood. They will protect the relationship. That is the foundation of our 30,000-dealer network across 24 states.

Q: You are called the 'Daddy of Plastics.' How did that come about?

A: The industry gave me that name. I have been National President of the All India Plastic Moulded Furniture Manufacturers Association from the day it was incorporated, and they insist I remain because they say I understand the ecosystem better than anyone and I share ideas and technology openly, which most people do not do.

When I started using recycled plastic to make furniture 24 years ago, people did not believe it would work. For a couple of years they watched. When they saw me growing, they said — oh, it actually works. And they followed. I trained them, gave them technology, even gave some of them money and support. I did not hold anything back. Because of that, an entire ecosystem was born. I created the wave. And I am proud of that.

Q: Beyond business, you are deeply involved in community work. What drives that commitment?

A: Girl-child education is my priority. I support over 100 schools, I personally fund 50 per cent of school fees for any underprivileged girl from any standard up to 12th. For poor girls getting married anywhere in India, we provide four chairs and a table free of cost.

I have also started rehabilitating jail convicts. I visit prisons, pay bail for those who cannot afford even INR 5,000, and offer them jobs in my company. These people will never get another chance otherwise. I want to give them that chance.

I have pledged all 36 of my donatable organs, including my entire body, and have helped more than five lakh people across India make similar pledges. Within my own company, I pay 50 per cent of school fees for all 400 employees' children from my personal salary. Women make up 30 per cent of our workforce — and I treat every one of them like my own family. Their mothers work alongside them.

I also go to over 40 colleges every year, mentoring students, training young entrepreneurs. I have addressed over five lakh people as a motivational speaker. I have earned honorary professorships and even a PhD — and I never attended a single day of college myself.

Poverty is not a lack of money. It is a lack of dignity. I decided to give people opportunity, not sympathy. That is my life's mission.

Q: What is the one thing you want people to take away from your story?

A: That where you start does not decide where you end. I changed 15 businesses. I failed, I struggled. But I never stopped. Today, when I sit here and talk to you, I have built one of the largest recycled plastic furniture companies in India, I have pioneered an industry that employs thousands, and I am working to solve the country's plastic waste crisis. If I can do it, anybody can. But you must be willing to work harder than everyone else, maintain your honesty even when it costs you, and never lose sight of the fact that business must serve a purpose beyond profit. That is what I tell every student, every entrepreneur, every young person I meet. Your life is your own to build. Nobody else will build it for you.

Recycling at Scale: Avro's Biggest Bet

For most of its two-decade history, Avro India's recycling capability existed in service of its furniture business, a backward integration strategy that allowed the company to source raw material cheaply and maintain pricing power in a competitive market. But somewhere along that journey, the maths changed. What began as a cost play quietly became something far larger: a standalone business opportunity that the company now believes will dwarf furniture in both scale and strategic importance.

In May 2025, Avro formalised this shift with the incorporation of Avro Recycling Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avro India Limited, dedicated exclusively to plastic waste recycling. The subsidiary operates out of Ghaziabad with India's largest flexible plastic recycling facility — a distinction that matters, because flexible plastics are precisely the category that India's recycling ecosystem has failed to address.

The plant currently processes complex, contaminated waste streams that the rest of the industry considers untouchable: cement bags, salt and sugar packaging, putty bags, calcite bags, agricultural films, and multi-layered food pouches. These are materials that, in their virgin form, cost ₹100–125 per kg. Once discarded, their value drops to near zero — ₹5–7 per kg at best — because no one has the technology, infrastructure, or willingness to process them at scale. Avro does.

The facility houses two core processes: washing and extrusion. The washing line, sourced from China — because India does not yet manufacture high-speed plastic washing equipment — currently handles approximately 600 metric tonnes per month. The extrusion line, which converts washed material into usable polymer granules, has a capacity exceeding 1,000 metric tonnes per month. By the close of Q4 FY2026, the company has scaled its combined flexible recycling capacity to 1,000 metric tonnes per month, making it the single largest organised processor of flexible plastic waste in the country.

But the real ambition lies in what comes next. The second recycling division — rigid plastic processing — deploys what the company describes as its most significant technological advantage: high-end optical sorting equipment sourced from Germany. These machines can take a mixed batch of polymers — PP, HDPE, LDPE, PET, ABS — in multiple colours, all thrown into a single container, and sort them by both polymer type and colour at high speed. The output is clean, segregated, high-grade recycled granules that can replace up to 50 per cent of virgin plastic in the manufacture of finished products — at roughly 60 per cent of the virgin material cost.

This capability addresses one of the most technically challenging problems in non-PET recycling: polymer contamination. When different types of plastic are mixed — as they inevitably are in post-consumer waste — conventional recyclers cannot separate them. The result is low-quality filler material worth ₹15–25 per kg. Avro's optical sorting technology converts that same mixed waste into segregated, high-value granules worth ₹60–100 per kg. The margin differential is the foundation of the entire recycling business case.

The company's combined target across both flexible and rigid recycling is 5,000 metric tonnes per month by FY2028 — achieved through expansion at the existing Ghaziabad facility and new greenfield plants in states where plastic waste availability is high and processing capacity is absent. Potential locations include Rajasthan, Gujarat, South India, and Eastern India. Capital for this expansion, estimated at ₹200–300 crore, is expected to come from a combination of internal accruals, angel and equity investors, and eventually a potential IPO for Avro Recycling Limited when the balance sheet and valuations support it.

Why Recycling Is India's Next Sunrise Sector

Avro's timing is not accidental. India's plastic recycling landscape is undergoing a structural shift driven by three converging forces: regulation, corporate demand, and sheer volume.

On the regulatory front, the Government of India's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) norms now mandate that rigid plastic producers incorporate at least 30 per cent recycled content into their products. For every FMCG company, automotive manufacturer, and consumer brand operating in India, this creates an immediate, non-negotiable demand for high-quality recycled plastic — a demand that barely existed five years ago. Companies that cannot source compliant recycled material face penalties, reputational risk, and an inability to meet their own sustainability commitments.

The problem is that supply is nowhere near demand. India's plastic recycling market — valued at approximately USD 4 billion — is overwhelmingly skewed toward PET, where recovery rates exceed 90 per cent. But PET is a small fraction of total plastic consumption. The bulk — PP, HDPE, LDPE, and flexible multi-layered packaging — remains underserved, with fragmented infrastructure, informal supply chains, and almost no organised players operating at the scale and quality corporates require. The waste plastic recycling market stood at 10.9 million tonnes in 2024 and is projected to reach 25.4 million tonnes by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 9.37 per cent. But these numbers mask the reality that most of this volume is processed by thousands of small, informal units producing low-grade output unsuitable for branded manufacturing.

The volume trajectory is equally compelling. India currently consumes approximately 25 million metric tonnes of plastic per year, of which roughly 40 per cent — 10 million metric tonnes — is discarded. Per capita plastic consumption stands at around 11 kg, compared to over 30 kg in the United States. As urbanisation, infrastructure spending, e-commerce, and consumer demand continue to accelerate, industry projections suggest consumption could reach 60 million metric tonnes within the next decade — with discarded volumes rising proportionally. Add to this the growing wave of EPR-mandated e-waste — laptops, phones, washing machines, refrigerators — each containing 15–30 per cent plastic components, and the scale of the recycling challenge becomes clear.

For Avro, this translates into a market with near-unlimited feedstock, growing regulatory demand for its output, and almost no organised competition in the specific polymer categories it processes. As Aggarwal puts it: "Even if competitors come in, welcome to the party. We need more than a thousand facilities across India to handle this waste. We are only one."