The next big step: AVRO Recycling

The new company will open to recycling of all materials

The Next Generation: Nikhil and Sahil Aggarwal

If Sushil Kumar Aggarwal built Avro on instinct and grit, the next generation is building on process, patience, and strategic clarity. His two sons — Nikhil, the elder, and Sahil, the younger — each lead distinct verticals within the business, bringing complementary strengths to a company in transition.

Nikhil Aggarwal oversees Avro's recycling operations and has been the driving force behind the company's move from backward integration to standalone recycling business. His perspective is shaped by the hard reality of what it took to get here.

"We started recycling because we wanted to control two things — electricity and raw material. If you control those, you can beat any competition," Nikhil explains. "But when we started building raw material expertise, we realised this is a bigger game. There is a bigger problem to be solved here. There is a bigger market. And we can be part of this journey because the next 30, 40, 50 years of India looks very strong in this."

The journey, however, was anything but smooth. Years of R&D, imported machines that proved useless, sunk costs that would make most listed companies flinch, and the constant tension between experimental spending and shareholder expectations.

"Last two, three years, we have been trying to perfect that experience — a lot of research, experiment — which as a listed company, we should not do," Nikhil admits. "Because I have to try ambitions which are not in sync with my listed company. Listed companies only care about profit, profit, profit."

But it is precisely this willingness to absorb short-term pain that has given Avro a moat. Nikhil estimates the company has at least a six-month head start over any competitor attempting to replicate what Avro has built — not because of any single machine, but because of the accumulated ecosystem of process knowledge, supplier relationships, and commercial-scale recycling expertise developed over two decades.

His view on the future is measured but firm: "Our goal is to get to 5,000 tonnes per month in three to four years. But we are solving problem by problem because the problem is humongous. Currently we are dealing with industrial scrap and somewhat consumer scrap. The moment we deal with only consumer scrap, that is a different volume altogether — a lot of changes in supply chain, a lot of things we will have to work out."

For Nikhil, the generational vision is personal. Both he and his brother have daughters. In an industry overwhelmingly dominated by men, bringing the next generation of women into the business is an aspiration that goes beyond succession planning.

"We want to build this business for generations to come. And if our daughters can come into this industry — which is a very male-dominated one — that would be the biggest thing for us as two brothers."

Sahil Aggarwal, meanwhile, is spearheading Avro's expansion into air cooler manufacturing — a vertical that represents the natural next step for a company with deep plastics expertise and an established national distribution network. The logic is straightforward: approximately 75 per cent of Avro's existing 30,000-strong dealer network already deals in air coolers. The same injection moulding machines that produce furniture can manufacture cooler bodies with only a change of moulds. And up to 95 per cent of an air cooler's plastic components can be made from recycled material.

In a country where rising temperatures, rural electrification, and growing consumer aspirations are driving air cooler demand deep into tier-3 towns and villages, the market opportunity is significant. India's air cooler industry is undergoing a material transition — from mild steel to plastic — and Avro is positioned to ride that shift with a cost advantage no competitor relying on virgin plastic can match. Each cooler body weighs 8–10 kg, meaning the air cooler division alone could consume over 2,000 metric tonnes of recycled plastic per month — more than double the furniture division's current usage.

The planned investment is approximately ₹100 crore, targeting ₹200 crore in annual revenue with a minimum 10 per cent PAT margin. For Avro, the air cooler business is not just a revenue diversifier — it is a powerful downstream consumer of the company's recycling output, tightening the loop in its circular economy model.

Looking Forward

Taken together, Avro India's three verticals — furniture, recycling, and air coolers — form an integrated ecosystem that few companies in India's plastics sector can claim. The furniture business provides stable cash flow and national distribution reach. The recycling business supplies raw material to both furniture and future product lines while opening a massive B2B opportunity with corporates. And the air cooler expansion leverages existing infrastructure, dealer networks, and recycled material to enter a high-growth consumer segment with minimal incremental capital.

The company's stated ambition is to reach ₹500 crore in combined revenue across all three verticals within the next two to three years — ₹200 crore from furniture, ₹300 crore from recycling, and early revenue from air coolers. PAT margins are targeted at 7–8 per cent for furniture and 10 per cent or above for recycling and air coolers.

Whether Avro achieves those numbers will depend on execution — scaling recycling capacity, breaking into corporate supply chains, navigating regulatory uncertainty, and managing the complexities of a still-informal waste supply chain. But the direction is clear, the foundation is built, and the opportunity is as large as India's plastic waste crisis itself.

"There are many myths around plastic that create the wrong impression in people's minds," says Aggarwal. "But if recycling is done the right way — scientifically, at scale, and with intent — it will create value not just for Avro, but for every stakeholder and for the nation."

The company is ready to cater to all segment with a requirement for plastic, including the automotive sector.  The company is set to capture the huge potential for recycling plastics for across industries.