The Duckback story:

Monsoon Ending in India but the story on those monsoon days in school will survive for years

School Bags ,Raincoats:For many generations of Indians, stepping out in the rain meant wearing this company ?—raincoat. It’s a story that has survived many monsoons

In 1920 Surendra Mohan Bose ?a proud Bengali entrepreneur thought of starting a waterproof brand as an answer to British monopoly in waterproof and textile trade set up the company ?on his return from the US after learning about waterproofing techniques as a chemical engineering student ?along with is brothers and later inherited by ?his eldest son Debabrata. In 1940, it named as the Bengal Waterproof Works (1940) Limited, a public limited company, at their Nazar Ali Lane house in Kolkata with products ?it produced ?were rainwear, boots, hot water bottles, ice bags, gloves and anti-bedsore and hospital sheets. It also manufactured mining boots, pontoon bridges and anti-gravity suits that fighter plane pilots had to wear.

The British imported such goods from England and were , flooding the Indian markets with high-priced waterproof products. The products were so expensive that it was out of reach for most Indians. Specially for Indian soldiers, many of who died fighting on difficult terrains without a waterproof jacket or gumboots to save them from the rains.?

Surendra Mohan Bose Berkley and Stanford educated a Bengali entrepreneur Imprisoned for taking part in Nationalist movements, was held in Hamirpur in Uttar Pradesh. during those days in prison, Bose dreamt of starting his own waterproof brand, not just as an answer to the British high-priced brands but also thinking of Indian soldiers who traversed difficult rain-washed terrains and yet had no raincoats or waterproof gumboots.

Following S.M.Bose’s demise in 1948, his son Debabrata — the eldest of siblings — inherited the company after ?his schooling from Darjeeling and higher education in England in rubber technology

A raincoat clad school kid? ?going to school in? school in shower in waterproof ?school bag with a logo of four water droplets ?that was ?designed by artist Ranen Ayan Dutt make us feel proud of Indian companies .

For this company quality and goodwill was a strong factor and one of its product was a house hold name across India . Debabrata Bose ?personally oversaw complaints, and that is how we maintained quality standards.

How many of us knows about Surendra Mohan Bose, who owned a ?Kolkata based Company dealing in raingear ,we will surely ?look surprised. What about Duckback Ah, that’s a name all knows:

For generations, Duckback has served as an effective rain guard. The company has seen a change of hands in recent years, but Duckback is a name that Indians continue to connect with the monsoon — a century after the company was set up.

?The company’s golden period was possibly from 1989 to 1995. The downturn began post liberalisation in the ’90s. with competition ?change on peoples preferences and demand for low cost china products .

Current chairman OP Saxena ?a acquired the company in 2014 , renamed it as Duckback Waterproof Works Pvt Ltd ,The company now has two factories — one in Ranchi registered under Duckback India Limited and another in Barasat in North 24 Parganas..

While we are focused on the same products that Duckback is famous for, we are also looking at

In 2016 ?Bengal Waterproof Ltd (BW), which resumed operations after a two-year gap, is confident of being able to regain its position in the rubberised consumer durables market, leveraging its over 80-year old Duckback brand.

Even if the business has changed hands, the brand is surely here to stay.?Duckback- Entirely Indian

The Duckback story: Just as a duck remains undisturbed by rain, the Duckback line of products offer the assurance that no natural element can disrupt your daily comfort and activities.

Inputs from the story of? Vishnupriya Sengupta is an independent researcher ?July 03, 2020? at The Hindu Businessline , ?also story of ?Murali Duggineni July 10, 2024

#Duckback #BrandBengal #LoveForBengal #ProudBengaliEntrepreneur #Resilience #Goodwill