Hindustan Pencils: Drawing the Roadmap for Growth

Abstract

Bhaidas Sanghvi established Hindustan Pencils in 1958 to manufacture wood-encased graphite lead pencils in Bombay (now Mumbai). Since then, members from the second and third generations of the family joined and expanded the business. By 2019, Hindustan Pencils was the largest pencil maker in India, manufacturing 8 million pencils per day and exporting to 50 countries. The third-generation members sought higher business growth but it required transforming the business and family. The Sanghvi family faces an array of family business issues that include impediments to business growth, competition, professionalization, governance, and intergenerational challenges.