ICI Pakistan sets the bar high
ICI Pakistan Limited was incorporated on May 13, 1952. The company has built on origins that predate the formation of Pakistan, and has grown significantly from a small trading concern with a single manufacturing unit to one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the country. Currently, its primary businesses include soda ash, polyester, life sciences and chemicals and agricultural sciences. In addition, the company also has a growing footprint in the infant formula business with its partnership with Morinaga Milk Industry Company Limited of Japan, and Unibrands (Private) Limited.
ICI Pakistan’s inspirational 75-year history makes it one of Asia’s most historic companies. However, the company is looking more to making history than being simply an interesting trade story. The company has prioritized not just business investments, but also the establishment of robust processes and systems for sustained growth. This has allowed it to maintain a strong focus on business expansion and investments, which include the forging of new international partnerships, strategic collaborations and delivering innovative products/solutions to customers.
The manufacturing giant pioneered the introduction of HR and HSE&S related systems in the industry. Through the 1970s, it mounted a huge development effort in the areas of organization development, HR systems, leadership development and corporate culture. This, together with an already strong integrity base and commitment to corporate governance and responsibility spanning three decades, made it an organization worthy of recognition by Gallup, which honored ICI Pakistan with the Great Place to Work Award 2018 and 2019. It was also named as one of the 2019 Gallup Great Workplaces, for fostering a culture of engagement and inclusion that drives business results.
With a customer base of around 750,000 customers, ICI Pakistan’s strong brand equity has attracted businesses which are leaders in their own industries. These customers belong to industries of glass, soap and detergents, pulp and paper, iron and steel, plastic manufacturers, dairy, aluminum, cleaning compounds, water softening chemicals, and textile dyes. Through its engagement efforts, the company puts into practice its core value of Customer Centricity on a regular basis, actively engaging with these customers via educational gatherings and trade events. ICI Pakistan also undertakes customer satisfaction surveys to gather feedback from the customers and improve its offerings.
ICI Pakistan Limited believes its success is based on the multiplier effect of its people. It invests in cultivating and nurturing the workforce’s talent, managing its wellbeing and creating a learning environment conducive for development and growth. It collaborated with SAP – a global leader in cloud-based HR systems – to revamp the Human Resources experience for employees. The company launched ‘iNSIGHT, a complete suite of HR modules covering the entire employee lifecycle from recruitment to succession and beyond. Through the learning module of ‘iNSIGHT (iLEARN) over 1,600 online courses from various streams are made available to all employees. The company also conducts annual Succession Planning Meeting, with its flagship program, HR for Non HR Managers, helping to build better understanding of its managers on their HR role as line managers.
As a Responsible Care Company ICI Pakistan has committed to reducing environmental impact by delivering more sustainable products and solutions. The company has also embraced its corporate citizenship and made focused community investment activities in the areas of education, health, community and environment. More than PKR 100 million has been committed to community investments over the past five years, which has benefitted more than 250,000 community members each year.
