The demand for integrated end-to-end logistics solutions is currently very high in India. This would include a unified platform for infrastructure/assets, services, digital. Small scale industries to multinational corporations (MNCs) make up the wide range of participants in the industry. As a result, the industry will continue to experience, consolidation, process standardization, technological development, and digital transformation for greater agility, as well as integration between modes of transportation, and also integration between users and third-party service providers. The emergence of last-mile deliveries, logistics automation, cost savings, and a shorter lead time are some of the other factors that are anticipated to accelerate market growth.
As the Group's flagship business, Jagdeep Singh Dhanoa founded Tropicana Trading DMCC in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2004. By establishing this parent company’s subsidiaries, he further expanded the Group's operations in India. One such subsidiary company, Tropicana Logistics, Cochin, has become a success story in the fields of ware housing which includes frozen ,chilled and ambient temperature storage, also transportation trading and distribution Due to its high standards of service delivery, dependability and efficient performance, Tropicana Logistics is now a name to be reckoned with, in these fields. The company's management team of highly skilled professionals is headed by the Group Vice President Pattathil Somasekharan Menon. Menon graduated in Arts from Gujarat University and has participated in short courses on Gasoline Blending and Derivatives Trading at Oxford and Cambridge University Schools in the UK.
The Steppingstones
P.S. Menon started his career in the private sector in Gujarat in late 1971. Before joining the Gujarat government, P.S. Menon worked for several private organizations, including Sarabhai Technological Development Syndicate, SLM Maneklal Industries, Cadila Laboratories, and Anil Starch Products in Ahmedabad. During his stint in Gujarat Government Service, he served in Agriculture, Forests & Cooperation, Animal Husbandry and Revenue Departments which gave him an understanding of the various complexities involved in resource mobilization and helped him develop his skills.
Menon moved to the UAE in the 1980s to work for Chicago Bridge & Iron Company, a US-based infrastructure development company. There, he played a key role in the development of numerous infrastructure projects, including Adnoc's LNG/LPG storage project on Das Island off Abu Dhabi, and Star Energy Trading’s 1.2 million cubic meter capacity refined petroleum product storage with two dedicated 13-meter draught jetties which supported various commodity operations and trading in the UAE.
Later, he became the Head of Trading & Terminal Operations at the US-based international trading company Star Energy Corporation in 1987 where he managed the storage terminal operations handling 20 to 25 MR & LR size tankers per month. In the year 1990 he moved to Singapore to open the company’s trading office in Singapore. He established extensive contacts during this time with many trading houses and commodity conglomerates (Vitol, Glencore, Louis Dreyfus, Traffigura, to name a few), as well as with some international Government Agencies like the US Defense (DIFC), Indian Oil Corporation, SOMO (Iraq), Adnoc, Bapco, Saudi Aramco, PTT (Thailand), Singapore Petroleum, and international energy majors like BP, SHELL, Exxon Mobil, CHEVRON, & Japanese Shoshas like Sumitomo, Mitsubishi,
Itochu, Marubeni, and more.
During his 9-year tenure in Singapore, he was instrumental in introducing unleaded gasoline in Malaysia through Caltex’s retail outlets & was the exclusive supplier of 95 RON Unleaded Gasoline for 5 years consecutively. He joined Petroplus International (Dubai) in 2001 as its Trading Manager for the East of Suez region, and together with the company's CEO, Menon was primarily responsible for achieving a global turnover of more than $2 billion in just over two years of operations. Menon, who had always wanted to make investments in his native India, joined Tropicana Trading DMCC, Dubai, in 2004 as its Group Vice President. He soon took over the management of Tropicana Logistics (formerly Tropicana Liquid Storage) and bought over a terminalling unit that facilitates the import of petroleum products in Karnataka on the west coast of India.
The Growth Story
The small terminal facility that Tropicana purchased in 2006 at the Port of Karwar was expanded to 21,000 cubic meters in size. With an investment of about $3.5 million in the project, the company upgraded the facility to international standards, converted the total capacity of 21,000 cbm into bitumen storage with heat-traced tanks, and installed a 2 km-long pipeline from the Port to the terminal with heat tracing and insulation for direct discharge of bulk bitumen at 130-degree Celsius, from ships to the storage tanks. The terminal now meets Western India's need for bitumen, supplementing national oil refineries' outputs.
During the fourth quarter of 2014, the company began operating its first cold storage facility, which has a capacity of about 3000 MT for chilled and frozen storage, about 10,000 sq. ft. for dry storage, and other allied facilities. The company's second cold storage facility, with 1000 MT capacity for frozen storage, was put into service during the first quarter of 2019. The flagship company, which had humble beginnings in 2004, eventually developed to the point where it traded and handled the logistics for a trading volume exceeding half a million MT annually and had a gross annual turnover of more than $500 million.
The company has chosen to concentrate on owning and operating assets because of the economic downturn of 2009–2010. The Group has acquired about 13 acres of land in Alibaug, Maharashtra to develop a 100 keys, 5-star resort, under the banner of another subsidiary, 'Tropicana Resorts & Spa, Alibaug'. To support its efforts to build assets, the Group, however, intends to resume its trading activity soon. Currently, the cold storage facilities in Cochin and the liquid warehouse in Karwar are both fully leased, so we are looking to increase their capacity.
“We strive to be the best in the Third-Party Logistics industry by showcasing our know-how and prowess in the area and consistently winning accolades and keeping the trust of our clients through our performance,” says Menon. Currently the facility offers storage and transportation services for the entire state of Kerala for well known brands like KFC, Pizza Hut, Costa Coffee, and more, in association with Chaitanya Cold Storages and well-known Ice Cream brands, Poultry Products, and more. In the beginning of the year 2023, the company has introduced its own brand of frozen vegetables & fruit pulps under the brand name, ‘Tropikhaana’. Having vast managerial experience, P.S. Menon, Managing Director, oversees a Team of experts. The company's swift and steady growth has been primarily attributed to the management team's extensive experience in oil trading, blending, and shipping operations. The Chairman Jagdeep Singh Dhanoa and the Director of Finance and Business Development Arjun Dhanoa, are the other major players in Tropicana Team.
With introduction of more value-added services, Tropicana has risen to the status of premium service provider. Industry pioneers continue to be devoted customers of Tropicana, thanks to its ‘customer-first’ philosophy. “I would like to congratulate our team of dedicated employees, processdriven operations, technologically advanced infrastructure, and market-driven solutions. Today, Tropicana Logistics is the most preferred service provider in the fields of cold storage and logistics to both domestic and international clients”, concludes P.S Menon.
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