Mr. Rahul Gautam (BT/ChE/1975) and his wife have set up a faculty chair to honour and support an outstanding faculty of the Institute. Gautam is the Managing Director of Sheela Foam Pvt.Ltd., India and Chairman of Joyce Pty Ltd., Australia (together turn over ~Rs. 550 crores). Sheela Foam was set up in 1972 by his mother Mrs. Sheela Gautam and is today the largest foam manufacturer in India. Their bedding and furniture category is sold under the brand name SLEEPWELL. In 2006, Sheela Foam entered into a joint venture with M/s. Woodbridge group, Canada, the largest manufacturer of moulded P. U. foam products for automotive industry in the world. Through the Sleepwell Foundation, his company meets its corporate social responsibility in the area of education (Him Jyoti School & Progress Alternatives) and sports (actively supporting talented tennis players). He obtained a Masters Degree in Chemical Engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York, USA.
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Canada-based Woodbridge group, an independent supplier of automotive polyurethane products, with 60 locations in 20 countries plans to set up at least three plants in India along with Sheela Foam, a leading foam manufacturer. While the first plant will come up by the third quarter of 2007, two others will be up and running by 2009. Rahul Gautam, Sheela Foam managing director, told Autocar Professional that the 50:50 joint venture company Sheela Woodbridge Urethanes would invest Rs 50 crore in plant and machinery for the three facilities. Sunil Minocha, CEO of Sheela Woodbridge said that if his company got a good response from the three buoyant auto clusters, it would put up plants there. It will also explore setting up one in states like Uttaranchal which are doling out generous fiscal sops. He also ruled out the likelihood of importing foams from any of the Woodbridge facilities. "Foam is a voluminous item and transportation costs would be huge".
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