On 9th May 2023, Prof. V. C. Malshe, Founder & Director Technology-NICHEM SOLUTIONS, was bestowed the PACT PINNACLE – Lifetime Achievement Award 2023 by the prestigious Harcourt Butler Technological Institute (HBTI-now HBTU), Kanpur. It was part of the 9th PACT VISION SEMINAR of the institute held on its campus at Kanpur this year. Prof Malshe is a respected alumnus of HBTU & has graduated in Paint Technology from this Institute in 1969.
The honours were done by Dr G.B. Singh & Dr Subhash Shrivastav, the ex-faculty heads of HBTU, Kanpur during an intimate ceremony organized by NICHEM SOLUTIONS where Prof VC Malshe heads the Technology Department.
The actual award ceremony was held on 18th March, 2023 by HBTU at Kanpur. Unfortunately, Prof Malshe was unwell to travel to receive the award. As a result, the senior members of the institute decided to travel to Thane-Maharashtra to meet Prof Malshe & honour him with this auspicious award.
In his opening remarks during the celebration at NICHEM, Dr Subhash Shrivastav was elated to mention that this was the first time in the history of any institution that the team had travelled to the recipient to bestow the Lifetime Achievement Award – PACT PINNACLE owing to the outstanding contribution of Prof Malshe in the field of Paint Technology. HBTU, Kanpur was proud & happy to confer this coveted award to its outstanding student – Prof V.C. Malshe.
Dr Shrivastav who is the President of PACT further described the meaning & importance of PACT PINNACLE. PACT is a HBTU centered Paint & Coating Technologists Association. It comprises of several thousand practising paint technologies from HBTU & now has opened the gates for paint technologists across the globe. HBTU completed 100 golden years as it stands as the oldest institute in Paint & Coating Technologies today. PACT was founded on December 7, 1997 by Dr. S Chandra, a senior faculty member of Paint Technology at HBTU, Kanpur. Since then, PACT has received overwhelming response and support from technologists’ engineers working in the areas of Paints and Coatings, Polymers and Plastics, Printing Inks and Packaging, Chemical Engineering etc. The contribution of industries related to paints, plastics, printing inks, pigments and dyes, paint application etc. is noteworthy.
Dr Shrivastav described the idea of PACT PINNACLE as a state beyond the highest exultation of actualization or self-realization. PINNACLE means Apex (SHIKHAR) which is sought after one pass through the stages of Knowledge (GYAN), Imagination (KALPANA), Trust (VISHWAS), Admiration (SHRADDHA) & Dedication (SAMARPAN). The members of this institute who have crossed all 5 stages of actualization are honoured with this Lifetime Achievement Award. Thus, as a mark of respect, recognition, praise & appreciation, the Central Executive Council of PACT chose Prof V.C.Malshe for this award for his 54 years of yeoman service to the nation, technology, trade & humanity.
In his motivational address during the ceremony, Dr G.B Singh fondly remembered the memories with Prof Malshe as his junior colleague at HBTU, then. Dr Singh reiterated his connection with Prof Malshe as being ‘destined’ forever ever since they first met on October 6, 1966. Let it be the initial days of his college admission, their stay in a common room at labour colony, his college farewell, his job at Asian Paints, his marriage, his retirement from UDCT, the inauguration of his first lab or completing the circle by the recognition received from his own college HBTU, Dr Singh has been an integral part of all the important events in the life of Prof V.C.Malshe! Dr Singh titled Prof Malshe as a ‘genius’ of his era who has both chemistry as well as chemical engineering in his blood. Dr Singh was touched by the simplicity of Prof Malshe to receive the award in the presence of his family, friends, colleagues & the young team at NICHEM & inspire them.
After the applause by the 2 stalwarts of HBTU, team NICHEM expressed its gratitude to be a part of this memorable award ceremony at its corporate office in Thane-Maharashtra. The Founder & CEO of NICHEM, Mr Rajan Raje was nostalgic as he shared his 45 year long association with Prof Malshe. As an entrepreneur, both have seen the highs & lows of business together & have stayed strong in every situation. Mr Raje considered Prof Malshe as his guide & philosopher who created a passion of innovation in him & also taught him the importance of financial discipline which is crucial for an entrepreneur. He believed whatever Prof Malshe reads; he mastered it! He felt proud to have a versatile scientist like Prof Malshe as his mentor & business partner.
In the end, Prof Malshe was too humble to consider himself worthy of this coveted award as he believed he still had a lot of work to do in the field of chemistry & chemical engineering. He has always been passionate about developing sustainable, eco-friendly & non-toxic technologies which are based on unique chemistries. In his address to the gathering, Prof Malshe thanked the HBTU & PACT team for recognizing & appreciating his contribution. He shared some wonderful moments with the young audience about his journey from being a scientist to a working professional, then a professor & finally an entrepreneur. During his initial working career, he was fortunate to have worked with 3 wonderful bosses– Mr Khanna, Mr Bhumkar & Mr PB Shah who were the stepping stones of his successful career. Prof Malshe gathered some of his key contributions to the field of inks & paints respectively for the knowledge of the young audience. He developed the first emulsion ink in 1984 & played a key role in setting up a leading company named Dolphin Inks. His second important development includes a technology to paint a moving cement sheet directly before it gets cured. He has worked as a Professor of Paint Technology for 19 years, guided 19 PhDs, 12 Masters’ & has written 2 books on Paint Technology. Prof Malshe is a respected veteran in the Chemical Industry. He proudly heads NICHEM’s Research & Development division & has developed more than 150 products for the company over the last 25 years.
The ceremony ended on a closing address by Dr Leena Raje, the HR & Administration Director of NICHEM. Dr Leena too reiterated Prof Malshe as her mentor & guide during her M.Phil years. They developed fruit preservation technology together, then. Dr Leena has closely seen the researcher in Prof Malshe while he worked on the minutest details of the technology he developed. She also thanked the guests to share their journey & achievements of Prof Malshe with the young team at NICHEM & was sure that it motivated fresh minds.
As re-stated by Dr Shrivastav, PACT PINNACLE is a Lifetime Achievement Award for Prof V. C. Malshe & association with a stalwart like him is the Lifetime Achievement Award that the HBTU, PACT & NICHEM team would be proud of!
