The brothers who contributed substantially to the
industrialisation of Coimbatore are G.K. Devarajulu and G.K. Sundaram.
The sons of cotton merchant G.Kuppusamy Naidu, who also had
a ginning unit, both evinced immense capability.
Devarajulu, born in 1911, was a man with appetite for risks.
He set up the Lakshmi Mills at the age of just 21. As the
machinery for the cotton units were imported from Europe under the impression
that those from Japan were substandard, Devarajulu visited the factory in Japan
to study whether the machinery would suit Indian requirements.
Consequently all the machinery for his unit were imported
from Japan. He also introduced the administrative system he found good in
Japanese units.
When Devarajulu and Mr. Sundaram joined Textool as
shareholders in 1940, the company produced its first ring frame.
Devarajulu joined hands with R.Venkataswamy Naidu of
Peelamedu to set up the South India Viscose for which he imported machinery
from Italy. While he got the license in 1957, he started the production in 1962
using a new technology.
As sweet are the uses of adversity, Devarajulu was not
overawed by the stringent measures taken by the Central Government to conserve
the precious foreign exchange in 1960 which had virtually crippled import of
machinery for cotton mills.
This goaded him on to establishing a unit that could produce
all the machinery needed for cotton mills. This Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW),
which came into being with the technological support from a Swiss company in
1966, had a phenomenal impact on the industrial as well social horizon of
Coimbatore.
In 1977, the unit started manufacturing a new cording
machine and Devarajulu then pointed out that LMW was one among the six units in
the world that could manufacture all the machinery required for cotton mills.
The company further grew adding Lakshmi Automatic Looms,
Lakshmi Ring Travellers and LMW Unit 2.
He became the president of the Federation of Indian Chamber
of Commerce and Industry as well. Besides, he headed a number of associations
including the Southern India Mills Association, South India Textile Research
Association and Indian Cotton Mills Association. He passed away in 1992.
He started the G.Kuppuswamy Naidu Memorial
Hospital to serve the people of Coimbatore to fulfill his father’s dream. Today
all his efforts have paid off and have also inspired many entrepreneurs in
Coimbatore.
He also played a pivotal role in setting up of Mani Higher
Secondary School, G.Venkataswamy Naidu College, Kovilpatti, and the Kuppuswamy
Naidu Sports Trust. To honor his contribution to business and society, he was
knighted as ‘Cavalier Devarajulu’ by the Consulate General of Italy in India.
The Pappanaikenpalayam ‘GKD Electrical Crematorium’, run by
the GKD Charity Trust was the first of such. It is built on an acre of land
given to GKD Charity Trust by the Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation at
Pappanaikenpalayam.
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