100 Years of Lakshmi
Lakshmi Mills stands for the strong values on which it was incorporated. Starting with the founder, G. Kuppuswamy Naidu, the company has strengthened its integrity and vision over time.
Today, the name Lakshmi is a celebration of a legend, a success that brought prosperity to all who were associated with it. And all this began with the fiery passion of one man, G. Kuppuswamy Naidu, a visionary who made sure his values were taught to the generations that came after him. Values that were adhered to, no matter what the situation. He was the guiding light of the group, and continues to shine on and lead the way even after his passing on in 1942.
Leadership through the years
The company was started by the visionary promoter Mr. G Kuppuswamy Naidu in the year 1910. India was under the British Rule and the textile industry was dominated by the factories owned and managed by them. Starting out as suppliers of raw material, Mr. Naidu established one of the country’s first Indian owned textile companies.
100 years later, the stellar reputation of the Lakshmi Group of Companies in Coimbatore, is a tribute to his timeless vision of sustainable standards of excellence.
The first son of Mr. G Kuppuswamy Naidu was a strategic businessman who took bold decisions in bringing in world-class technology into the cotton spinning industry. He was a pioneer in bringing in collaborations from Switzerland to produce world class textile machinery manufacturing to India and a profitable diversification for the company.
A freedom fighter, a parliamentarian, educated in textile technology from the UK, Mr. G.K Sundaram provided a strong focus for process efficiency through technical excellence. He pioneered the development and cultivation of hybrid cotton varieties such as Suvin – an indigenous replacement for the Egyptian Giza cotton. He further strengthened the fabric of the Lakshmi Group’s values of integrity and ethics.
Both Mr. K. Rajagopal and his son, Mr. R. Gopinath, played important roles in creating a retail brand for Lakshmi Mills. Mr. K. Rajagopal also greatly strengthened the bonds within the team at Lakshmi.
The first of the third-generation entrepreneurs to take the mantle, Mr. S. Karivaradhan expanded capabilities by establishing a strong vendor and support system network. He computerised operations as early as the 1990s, and introduced ERP systems to improve efficiency.
Mr. Sundaram Pathy has been witness to the rapid change in the scope of the textile industry in India. Today, Lakshmi Mills has forayed into the technical textile arena as well. He is responsible for spearheading large-scale reinvention plans for the company.
Mr. Aditya Pathy is the new generation entrant steering the development of niche products, both in the spinning and fabric sectors. He is responsible for new product development fibres such as Modal and X-Static, which are in demand globally and is exploring diversification for the company to take it to the next level of growth.