Last Updated: October 03, 2023, 14:21 IST
MRF ventured into tread rubber manufacturing in 1952.
Mammen Mapillai was born in 1922 to a family that owned a newspaper and a bank.
KC Mammen Mappillai, the man behind the successful conglomerate of MRF (Madras Rubber Factory) tyres, died on March 3, 2003. He built an empire worth Rs 46,000 crore despite all the odds. His enterprise started as a toy balloon manufacturing firm in 1946 and soon emerged as the leading manufacturer of tread rubber.
Mammen Mapillai was born in 1922 to a family that owned a newspaper and a bank. The family’s possessions were seized when his father was jailed for two years in the princely kingdom of Travancore. Mapillai was completing his studies at Madras Christian College when this unfortunate incident happened. This was a painful phase of his life and he had to sleep on the floorboards of St. Thomas’ Hall. He still mustered up the courage and passed through all the tough times.
Mammen Mapillai’s company MRF ventured into tread rubber manufacturing in 1952 when he came to know that a foreign company was supplying the rubber to a retrading plant. Retreading, also known as remoulding, is the process of recycling a tyre that has been worn out. The worn-out tyre still has enough of a solid structure left so that the treads can be replaced.
MRF held a 50 per cent share of the Indian market by 1956 in tread rubber manufacturing. Mammen Mappillai invested all the earnings in tread rubber manufacturing that he received from the toy balloon manufacturing firm. There was a high-risk factor associated with this decision but it paid off and he achieved massive success in this business venture. According to reports, MRF was the only Indian company in tread rubber manufacturing at that time.
Many international companies involved in tread rubber manufacturing left India due to the stiff competition offered by MRF. Mapillai was encouraged by the success of this venture and also decided to make a foray into the tyre manufacturing business. In 1961, he started a factory to manufacture tyres. Initially, however, MRF didn’t have the desired technology to manufacture tyres and hence it struck a partnership with Mansfield Tire and Rubber Company. MRF also brought its IPO in the Madras Stock Exchange and became one of the most well-known names by 1963.
