Shanthi Social Service: A devoted philanthropist
Heroes do live in the legends they create. P Subramanian, the founder of Shanthi Gears Limited too will live through the rich legacy of excellence he pioneered in the field of gear manufacturing in India. Known for his unanimously acknowledged contribution to the field, he was fondly called the ‘Gear Man’ of Coimbatore, his hometown as well as the town to which his contributions extend beyond industry, into social welfare. Recently, India lost this industry patriarch.
A first-generation Entrepreneur
After completing his Diploma from PSG Polytechnic, Coimbatore, he joined the same institution as an instructor in the 1960s. But soon he found his entrepreneurial calling and, as a first-generation entrepreneur, established Shanthi Engineering and Trading Co in Coimbatore to manufacture small gears in 1969. Today’s Shanthi Gear Products Ltd. was founded in the year 1972 and the rest is history. In 1986, the company was listed on the stock exchange 1986 and became the third-largest gear manufacturer in the country.
In 2012, the Murugappa group took over Shanthi Gears. Shanthi Gears has always been known for the manufacture of gears, gearboxes, geared motors, and gear assemblies. For more than four decades, it has been into the designing, manufacturing and supplying of products for all major industries.
A trailblazer of excellence
He was one of the notable first-generation entrepreneurs in India with a penchant for giving a new direction to Indian manufacturing. His overseas trips and visits to manufacturing facilities globally gave him immense influence to attain what most other entrepreneurs and technocrats would have failed to think.
Stories abound that he used to stock high-quality steel for fabricating custom-made machines. Also, at times, when industries would fail to get the replacement of faulty gears from the OEMs within short, they would turn up to Mr. Subramanian who would have solutions for them, and that too, within a short span as well.
Shanthi Social Service: A devoted philanthropist
Another bright side of his personality is his devotion to social welfare. In 1996, he set up Shanthi Social Service (SSS) in the memory of his late wife Smt Shanthi Subramanian. The institution undertakes various welfare activities from the construction of reads and school buildings in underprivileged areas to supporting underprivileged children with all possible support.
SSS runs a hospital and a pharmacy in not-for-profit manners which are known for extending medical services to the needy people.
The foundation also runs a canteen which served free food to 300 senior citizens every day, apart from selling food for a nominal price for others. The foundation also runs a diagnostic center, a blood bank, an eye-care center, and an LPG crematorium. In the Singanallur on Trichy Road, SSS runs a petrol pump that is famous for selling fuel at pre-hike rates till the old stock is exhausted.
Mr. Subramanian showed what a man of grit and determination can achieve and his achievements across fields sure will inspire people across fields for generations. Machine Maker pays tribute to this ‘Gear Man’ from Coimbatore whose heroic exploits within and outside industry make him a true legend.
