Swadeshi to ahimsa, locks to rockets: How Godrej won the nation's trust

The family brand is bigger than the family. That's what the sprawling Godrej clan with tangled cross-holdings in dozens of industries has proved with a harmonious split of business between the two branches of the family. When it's routine for heritage business families to fight tooth and nail over division of assets and businesses, the Godrej family is splitting its business, what it calls "realignment", in an exceptionally amicable manner. Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir will keep Godrej Industries that has five listed firms, while their cousins Jamshyd and Smita, who too are siblings, getting unlisted Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates as well as a land bank in Mumbai.

Also Read: Godrej family seals terms of division; Nyrika Holkar, Pirojsha Godrej emerge key next generation leaders

In dividing the family business, the members have exhibited the same trust among themselves that the brand evokes among Indians. The history of the Godrej Group, which is in a diverse range of businesses from soaps and home appliances to real estate and satellites, straddles India's trajectory from primitive industrial economy of colonial times to an aspirational 21st century nation sending crafts to Moon and Mars.


A 'Make-in-India' entrepreneur

Godrej is one of the very few companies which go on to become synonymous with the products they make. The steel almirah which has defied fashions for decades and endured as a permanent fixture in Indian households is one example. Founded by Ardeshir Godrej in 1897, the Godrej Group grew on innovation and trust. Ardeshir was an ardent nationalist who believed India could design products as good as Europe did, and went on to prove it too with his industrious zeal.

Ardeshir, who started out as a lawyer, gave up his practice for he was reluctant to defend clients irrespective of the facts of the case. He borrowed a small amount of money from his father's friend and began manufacturing surgical tools. He gave up when his client in Europe did not allow him to put 'Made in India' mark on the tools. His next venture was locks. With crime rising in his city, then called Bombay, this idea worked. Ardeshir manufactured quite innovative locks for his time and even went on to patent the world's first springless lock in 1907.

More than a century later, Godrej still makes locks. In 2007, it built India's first key with a chip, the Mechatronic Door Lock Key, and the Unique Dual Access Control Padlock, the first lock that came with two keys, empowering the owner to block or grant access to the second key.

In 1918, Godrej manufactured the world's first vegetable oil soap. Until then, soaps were made of animal fat. The first vegetable soap by Godrej was sold under the brand name Chaabi (the key). "We score not only for Swadeshi, but also ahimsa," the Godrej group states, underlining the fact that lots of people in India back then were reluctant to use soaps for their animal content.

Rabindranath Tagore appeared in the Godrej vegetable soap advertisement, saying, "I know of no other foreign soaps better than Godrej's and I will make a point of using Godrej's soaps."

The Godrej group says its products were endorsed by other stalwarts like Annie Besant and Mahatma Gandhi too. In a letter to a competitor of Godrej which sought a favour from Gandhi, he wrote, "I hold my brother Godrej in such high regard that if your enterprise is likely to harm him in any way, I regret very much that I cannot give you my blessings."

How Godrej won the 'steely' trust

After making burglar-proof locks, Ardeshir thought of making a safe which was not only burglar-proof but was also fire-proof. That's how the Godrej almirah was born, and went on to become a permanent fixture in Indian households and a standard wedding gift too.

Godrej held a public demonstration in Mumbai in which a big fire was lit around the safe and the contents of the safe remained intact. People were impressed by the demonstration and Godrej almirahs and safes became popular. A real test of Godrej safes came in 1944. A devastating explosion at the Victoria docks left terrible fire in its wake. It was found that among the few things to survive the blast were Godrej safes.

From typewriter to ballot boxes to rockets

Godrej also manufactured India's first typewriter in 1955. It was inspired by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who saw it as a “symbol of independent and industrialized India". Nehru reportedly received one of the first machines, as per an LA Times report. The first locally made typewriter was named Godrej Prima. The Godrej typewriters replaced the imported ones such as Remington and became a familiar fixture in courts and government offices. For decades, until computers came in vogue, most of India's official and private business was conducted on machines manufactured by the Godrej group.

The Godrej group manufactured ballot boxes for India's first elections in 1951. It made 1.7 million ballot boxes for India’s first steps as a democracy. It would make as many as 22,000 ballot boxes a day. An employee recalled that in those days they would come to the manufacturing plant at quarter to seven and rarely left before midnight.

From locks, soaps and safes, the Godrej Group has come a long way. An aerospace major, it also makes parts for rockets and satellites now. Godrej has also powered India's Moon and Mars missions, Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan, by partnering with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). That's surely quite a long way from making door locks. Godrej helped build the launch vehicle and lunar orbiter. Its engines powered the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. It also supplied precision components for rockets.

The Godrej Group has marched in step with the nation as it progressed from making basic mechanical devices such as locks to building satellites and rockets. The Godrej family has put this rich heritage above narrow individual interests by brokering an amicable split which can be a lesson for numerous family businesses which have grown over generations and now stare at the thorny prospect of dividing the business among the heirs.