How tyre baron Raunaq Singh lost his empire—but cemented his legacy

Among them was the visionary Brijmohan Lall Munjal behind the hero group; Karam Chand Thapar, the founder of the anonymous holding; Gujarmal Modi, who built the Modi group; Dhampal Gulati, King of Spice, who transformed MDH into a global brand; And the man behind Delhi’s iconic Moti neighborhood restaurant is Lal Gujral. They raised boredom to help form the industrial basis of a new independent Indian India, which was displaced and expropriated by the chapter.

Such a figure was Raunaq Singh, the founder of Apollo Group of Companies. While his later years were overshadowed by a bruised public case with his son Ongh Singh Kanwar, Singh’s legacy remains a rising industrialist who helps to shape the post -independence Indian initiative.

Born in 1922 in Daska (now in Pakistan), Singh came from a modest, middle -class past. He started selling second hand steel pipes in Lahore. After the division, as a refugee in Delhi, he started working for a steel trader in Gole Market because he won only one paisa a day and lived in a congested one -room stay.

A turning point arrived in November 1947 when Singh’s wife sold jewels La8,000 and a spice moved to Kolkata to establish a trade business. The initiative began and could have settled in a comfortable life. But Singh had greater ambitions, and so is fate.

Kader intervened in a train journey when he made a speech with the general manager of a German steel tube company. Singh’s impressed by the Drive, the manager offered to finance a steel tube facility in Kalcutta and depends on the success of repayment. This impossible agreement gave birth to Bharat Steel pipes that quickly became a leading player and not only the Indian market, but also exported to Europe and the United States.

Singh is not over. In 1976, he founded Apollo tires, which will continue to be the flagship of the group. At that time, multinational players such as MRF, Ceat and Dunlop and Goodyear dominated the Indian tire market. Singh made a cunning bet: focus on the inadequate service truck and bus tire segment. Apollo targeted carriers-benches, but quality-oriented buyers, which offer durable tires and reliable after-sales service.

He also established a strong seller and distribution network in North and Central India, where MRF and CEAT existed. Growth became difficult, but Singh’s aggressive push worked. Strategic acquisitions fueled expansion – in 1995, the leading tires and then Dunlop’s African operations in 1996 marked Apollo’s entry into international markets.

However, in the following years of Singh, a painful case was dominated with his eldest son Onkar. Flashpoint was a disagreement in diversification: Onkar argued that the spread age of the expansion ended and Apollo needed a sharper focus. Singh and his brother Narinder Jeet Singh accused Ongh of abuse of company funds to squeeze Apollo tires.

Drama deepened with the entrance of the stockbroker Harshad Mehta, who quietly gathering a large Apollo shares. After the arrest of Mehta, they were frozen by a custody assigned to the court. Onkar warned that if these stocks are sold, a potential “rear door inheritance”. Apollo tires resorted to preventing any sale to the Supreme Court and called them ilgili stained share ilgı which was illegally purchased.

After years of conflict, Raunaq Singh was dismissed in 2002 by his son, whom he once elected as successor.

Onkar proved that Kanwar was a heir worthy of the loan. Under his leadership, Apollo tires expanded aggressively and became a global player with a market value of $ 3.4 billion.

Raunaq Singh died in September 2002 a few days after he resigned as the President of Apollo Tires. Despite the stormy final part, he gained his place among the pioneers who helped to lay the industrial foundation of India after independence.