Brijmohan Lall Munjal’s four-stroke engine of grit, gumption, resilience and humility

He was a worker instead of a business king who built his hands built a billions of dollars. He usually insisted on pouring tea for guests, adding spoon of sugar for young journalists. “You need energy,” he insisted.

This was a man who understood people and jobs, and was a mixture of empathy and vision, which turned the attempt of modest bicycle parts into one of the world’s largest two -wheel manufacturers.

Born in 1923 in the Lalpur region of Pakistan, Brijmohan emigrated to India before he was divided with his family. Four Brothers – Dayand, Satyanand, Brij and Om – Delhi began with a bicycle repair workshop and soon moved to the production components in Amritsar. When they were directed with ambition, when they were combined with a cunning understanding of what the clock needs, they moved to Ludhiana to make a loop.

Despite the established officials such as Raleigh, Hercules and Atlas, British companies established strong ties with the supply chain that would emerge as the largest bicycle manufacturers in the country. Developing strong relationships with dealers, suppliers and customers would be a lifelong theme for Brij Mohan, and the new company was the basis for the incredible success of the company for the next few decades.

Majestic Market Leader

Nevertheless, the loops carried only one step. Soon the group entered the mopeds and until 1983, the unit was the Majestic Auto market leader. The scene was prepared for the most ambitious pressure to throw the hero to the front ranks of the Indian business.

In the 1980s, the Indira Gandhi government took its first hesitant steps to overthrow the wrong -oriented socialist tendencies for decades and allowed Indian companies to connect with MNCs for production. Munjal took over the opportunity to connect with Japanese leader Honda to make motorcycles in the country.

It was a random choice that was both a product and a partner. Scooters were what he wanted to do, but he accepted that the presence of a giant like Bajaj Auto left a little space for the hero, and he returned to motorcycles. Honda, the world’s most successful bicycle manufacturer, has chosen among the heavy weights of Indian companies, including Bajaj, TVs and escort.

For scooters, more -sellable product is connected to the firodias. Nevertheless, for motorcycles, he chose Hero, a proof of Brij Mohan’s understanding of the industry, his production practices frequently received visits to Germany and Japan and his silent trust.

The newly printed joint venture gave confidence in the quality of its products by living until the slogan “Fill, close, forget”. The motorcycles of that period were often demolished, and the buyers quickly warmed to Hero’s promise.

After liberalization, customer tastes also changed and young, urban Indians returned to motorcycles instead of Scooter. Launched in 1985, the hero’s light, fuel -saving and affordable 96cc four -shot bike CD 100 was a game exchange.

Yamaha RX 100, Kawasaki Bajaj Rtz and Yezdi in a market dominated by two -stroke bikes, CD 100, Indian car buyers will ask the question of an early impulse, fuel efficiency presented, “Mileage Kitna Deti Hai? (How much miles it gives?) “

In 2002, Hero Honda did the uninterrupted one-he directed the Bagaj as the largest two-wheel manufacturer in India.

It is a final praise to India’s potential. The two companies, bitter competitors in the market, created a two -wheel -wheeled industry between them. Indeed, while bajaj and Hero traded the thorns in the media (who could forget the old Insociant advertising campaign “Kyun Hero)), Rahul Bajaj and Munjal did not mislead the mutual respect against each other.

Munjal showed malicious intention to anyone, rarely. For all his success, he was wrapped with mishaps, none of them more than his eldest son Raman Kant Munjal’s death in June 1991, at the age of 41 years of his death, and at that time he allowed his father to take back the daily operations. The tragedy forced Munjal to return to the eye and to take over his second son Pawan from him. Before that, he had lost his eldest brother Dayanand while the quartet began his brave dreams.

Before he passed away in November 2015, Munjal would encounter another coup in 2011 when he decided to get out of JV for two -year JV to go on his own. The decision hurt him, but there was little crime as usual. It wasn’t what it was done like this. So when he spoke, not only for years of wisdom, but the suction lessons, mishaps and tragedies met with equality and slightly worn.

When he killed, Brijmohan Lall Munjal not only left behind a business empire, but also the legend of flexibility, relationships and relentless ambition.