D Jayavarthanavelu, chairman & managing director of Coimbatore-based Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW), passed away a few days ago. His low-key company is possibly the world?s largest spinning machinery manufacturer. It has more than 60% of the market share in India. Says a leading yarn manufacturer, ?If Indian spinning industry is today internationally competitive, LMW is one of the reasons.?

Many outside the textile industry may not be aware that every spinning mill in the country is bound to have at least one LMW machine. It has no Indian rivals. It manufactures the entire range of spinning machinery. It is not only the leader in the domestic market, but also the top exporter of textile spinning machines. LMW has been the recipient of Top Exporter award for textile spinning machinery continuously for over a decade from Engineering Export Promotion Council and Federation of Indian Textile Engineering Industry. The Rs 2,000-crore company is also known for its quality products and ethical values. And its order book, which is always full, has people waiting in the line.

When LMW set up shop in 1962, manufacturers like National Machinery Manufacturers (which became Mafatlal Engineering Ltd) and Birla-owned Texmaco were the established names with highly rated West German and English collaborations. But within a year or two of getting into production, LMW left them far behind. Nobody even remembers these companies now. The Coimbatore company had a collaboration with Rieter of Switzerland, which was to later become a competitor. Textile industry sources say that LMW got the finest collaborator possible at that time. That gave the company access to latest technology. But then, anyone can get a good collaborator, what is critical is the way technology is absorbed.

LMW made sure that the Swiss technology was fully assimilated. Even before the factory buildings came up, Swiss instructors came to train the workforce, help in the selection of machinery and so on. Over the years, LMW sent hundreds of its engineers and workers to be trained in Switzerland. Said Jayavarthanavelu, in an interview on LMW?s 25th year celebrations, ?We don?t have to translate any of the German drawings. All our workers can read that much German.? From the time it was set up, LMW aimed at ultimately manufacturing the entire range of spinning machinery. He also said, ?We will work towards maintaining our leading position in every way. We will continue our policy of fair dealing in good machines at affordable prices.? Textile industry sources confirm that the company has stuck to its policy till date.

LMW has lived through many high dramas in the textile industry, never wavering from its chosen path. The period 1974-84 was boom time for the Indian textile industry and the demand for LMW machines was huge. The waiting period for some machines was as long as 10 years. The company never cut the queue or raised prices to take advantage of the situation. In those years, the other big players grew complacent. They did not bother to keep up with the technology as LMW did, nor did they care much about customers. So when the slump followed the boom years, LMW remained unaffected.

By the mid-1990s, there was a buzz that LMW may be losing the plot. Times had changed. India had opened up. Textile machinery could be imported easily. Collaborators like Rieter could set up their own shops here. From making the rules in the textile machinery industry, LMW had to learn to deal with the changing scenario. In 1992-93, the government allowed import of new as well as second-hand textile machinery and in 1995-96, slashed duties from 25% to 10%, opening the doors for European and Korean companies that had been languishing overseas. Several small players set up shop and were sniping at LMW?s heels.

Rieter decided to go it alone in India and refused to renew agreements, almost all of which lapsed around that time. Then there was the liquidity crunch that made many customers cancel orders.

LMW reacted by expanding capacity, raising the R&D spend and keeping prices constant in a bid to retain market share. Jayavarthanavelu remained a firm believer in technology.

He said, ?Today the difference between the technology giver and taker has disappeared. I can hire foreign experts. I am confident of my R&D and we are reorienting ourselves towards new technology. Earlier, we had a defined market and the market was happy. We are now going through a transition time. I cannot change overnight to meet the changing needs of the industry. In India, our buying range is on a scale of 0-100. We have different products that do not exist in other countries. We know Indian cotton and the details of raw material. We can solve the problems arising from it.?

In spite of confusing trends seen in the market then, LMW scaled up effortlessly, outsourced R&D and continued to manufacture high-quality machines. The company also turned customer-friendly. When the market picked up again and its machines were attracting 50-60% premium, it did not increase its prices and continued to deliver chronologically. LMW never believed in the power of pricing. It has always treated its ancillary suppliers very well. Today a lot of big names in textile machinery like Trutzler of Germany and Toyota of Japan are here. Rieter itself may produce the best machinery in the world. But none of them have been able to become volume players able to match LMW prices. Little wonder LMV remains the market leader.

Jayavarthanavelu always kept a low profile and did not believe in publicity and self-promotion. One may not remember that he had made it to the Forbes richest list. He had his own private jet. He remained private in spite of the fact he came from one of Coimbatore?s leading and pioneering industrial families. He was a big philanthropist, contributing vast sums for health care and education. This was also done quietly.

His son Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu has been working with him for many years now. His two daughters are also in the business. Those who know the industry and the family say that LMW will remain in capable hands although it is a daunting task to step into Jayavarthanavelu?s shoes.

sushila.ravindranath@expressindia.com