A TRIBUTE TO NAVAL P GODREJ, ARCHITECT OF IMTEX

Mr Naval P Godrej in his office at the Machine Tools Division, Vikhroli, Mumbai

About the Series

For decades, the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association (IMTMA) has been working to develop the Indian machine tool industry for serving the needs of manufacturing industries in India and abroad. Also, IMTMA has been striving to establish and strengthen the global positioning of India’s machine tool manufacturers.

Since its inception in 1946, IMTMA has seen significant contributions from several prominent industrialists who have played stellar roles in expanding the scope and scale of IMTMA so that it could be better placed to fulfil its objectives. We, at Modern Manufacturing India (MMI), have decided to pay a tribute to these luminaries for their contributions to the machine tool industry through a series of articles.

In this third feature of the series, we bring to light the contribution of the late Naval Pirojsha Godrej, an exemplary industrialist and visionary who was the architect of IMTEX, the flagship event of IMTMA.

Naval Pirojsha Godrej

Naval, a self-taught engineer, was gifted with an intuitive sense of all things mechanical. He was deeply interested in understanding how things were made. The engineering enterprise that his father, Pirojsha Godrej, had built provided a conducive environment for his inquisitive nature. Early in his career, he realised that machine tools were the key to manufacturing various kinds of products of high quality in India so that the country could become progressively more self-reliant.

The Second World War posed serious challenges to India’s manufacturing industries as machines needed for the manufacture of goods were simply not available in the country. Given the prevailing conditions, they could not even be imported. Wanting to spur the growth of the manufacturing sector in India, Naval invested much time and energy in the building of machine tools - he created a pathbreaking line of machines and laid the foundation for manufacturing indigenous metal-forming and metal-cutting machines.

As the President of IMTMA from 1971 to 1973, Mr Naval Godrej continued to work assiduously to elevate the cause and stature of India’s machine tool industry. Always ready to take up new challenges, he believed in doing different things differently and inspired his peers to adopt newer technologies for the growth of the industry. In recognition of his contributions to advancing trade and commerce in India, Naval Godrej was honoured with the Padma Bhushan in 1976.

Mr. Godrej wasn’t alone in his enthusiasm and endeavour; he forged close relationships with veterans like Vinod Doshi of Premier Automobiles, S L Kirloskar from the Kirloskar group and many others who were thinking along similar lines. At the confluence of decades of untiring effort, global aspirations and, thus, a need to promote a stronger Indian machine tool industry, the idea of a platform to showcase the progress and the prowess of the Indian machine tool industry was born.

IMTEX & Godrej

An all-India machine tool exhibition was a concept of immense relevance for India as the five-year plans of the Government of India were focused on industries where manufacturing capability and capacity would be created through new units and expansions. The year, 1968, was a turning point for the Indian machine tool and manufacturing industries. It was the year in which IMTMA organized a Machine Tool pavilion at the Indian International Trade and Industries Fair in Chennai (formerly Madras). Seeing the response, it was decided that there should be an exhibition exclusively for machine tools. IMTMA moved quickly in planning and organizing its first exhibition, then called the All-India Machine Tool Exhibition (AIMTEX) with Naval as the chairman of the organizing committee.

AIMTEX was held at the Vikhroli campus of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company in Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay) in 1969, barely a year after the decision taken in Chennai. Mr Godrej placed one of his plants at the disposal of IMTMA and extended full support in planning, design and organizing AIMTEX, including the arrangement of dedicated manpower at the facilities.

Interestingly, until then, India had never had an industrial exhibition showcasing live, working equipment. But, this one was to be different. The Godrej Plant at Pirojshanagar was fully equipped with electrical circuits, water pipes and other facilities, making it the ideal venue for showcasing machines in situ, at work. Such a unique display of working machines was very impressive and aided the decision-making process of buyers, several of whom placed on-the-spot orders for machines. The first AIMTEX concluded successfully with a record value of orders received by participants.

As the President of IMTMA from 1971 to 1973, Mr Naval Godrej continued to work assiduously to elevate the cause and stature of India’s machine tool industry.

That exhibition, albeit small back then, set a benchmark for the contours and culture at future editions of IMTEX. Mr Godrej's unwavering commitment to IMTMA was evident through his full support in hosting the first seven IMTEX exhibitions consecutively, from 1969 to 1989. Since then, IMTEX has grown by leaps and bounds keeping pace with global developments in the exhibition of machine tools and manufacturing technologies. Beyond doubt, IMTEX continues to be one of the most outstanding industry exhibitions in India.

IMTMA has been fortunate to have been guided by luminaries like Naval Godrej and others in its journey and its good fortune continues. His son, Jamshyd N. Godrej, has been instrumental in the creation of the IMTMA - Naoroji Pirojsha Godrej International Exhibition and Conference Complex that is popularly known as the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). This Centre is the permanent venue for IMTEX. Jamshyd continues to mentor IMTMA and BIEC in their endeavour to fulfil their objectives.

Such is the legacy of Mr Naval P Godrej in uplifting the stature of the machine tool industry in India, and, for India.