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Surinder Kapur’s career as an automobile components maker and founder chairman of Sona Koyo came to an end with his demise on Tuesday. Kapur leaves behind a long legacy that started with a joint venture with Maruti in 1988 and continues till date.
It was his passion for work that took him to Munich in 2008 after he acquired BLW, a precision forgings company. Kapur kept moving between Delhi and Munich, where he stayed in a 300-sq ft apartment with his wife.
Three months after the acquisition, BLW, a company almost 10 times the size of the acquirer, Sona Okegawa, was on the verge of insolvency. Kapur took charge of the situation by liquidating inventories, working closely with buyers, and negotiating salary cuts with employees. He was able to turn the company around eventually. Kapur died in Munich on Tuesday evening at the age of 72.
“I had known Surinder Kapur for 25 years and remember him as a warm, wonderful person who was also an industry stalwart,” said Arvind Dham, chairman of the Amtek group, a Delhi-based automobile components maker. “His decision to move to Munich with his wife at his age after acquiring BLW was heroic. He took all the problems head on and turned around the company.”
Sona Koya was one of the earliest joint venture partners of Maruti for the steering system. The company has grown with Maruti and now also supplies to Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Toyota Kirloskar and General Motors, among others. The BSE-listed company, the largest steering system manufacturer in India, clocked Rs 1,542 crore in consolidated revenue last year with a profit of Rs 59 crore.
Kapur came from a family of jewellers, which still runs a shop, Kapur Di Hatti, in Delhi’s Connaught Place. The name Sona comes from the gold jewellery business. His lack of interest in the family business prompted him to study engineering. Kapur secured admission to three universities in the US, Stanford, Michigan and New York. He, however, settled for Michigan as it meant a lighter financial burden on the family. He completed his bachelors, masters and doctorate from Michigan University.
A year before completion of his studies, Kapur married the daughter of industrialist Raunaq Singh, founder of the Apollo group. Singh was setting up Bharat Gears and Kapur joined this company to gain experience in the components business.
His inherited Rs 50 lakh as he chose not to join the family business. Armed with this cash, he approached Maruti to make steerings for them. R C Bhargava, chairman of Maruti Suzuki, recalls Kapur as one of the most professionally competent managers in the Indian automobile industry. “As an owner, he hired professionals and did not interfere in the work. He was one who actually delegated responsibilities. That is one of the reasons of his success. His going away is a huge loss to the industry.”
In fact, Maruti Suzuki acquired a 10 per cent stake in Kapur’s company and still holds some of it. Though Sona Koyo has diversified its customer base, Maruti remains its largest customer.
While Kapur was focused on turning around the operations in Germany, his business in India was being entirely looked after by son Sunjay Kapur, the company’s vice-chairman and managing director. “Sunjay is an able leader and has been running the business in India ever since his father shifted to Germany. He is capable of taking the business forward,” said Dham.
