P Subramanian, a successful entrepreneur who founded Shanthi Gears passed away on December 11 at a private hospital in Coimbatore.
He is referred as the ‘gear man’ of Coimbatore and is considered as someone what E. Sridharan was to the Metro.
After completing his polytechnic from PSG college in Coimbatore, Subramanian had set up a small gear manufacturing unit in 1969 in the city, the Shanthi Engineering and Trading Company. He incorporated it into a private limited company named Shanthi Gear Products (P) Limited in 1972.
His company manufactured geared motors that were mainly used in textile machinery units. Over a period of time, the company took to manufacturing and supplying gears to automobile companies too.
The company was acquired by the Murugappa Group for a whopping ₹464 crore in 2012 which by then had become the third biggest manufacturer and supplier of gears in the industry.
Post the acquisition by Murugappa Group, Subramanian engaged himself with philanthropic and social service work. He set up the Shanthi Social Service, which runs a canteen that serves free food to elderly people every day. For other people, lunch is served at ₹10 and tiffin at ₹5.
The foundation also runs a non-profit hospital, pharmacy and a petrol pump that sells fuel at below the market rate. It also runs a diagnostic centre, a blood bank, an eye-care centre and an LPG crematorium apart from providing education for underprivileged sections of the society, building roads, etc.
Subramanian is survived by his three daughters.