Our Legacy - Kirloskar Limitless
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It was the year 1888.
A seed was planted.
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Laxmanrao Kirloskar
“Dedication, hard work and effort are a reflection of the creation of wealth and resources. For their efficient distribution, they have to be first created.”
It all began with Laxmanrao Kashinath Kirloskar. In 1888, he set up a small bicycle repair shop at Belgaum on a road that was later named after him. What followed made history. From manufacturing India’s first iron plough, founding the township of Kirloskarwadi in a hitherto barren sect of land to advocating for the rights of untouchables, Laxmanrao Kirloskar was a remarkable man with a storied life. But at his core, he was an entrepreneur with a love for machines and a passion for making tools that made the lives of his fellow man easier. Today, that passion is still the bedrock of the Kirloskar legacy.
Shantanurao Kirloskar
“I never wanted to be an industrialist. Our goal was to start a movement to make our country a strong, industrial nation.”
SLK, as he was popularly known, was one of the first Indians to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He built on his father’s foundations by taking, what was until then, a small company, and turning it into a giant of industry with branches across the world. Never to be swayed by anything made abroad, SLK had a unique and immense faith in the innate ability of Indians to produce world class products fit for all manner of applications. For his immense contributions to trade, industry and the Kirloskar legacy, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1965.
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Chandrakant Kirloskar
A third-generation visionary, who carried forward the Kirloskar legacy of his grandfather and father, Chandrakant Kirloskar had large shoes to fill. And he did so with aplomb. His belief that sustained growth was only possible through self-reliance proved to be an important cornerstone of Kirloskar as it grew to become an industrial conglomerate.
He always gave paramount importance to research and development activities which, according to him, were the backbone of all engineering. The processes and systems he set up were widely emulated across the globe. A fitting tribute to a true legend.
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Our Journey
It’s been a long and wonderful journey and the main constants have been our integrity, our innovation and our wonderful customers.
- 1888
- Where it all began...
- 1900
- Shivaji Metal Works was incorporated. The company was subsequently merged into Kirloskar Oil Engines (KOEL) in 2000 and later sold to Kirloskar Ferrous (KFIL), now being the Solapur castings division at KFIL.
- 1903
- Laxmanrao Kirloskar "LKK" manufactured India’s first Iron Plough.
- 1904
- First Ad
- 1910
- First Factory
- 1920
- LKK incorporated Kirloskar Brothers Limited (KBL).
- 1927
- Shantanurao Kirloskar "SLK" drew his first engine at 8 years old, and, at age 24, he manufactured India’s first diesel engine.
- 1946
- Engines’ company established for the manufacture of diesel engines.
- 1954
- Shantanu Kirloskar exported the first consignment of diesel engines to Germany.
- 1958
- First engine export to the UK.
- 1958
- Kirloskar Pneumatic Incorporated
- 1962
- Kirloskar Cummins Incorporated. Cummins entry into India is largely due to Robert Huthsteiner close ties with S.L. Kirloskar. Robert was the president of Cummins, USA at the time and the partnership allowed Cummins to further their global manufacturing strategy.
- 1965
- SLK was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest Indian civilian awards, for his immense contribution to trade and industry
- 1965
- Kirloskar Proprietary Ltd (KPL) incorporated.
- 1969
- Commemorative Stamp released by the Government of India to honor Laxmanrao Kirloskar as an industrialist and social reformer on his 100th birthday.
- 1975
- Suman Kirloskar, Shantanu Kirloskar, Yamutai Kirloskar, Xenia Simons Miller, J. Irwin Miller and Chandrakant Kirloskar pictured above, rolling out the 10,000th Kirloskar Cummins Engine.
- 1978
- Kirloskar Industries Incorporated
- 1988
- Kirloskar Centenary Postal Stamp
- 1991
- Kirloskar Ferrous Incorporated.
- 1996
- Kirloskar Chillers, established as a joint venture with American Partners is the first company in India to manufacture Centrifugal Chillers and factory packaged Screw Chillers
- 1998
- Kirloskar Oil Engines largely divests its stake in Kirloskar Cummins.
- 2003
- Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the then prime minister of India, released a commemorative
- 2008
- Kirloskar Chillers acquires 100% ownership of joint venture.
- 2009
- Kirloskar Integrated Technologies established, venturing into green energy
- 2015
- Kirloskar Energen Incorporated.
- 2017
- Kirloskar Solar Technologies Incorporated.