Jahangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata better known to the world as J.R.D. was one of the leading figures of Indian industry and the world as well.
It was his 116th birth anniversary recently. I quote J.R.D. which gives us an insight of the great man and why the House of Tata is one of the leading industrial lights in the world.
“No success or achievement in material terms is worthwhile unless it serves the needs or interests of the country and its people and is achieved by fair and honest means’’.
Our politicians would do well to take heed of this advice.
Anyway, here is a marvellous story of one of J.R.D’s achievements and his way of functioning.
World War II was over. Germany had lost, the allied bombing had completely devastated the country.
It was 1946, autumn was over and winter was in the air. Cold, grey skies, dark clouds. Both literally and metaphorically. Munich, the diesel engine production centre of the world, had suffered nearly 100 air raids. Half the city had been demolished.
The train carrying J.R.D and his Team pulled into a barely functioning bombed out station.
A tall lanky, good looking, well dressed man alighted, followed by another gentleman. The first was J.R.D. Tata and the second was Sumant Moolgaonkar, an engineer with TELCO, (Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company).
They had come to Munich for discussions with the Krauss Maffei Group. Founded in 1838, they were an engineering company specialising in manufacturing of diesel locomotives. They had an impressive reputation. Sadly at this moment they did not even have a factory. All factories had been destroyed by Allied bombing. Those that survived were destroyed by the occupying Allied land forces.
The BMW factory, which had made most of the engines for the German Luftwaffe was dismantled and melted down!
The Krauss Maffei Group greeted the Indians warmly. The meeting was held at the Railway Station.
At the meeting, the Tata’s made it clear that they had come regarding the manufacture of locomotives in India.
It could be the first case of transfer of technology, a phrase rampant today.
So, what Tata wanted were engineers. What Krauss Maffei Group had were engineers! Talk about supply and demand! The Germans, Krauss Maffei Group agreed to give Tata their best engineers. “They are unemployed. We pay them with the Reichmark which is worthless. They are very skilled people. They will do whatever you ask them if you take care of them. They can also teach your people’’.
There was one major hitch. There could be no formal contract. India was still under British rule and Indians were forbidden to do business with German companies. The German request was simple. Take some of the unemployed engineers and their families to India and look after them.
The Tata directors agreed to this and assured the Germans that their people will be well looked after.
The German engineers from Krauss Maffei Group, came to India, were provided good jobs and housing by Tata. In return they rendered a great service to TELCO.
In 1945, TELCO had signed an agreement with Indian Railways for the manufacture of steam locomotives. This is where the German engineers provided valuable technical expertise. They helped the Company manufacture locomotives, which were amongst TELCO’s very first products.
In 1947, India became Independent. Sometime in the 50s TELCO moved on to manufacturing trucks in collaboration with Daimler-Benz. It is worth noting that the name on the truck was Tata Daimler Benz!
Many years had passed since that fateful meeting at the Munich railway station. Germany had struggled and recovered from the ravages of the war. The efforts of the German people had borne fruit. In one of those happier years, the board of directors of Krauss Maffei Group was surprised to receive a letter from India.
The letter was from the Tata Group. The Tata’s offered grateful thanks for the services of the German engineers. Tata’s then made an offer of Compensation to the Krauss Maffei Group for the skills which had been transferred by the Germans to the Tatas. The Krauss Maffei Group was surprised. There had been no legal contract and therefore no obligation for the Tata Group to pay any compensation. In fact, neither did this expectation exist, because the Tata Group has simply helped by providing jobs and shelter to the Germans engineers. The Germans were astonished as they read the Tata letter.
One interesting and unexpected sideline to this story happened when Tata Motors was asked to provide a legally binding financial guarantee in the 70s to some German bankers.
Foreign exchange and banking regulations in those days was controlled very strictly by the Indian Government. This matter was taken up to the German Bankers, who said that a guarantee on a Tata letter head, signed by the Chairman, was more valuable in any bankers’ guarantee!