My beloved and missed grandfather, Wadhawaram (W.R.) Gupta, was very dynamic and established several businesses after migrating from Lahore (in present day Pakistan) to Bombay in 1947 after partition.
He had to leave already well established businesses in Lahore & literally came to Bombay with whatever the family could carry with them & re-establish himself.
He was instrumental in securing some foreign technical collaborations and setting up manufacturing of Industrial machine knives and was the pioneer in this field in India, way back in 1963.
Our group comprises of family owned zero debt companies which are headed by a parent company called Harjimal Kedarnath & Co., which was established in 1811 by the patriarch of the Gupta family – Mr. Harjimal Gupta. This company was engaged in trading of ball bearings and hardware items and now concentrates mainly on finance activities. Four generations later Lala Kedarnath Gupta & his son Mr. W.R. Gupta diversified into other businesses.
Bombay Alloy Steel Industries Limited (BASIL) was established in 1963 in technical collaboration with Ms. A. R. Heathcote & Co., Sheffield, U.K. for the manufacture of "PARK" Industrial Machine Knives. This company was the pioneer in this field in India. Manufacturing location has open land besides 2 sheds admeasuring about 40000 sq. ft. Manufacturing activities were discontinued in this company in 1986 and operations were modernised and shifted to a new location under the name of Bell Tools Pvt. Ltd.
Snail Spanners (India) & Tools Ltd. was established in 1965 in technical collaboration with Ms. Elliott Lucas Ltd., U.K., for the manufacture of Drop Forged Pliers.
A textile unit commenced operations in 1995 in the name of Perfect Embroidery. Manufactured products include embroidered cloth, laces and allied products.
‘Youth are the resources on whom the country’s future depends. With this ethos in mind, The Gupta Family set up the well-known LalaLajpatrai College of Commerce and Economics in 1972 and LalaLajpatrai Institute of Management in 1995 at Worli, Mumbai. Family members are members of the Board of Managing trustees. The L.L.I.M. offers 2 - year degree courses in finance, advertising, marketing, HRD and Law.
www.llim.edu
Our joint family businesses were restructured in 2000. My uncle's part of the family has ventured into autombile dealerships of brands like Maruti Suzuki, Chevrolet, Mahindra, & Renault automobiles.