Most of us today know about MRF tyres as the tyre manufacturer has been in the news recently after its shares became the costliest after hitting the Rs 1lakh mark taking the company’s market capitalization to roughly Rs 434 Billion as of July 30, 2023. However, very few of us know about the man behind this company. Remember that this person we are talking about was not born into a rich or very well-to-do family, but he did everything on his own. This man was no one but K. M Mammen Mappillai. The success currently enjoyed by K. M Mammen Mappillai did not come to him easily or in a day, but his hard work, strong business acumen coupled with strong dedication took him where he is today.
K M Mammen Mapillai was born in 1922 in a family where his father was the owner of a newspaper and a bank. However, nothing was left for the family after his father was imprisoned for two years by the princely kingdom of Travancore and all the family’s possessions were seized. Following his father's detention the family faced a difficult time and KM used to sleep on the floorboards of St. Thomas' Hall in college.
Early career
The story of multinational tyre manufacturer Madras Rubber Factory, also known as MRF, started in 1946 when its founder K. M Mammen Mappillai used to sell balloons on the streets. At that time Mammen Mappillai owned a small company where he used to make balloons and then he himself used to sell them street by street. At that time, who knew that one day K. M Mammen Mappillai would become the owner of MRF, one of the leading tyre manufacturing companies in the world.
MRF ventured into tread rubber manufacturing in 1952, and by 1956, MRF held a 50% share of the Indian market.
In 1952, Mappillai came to know that a foreign company was supplying trade rubber to a retreading plant in India. Retreading is the process of making old tyres reusable and the tread is the upper part of the tyre that touches the ground. Mammen Mappillai thought that he can do this work too.
MM invested all the money he had made by selling balloons into this business. Though it was a big risk but it paid off with rewards. Within just four years, MRF's market share reached 50% and this became the reason behind the departure of many global companies from India. Mammen did not stop there and decided to enter the tyre manufacturing business.
In the year 1961, Mammen set up a factory to manufacture tyres. However, due to technical challenges faced by this company MRF entered into a partnership with the American company Mansfield Tire & Rubber Company. In the same year, the company also went public as it launched its IPO on the Madras Stock Exchange. Gradually, MRF started applying for government tenders and by 1963, MRF become a well-known name.
Later, after a lot of research work the MRF ‘Muscleman’ came into existence which become the symbol of strength and durable tyres. For advertising, the company targeted cricket bats, among other methods. Renowned personalities from Sachin Tendulkar to Virat Kohli became the company's brand ambassadors and MRF gradually became very popular among children.
As of today, one share of MRF Ltd costs Rs 102,534.15.The revenue of MRF is Rs 23,008 crore. The company has total assets of Rs 24,023.75 crores with a market capitalisation of around Rs 434.86 Billion.
