Freebirds Stories
Madras Rubber Factory - from balloons to MRF

For more than 5 decades in a row, MRF has been the undisputed leader in Tyre industry, and has managed to consistently outdo its foreign rivals by always having its ears to the ground to understand the changing demands & needs of Indian customers. Such is its brand recall that Indians not only tend to associate it with tyres in general, but also with strength & reliability, which are espoused by the muscle-man (holding a tyre with outstretched arms) in its corporate logo.

 

The origins of MRF goes back all the way to the 1940s, when the young & dynamic KM Mammen Mappillai, bubbling with entrepreneurial spirit, started "Madras Rubber Factory" to produce balloons for kids! Everyday morning, Mappilai & his wife would produce hundreds of rubber balloons in their humble 100 sqft "factory", and in the rest of the day, Mappilai would walk through all major streets & intersections, especially at public places & parks, to sell those balloons to kids.

 
 

Over the next few years, Mappilai gradually expanded his offerings to various rubber products like toys, gloves, etc, and consistently reinvested all his profits back into growing his business, as he had very high ambitions to become a major player in the rubber industry. It was in early 1950s when he got his big break, when he realized that tread rubber, which was used to increase the life of rubber tyres, was a lucrative business and was dominated by foreign MNCs. That's how he made the big leap which was a step closer to core tyre business, by starting MRF tread rubber, which became the biggest player by the end of the decade.

 
 

In the early 1960s, the next logical step was to become a full-fledged tyre company, but it was easier said than done, as it meant competition with the giants like Dunlop & Goodyear, who had very strong grip in the Indian market. To tackle such big rivals, he partnered with a mid-tier foreign brand called Mansfield Ltd, and started capturing marketshare from its rivals. By the 1970s, the Indian partner (MRF) had accumulated so much cash that it decided to completely acquire its foreign partner, and the resulting 100% Indian company was registered as "MRF Tyres".

 
 

From the 1980s, the company embarked upon an aggressive marketing strategy to create further brand awareness among Indians, who were still skeptical about Indian companies. By focusing on India-centric aspects like "Indian conditions", "Indian terrain", "Value for money" etc, MRF gradually managed to win over customer confidence, and by signing up mega-contracts with emerging young talents like Sachin Tendulkar & AR Rahman, the brand quickly gained acceptance and became a household name.

 
 

Today, MRF is India's Number 1 Tyre company with Rs 15,000 crores in annual sales, and in most surveys, has been featured among India's most trusted brands. At the international stage, it is already among the top 5 global Tyre companies with presence in more than 100 countries across the globe, which is a testimony to the ambitions of KM Mammen Mappillai who had started his rubber journey with balloons!

 
Story by
Guru Prasad

Guruprasad (or “GP” in short) is a Chief Engineer & Technology Mentor by profession and spends a...

View Profile
Leave a Comment
Comments (0)
Be the first one to comment.
Featured Stories from the Community

Insightful experiences in the form of stories

Browse more stories