Coffee Table Book Sirur Group

The Dawn of a New Era

Almost at the cusp of the 20th century, a new era was dawning in pre-colonial India. The precursor of Cotman Group Shri. Shri Annappa Sirur, resigned from serving the British Raj, he was a Public Prosecutor at the district court of Kumta. He vowed to never seek service under their rule, owning to his integrity which was being put into question. Around the same time when this happened, a Scottish firm of M/s Chrystal and Co., decided to set up a cotton pressing factory in Kumta, Karnataka. They were looking for someone reliable to help them in their cotton export business. The assignment was offered to Sri Annappa who willingly took on this arduous adventure. The American Civil war had raised a huge demand for Indian cotton in the Lancashire mills of England. Cotton in India grew on the Deccan Plateau and had to be transported through bullock carts to the ports. It would be interesting to know that around the late 1800s, the only mode of transportation in smaller areas were bullock carts and these journeys were by no means easy or comfortable. This job was entrusted to Annappa Sirur who was required to travel to adjoining areas like Hubli, Dharwood, and other places to procure cotton, process it, and push it forward to Bombay which had a strong base for trading in India around that time. But, this did little to quench the determination of Sri Annappa who had immense support from his wife during these daunting adventures.

In 1882, when Hubli was turned into a railway station, the company M/s P. Chrystal and Co, took the decision to set up a pressing factory in Hubli to move higher up the value chain and also decided to shift Sri Annappa’s headquarters here from Kumta. Hereby, shifting the transport of cotton to Marmuagoa port through the railway network from where it was then shipped to Bombay.

For his invaluable and indispensable service to M/s Chrystal & Co., his two sons were given the opportunity to join the company. This is how Ramakrishna and Narayan became a valuable addition to the advancement of the Sirur empire. It was then in 1896, the family house of the Sirurs was built and is to date occupied by the present generations of the family.

Sadly, in a few years, Ramkrishna had to retire prematurely from his duties due to health issues. His younger brother, Narayana, then took over duties as the Head of the Indian Staff. With the passing away of one of the two brothers in the Scottish firm, Narayana was inducted as a partner in M/s Chrystal & Co. and this was the defining moment in the history of the Sirur family business for years to come.

The Capable Industrialist

Towards the end of the 19th century, P. Chrystal & Co. had fallen into troubled times and decided to cut back on their businesses. Shri Narayan Sirur’s son, Dattatrya, wished for his father, to acquire the smaller Maharaja Mills in Bangalore. The Maharaja Mills had been started by the royal family of the Princely State of Mysore before being acquired by P.Chrystal and Co. His father was not supportive of the decision but a young and determined D.N. Sirur had made up his mind and decided to stake his own claim to the business. The fixed assets were mortgaged to the government. An unwavering D.N. Sirur, not even 30 years of age, outlined his plan of business in front of the British Resident of Bangalore and managed to convince him of his claim to the mill and his acumen as a businessman to make it a success. Dattatraya proved to be a capable industrialist heralding the Sirur name into a bright future.

It would be interesting to note that these mills were in terrible condition and the finances of D.N. Sirur were meager. Taking over the management of the mills, D.N. Sirur renamed them The Mysore Spinning and Manufacturing Co. Ltd and also founded the firm, N. Sirur and Co as the Managing Agent in 1904. It was he, and his equally determined wife, Sunderbai who were the two partners of this firm. While his father had been reluctant for his son to acquire the mills, this did not stop him from supporting his son’s ambitions. The family has always been an important part of the Sirur clan. By this time, Narayan Sirur had a thriving cotton business in Hubli, he himself would purchase the cotton, draw on the Head Office in Bombay for its value and then send it to Bangalore to be converted into yarn. It was the sheer hard work of the Sirurs, their perseverance and their tenacity that Mysore mills declared their first dividend in 1914 and maintained this streak up till the 1960s.

Proving himself to be a capable businessman and an able industrialist, D.N. Sirur attracted many investors. With the help of the Maharaja of Mysore, he was able to start a new venture, the Minerva Mills in Bangalore during a time when the world was reeling from the effects of the Depression due to the First World War. The entire project started from scratch and the planning and execution of the same was immaculate. As years went by, D.N Sirur also acquired a mill in Parel in Bombay from the Birlas and another one from the Petits in Mahalaxmi. These were merged into the Modern Mills thus, achieving his lifelong dream of having a mill set up in Bombay. D.N. Sirur had accomplished what he had always dreamt of and built myself and his family a name that would last for generations to come.

The Next Milestones

Slowly, over the years, all the descendants of D.N. Sirur started taking up the responsibility of the family business. In the course of time, the business managed to change directions as cotton trading had become too speculated and risky. The generation of Raghavesh Sirur and his brothers turned towards engineering, started dealing with new products, and ventured into manufacturing as well. These actions set newer milestones for the next phase of growth in the family business of the Sirur empire, with the Cotmac group and the Miven group coming into existence.

Mr. Gopichand Sirur started the first cotton seed oil extraction and refining mill, Sundatta Cottonseed Processing and Utilization, which later on was renamed the Sundatta Food and Fibres Ltd, in Hubli. It was also one of India’s first refineries to take a non-edible oil and make it fit for human consumption.

Mr. Mohan Sirur took up the agency to sell and service International Tractors Inc. products like Farm Tractors, Farm Implements, Agri Input products, and later on Industrial Products like agricultural Pump sets, Welding Machines, and Rods, Electrical Switchgear, Domestic appliances, FMCGs, etc. Mohan Sirur was the brain behind the Miven Group. Mr. Vikram Siru, Director of Cotmac Electronics Pvt. Ltd., helped expand the Miven Group by starting Miven Mayfran Conveyor and making it one of India’s largest brands in Machine and Manufacturing Industries. They specialize in Chip and Coolant Management, Factory Automation, Oil Mill Machinery exports and also multi-level car parking systems. The Miven group also manufactures heavy-duty CNC Lathes which are used by heavy engineering Industries, the Defense, Railways, Automobile and Ancillary. Currently, Mr. Sandeep Sirur, Mr. Vikram’s son is now looking after this Group.

In all of this, under the able leadership of Mr. Shyam Sirur, Executive Chairman of Cotmac Electronics Pvt. Ltd., the flag leadership company of the Miven Group, Cotmac, became the leading systems house integrator for Siemens PLC based control system and multinational bases being operated from India. It is one of India’s most highly reputed organizations with a multitude of engineers employed here. His son, Mr. Arjun Sirur, is currently the Managing Director of the Cotman Group.

Looking at the achievements and the driven spirit of the Sirurs, it is quite clear that the proficient industrialist genes of Dattarya have been passed on to the family and has created a strong business and closely-knit family network of the Sirurs.

Our Brand Ambassadors

Over the course of time, we have received a lot of positive recognition from our valuable customers. This has been achieved due to the hard work of every single employee involved in the companies. These accolades help fuel the spirit of teamwork in our employees and pushes them to stay on top of their games. Our customers are not simply our customers, but also our brand ambassadors. Our relationships with them go beyond simple partnerships.

The Journey So Far

In the last 30 years, Cotmac has been able to create a respectful name in the Manufacturing of UPS and Industrial and Process Automation and Panel building Industry.

We were one of the first systems integrator appointed by Siemens and it has been the mainstay of the business. Our company is rated #1 by Siemens in India and #12 in the world in the Systems Integrator Giants report by CFE Media based in USA.

In the past few years, we have partnered with Lapp, Omron, E plan, Cognex Visions Systems and Phoenix adding many products to our offering, helping us meet customer expectations and deliver on time. We also provide support services to Honeywell and Emerson.

We have worked with various companies in numerous industries as well.

• Automobile: Fiat, Maxion Wheels
• Energy: Man Diesel and Turbo, Thermaz
• Steel: Jindal Steel and powder, JSW Steel, Honrywell
• Pharmaceuticals and chemical: Aurobindo Pharma
• Food and Beverages: Praj
• Oil and gas: Emerson
• Paper printing and textile: Manugraph, Indorama
• Engineering: EM
• Material Handling: Klaus Multi-parking

MIVEN Group

Founded in 1986, Miven Mayfran is a joint venture between the Sirur group and the Mayfran International. It offers cost effective solutions in the field of coolant and chip management. It is prepared to deliver to an increasingly demanding environment. A market leader in the industry, Miven Mayfran has evolved a diverse product range to cater to the increasing needs of the Indian industries as well as the aboard ones.

Industries we have worked for:

• Machine Tool Products
• Centralised Systems
• Press Scrap and Components
• Material Handling Systems
• Other products
• Meeting the Customer Needs

Our partnership with our customers has helped us co-create. We continuously raise our standards to deliver the best solutions in the industry, always meeting the agreed-upon timelines. We are driven by our seamless project execution We ensure that the way we work never hampers any ongoing production at the customers’ end. We value collaborating with the customer to get the best results.

Appreciation

1. Hindustan Unilever (formerly GSK) had two projects aligned for 2020 and 2021 lead by Mr Atul Gupta and HOD Mr. Girish Todkary. The company extended their appreciation for Mrs. Yogita Bhangale and Mr. Deshpande.
   Mash Tank Modification project was executed in the year 2020. Hindustan highly appreciated the flawless and excellent work that was done by Cotmac and ensuring that the project was executed smoothly.
   The second project, Salt Addition line project’s execution year was 2020-21. Hindustan Unilever highly appreciated Cotmac’s perseverance and attention to detail and how the project was executed without affecting the production and the timberline.
2. Singareni Colleries Company Ltd had a Up gradation of S5 to S7 PLC project in the year 2019-20. The project was led by Atul Gupta with Mr. Girish Todkary as the HOD. The company appreciated their work as well as that of Mr. Pramod Maske and Mr. Mayur Deshpande. Singareni Colleries Company was all praise for Cotmac’s dedication and complete involvement till the very end of the project and highly appreciated the smooth functioning and execution of the entire project and delivering the work on time.

Our Social Responsibility

We believe that social responsibility is an integral part of our culture. For us, going beyond the needful and helping others will contribute towards a better tomorrow and a safer world. We have always been part of various social causes and realize that there is always something new that we get to learn from everyone around us. Not every experience of life can come out of a corporate perspective and through CSR projects, we strive to create a more socially responsible environment for ourselves and our employees.

Badge of Honour

In the past few decades, Cotmac group is proud to share a lot of our employees have stayed with us for more than a decade and supporting the Cotmac Group, striving towards a better and more advanced future. We are highly grateful to all of our employees, who are our family and we hope to continue this association for many years to come. And, are equally excited to have new employees join us to help us grow our Cotmac family.

Over the Generations

Mr. Nabisab Belakeri

I have been part of the Cotmac group for over 13 years since 2007 as a Sales Engineer. My father, Shri Jamalsab H. Belakeri served in the company for 46 years and his father, Shri Honnursab Belakari for 44 years in the N.A. Sirur Group. It only made sense to me to continue this tradition and join the company.

Before working at Cotmac, I was a maintenance engineer by profession for more than 16 years before deciding to pursue a career in sales. Knowing the Sirur family personally helped me find the opportunity to make this transit possible. Working at Cotmac was an excellent experience for me. Communication with the customer, attending training programs, being on top of product knowledge, and professionalism are important aspects of the sale division. Cotmac helped me start a new era of life which was marked by a lot of personal growth. I highly appreciate the Cotmac group for being extremely professional and always treating their employees with the most respect. The environment of Cotmac group helped me develop my professional aptitude.

Our Alumni

Mr Chandrakant Joshi

“I became a part of Cotmac in the year 1989 in Gulbarga in Karnataka It was the first job that I had interviewed for right after completing my engineering. I was looking for a career in sales. I found Cotmac group to be one of the most professional companies I have worked for. The management principles of today- customer centricity, keeping commitments, and professional dealings- were already been applied here as early as the 1980s. I believe that Cotmac is the formative period of his career where I learned to work in an open and transparent environment, where trust and delegation were of utmost importance. Working at Cotmac helped me realize the significance of time management, owning the responsibility for one’s own success or failure, and the importance of managerial courage to speak up for the larger interest of the company. I highly appreciate the management style of the company. Employees have always been treated as family members and all of the managers he had a chance to meet were very proud to be part of the Cotmac Group. Everything that I stand for today, I owe all to Cotmac. It is “a family, more than a company.”

Future Ready

Cotmac Group of Industries wishes to strive harder and create a ripple amongst the Electronics and Industrial Trading industries to work towards a more sustainable and customer-friendly model of working.