Coimbatore’s ‘Gear Man’ P Subramanian Passes Away; He Was Revered For His Social Service

One of Tamil Nadu’s forward-looking entrepreneur P Subramanian, who founded the popular Shanthi Gears Ltd, died this morning at a private hospital in Coimbatore. He was 78.

Much loved and revered, Subramanian, popularly known as “gear man” had been admitted to the hospital, following ill-health.

“What is E Sridharan to Metro Railways, P Subramanian is to gears,” wrote The Hindu BusinessLine in 2012.

An engineer, he set up a small gear manufacturing unit in Coimbatore in 1969 as Shanthi Engineering and Trading Company that was into small processing such as milling. In 1972, he incorporated that unit as a private firm, Shanthi Gear Products (P) Limited.

A strong early foundation helped the company build on and raise its capabilities to perform even more complex engineering jobs that were done by skilled technicians.

From manufacturing geared motors, mainly used in textile machinery units, Shanthi Gears branched into specialising in gears and supply to automobile firms.

Shanthi Gears was listed on stock exchanges in 1986 before Chennai-based Murugappa Group acquired it for Rs 464 crore in 2012. By then, the Coimbatore-based firm had become the third largest in the gears industry.

Since Murugappa acquired his company, Subramanian, who is survived by three daughters, engaged himself in social services and philanthropic work.

He put in more efforts in the organisation, Shanthi Social Service, he set up in 1996.

The organisation runs a canteen that serves food free of cost to elderly people every day. For others, lunch was served at Rs 10 and tiffin at Rs 5.

It also runs a non-for-profit hospital and pharmacy besides operating a petrol pump. Shanthi Social Services also owns a diagnostic centre, blood bank, an optic care centre and a crematorium operated on liquefied petroleum gas.

Shanthi Social Services also offers radiology and dialysis services.

On social media, some recalled Subramanian's service, with one saying he was "one of the better entrepreneurs to have come out of Tamil Nadu."