KM Mammen Mappillai founded MRF in Madras in the year 1946 when he started a small toy balloon manufacturing unit. However, with years of hard work and passion, he transformed MRF into a global brand.
Inspirational journey of KM Mammen Mappillai: This is a story of a boy who was born into a Syrian Christian family in India and used to sell balloons on streets. After his family faced significant financial distress after their assets were seized, the boy decided to take the responsibility to himself. We are talking about KM Mammen Mappillai, the founding father of MRF and what special connection MRF has with Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.
Who is KM Mammen Mappillai?
KM Mammen Mappillai founded MRF in Madras in the year 1946 when he started a small toy balloon manufacturing unit. However, with years of hard work and passion, he transformed MRF into a global brand.
How MRF was founded!
Mammen’s actual success journey started in the year 1952 when he identified an opportunity in tyre retreading. For those unversed, tyre retreading is a process where the tread area of used tyres is refurbished, which led to a significant change in the entrepreneurial journey of Mammen.
Taking inspiration from the concept, Mammen invested his earnings from the balloon business into manufacturing tread rubber, which ultimately made MRF the first Indian company to manufacture tread rubber.
Biggest milestone in life of Mammen
The biggest milestone in the life of Mammen and MRF came when MRF’s first tyre factory was inaugurated by then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. As a result of the immense success that the company was showing, MRF launched its IPO, entering the Indian stock market with a boom. As years passed by, MRF became a symbol of success and today, it is India’s largest tyre manufacturer with a market capitalization of Rs 55,417 crore.
Additionally, MRF also has a long-standing association with cricket. Earlier, Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, often called the ‘God of Cricket’ was its brand ambassador and as of today, former Indian captain Virat Kohli is its current brand ambassador.
