Pratap Bhogilal Journey Through Life

Author(s): Rauf Ahmed
Publisher: Bhupendra Singh Anand

Page 55

THE JOURNEY
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Rockwell happily agreed to my proposal and it was decided that Rockwell and Batliboi would have a 50:50 joint-venture. The international division of Rockwell identified a manager to oversee the manufacture of the machines in India. A separate shed was built for this factory at our Udhna complex. The joint-venture company entered into an agreement with Batliboi for leasing the land on a long-term basis.
The break up with Rockwell...
Sometime later, when I was in Germany,on the advice of a friend, Phillipsborn of Erikson Machine Tool Company, I met a manufacturer of diesel engines in Hamburg. Batliboi were agents of Erikson in India. During the meeting it occurred to me that it would make business sense to manufacture diesel engines in India as well.I talked to the Rockwells about taking on the project as part of the joint-venture we had with them. Rockwell India which was a joint venture company, had to make an application to the government for a license to manufacture those engines with German collaboration. However, what happened was that Rockwell's representative, who had been nominated by Rockwell's International Division and was running our factory in Udhna, had made an application in the name of Rockwell, with the intention of starting an independent company for manufacturing diesel engines. This was quite contrary to the understanding that I had with Rockwell Sr. But when I approached Rockwell, I was surprised that he did not want to interfere in the decision taken by their International Division since Rockwell's was a big conglomerate. It was unacceptable to me as I thought it was not ethical.
I suggested to the Rockwells that either they buy off Batliboi's shareholding in the joint-venture or sell their share-holding to us. Rockwell chose to buy off our share-holding. They found a new partner for the joint-venture in Rallis India. This ended our connection with the Rockwells. Later the Rockwells parted ways with the Rallis too.
Batliboi had another joint-venture with an Austrian manufacturer, Schoeller Bleckmann, for the manufacture of files. Batliboi had been representing them in India. The manufacturing plant was set up in a
Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed - From the Preamble of the UNESCO Constitution