POWERING A SUCCESS STORY AT LMW

In the last two decades, Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu has focused on cost rationalisation and new products to boost growth at Lakshmi Machine Works.

- VIJAYALAKSHMI SRIDHAR

SPEARHEADING A legendary company such as Lakshmi Machine Works (LMW) that has pioneered manufacturing machinery for the textile industry is a task that comes with lots of expectations and responsibilities. Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu has held and fulfilled both with passion and panache in the last two decades as chairman and MD.

The enterprising DNA in the family started with the business of cotton. Jayavarthanavelu’s great great grandfather G. Kuppuswamy Naidu founded Lakshmi Mills in 1910 for manufacturing cotton yarn. Soon, his son and Sanjay’s great-grandfather Dr. G.K. Devarajulu identified the opportunity in the market for spinning machinery and tools. In 1962, Dr. Devarajulu founded LMW. Sanjay stepped in, armed with a degree in business from the University of Philadelphia.

Speed frame was the first machine to be rolled out from LMW’s shop-floor. The company has come a long way since, and the range currently includes ring spinning and winding machines as well. In the last six decades, LMW has grown steadily, building a portfolio of textile machinery, CNC machine tools, and a foundry division, catering to both domestic and export markets.