About Us

In 1974, Mr. Madhavan Pillai started Pal & Vat, the first member company of Pillai Group in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. It was a modest operation of two lathe machines. His experience as a QA Engineer at Ruston & Hornsbey (I) Ltd helped him secure a major client - Mahindra and Mahindra, supplying 5000 transmission components per month. In the 1980s, the area of Kolhapur emerged as an important foundry cluster in India for automotive components. Mr. Pillai seized this opportunity and set up a Cupola Furnace (Grey Cast Iron) and a Machine Shop in 1980 with a capacity of manufacturing 100 tons per month of machined castings. When quality became paramount in manufactured components, he upgraded his operations by adding Induction Furnace & another advanced machine shop that supplied 250 tons per month.

Just when the business needed a trailblazer to expand the customer base, he was joined by his son in law, Anu Kumar, a Mechanical Engineer with a MBA degree. With demand rising from offshore companies, Mr. Anu Kumar commissioned an automated sand plant in 2000.

With the demand for lighter castings on a rise, Pillai group commissioned a Ductile Iron production foundry with induction furnace, backed by a cutting edge laboratory with spectrometer, UTM and an image analyzer. The group started supplying to international clients through Dana corporation.

Well-equipped with experience and infrastructure, the group decide to foray into the international market.

Management Team

The Management team brings decades of diverse experience and a common enthusiasm for success to Pillai Group. Together they guide our 300 dedicated and talented employees to produce exceptional quality castings. Our vision and philosophy are the fundamentals that guide us through a dynamically, growing, rapidly changing environment.

Mr. N. M. Pillai

Chairman

Mr. N. M. Pillai laid the foundation of Pilai Group by starting a modest opration in 1974 with two lathe machines. His decade of experience as a QA Engineer at Ruston & Hornsbey (I) Ltd helped him secure a major client - Mahindra and Mahindra, supplying 5000 transmission components per month. A softspoken but outstanding businessman who had to learn the local language to be able to do busines in Kolhapur, he soon beacme known as a management guru. His debut venture was soon followed by a Cupola Furnace (Grey Cast Iron) and a Machine Shop in 1980 with a capacity of manufacturing 100 tons per month of machined castings. When quality became paramount in manufactured components, he upgraded his operations by adding Induction Furnaces and advanced machine shops. He expanded his customer base beyond India , into Italy, Hungary and other parts of Europe. His marketing tool has been his word, something he is respected for in the Foundry comunity in India. After 30 years in the business, he decided to give back to the foundry community.

Anu Kumar

Director

As the Technical director , Anu Kumar specializes in setting up the entire process of manufacturing auto and tractor castings which can directly go online into the OEM vechicle assembly plant. Understanding the customer requirement (metallurgical & geometrical ) has been of prime focus to setup the process. He has been working in the foundry and machine shop to increase the productivity and ROI. As a MechanicalEngineer, he has a strong drive to establish process within 6 sigma limits and to work on a competitive pricing for the customer. CNC which helped him to grab the global opportunity by starting exports in the company. Anu Kumar graduated in Mechanical Engineering in 1992 following which he worked as a project engineer in Malaysia for 2 yrs. He returned to India and pursued his MBA degree.