A joint venture was inked with Purolator Products Inc., Rahway, New Jersey USA (now part of Arvin Meritor Inc., USA) for air, oil, fuel and hydraulic filter products. Despite several bureaucratic hurdles, including those pertaining to getting permission for a collaboration in the days of the ‘license raj’ as well as those stemming from corporate rivalries, this joint venture managed to see the light of the day. Several filter manufacturers from India, attempted to dissuade Purolator from signing off on the collaboration.
The automobile industry was at this time at a nascent stage with just two major passenger car manufacturers – Padmini Auto Limited and Hindustan Motors – holding sway. Mired by old technologies they only reported negligible growth. The same held true in the heavy vehicles segment, dominated by TELCO and Ashok Leyland. It required immense grit and managerial expertise to create a business that could thrive in a sector controlled by established players like Goetze, Mico and Escorts, among others.
Realizing the unique advantage offered by Purolator’s product diversity, Mr. Anand forged strategic alliances with big names like Mico for element filters, Voltas for their international harvesters and other heavy equipment and Shell, Caltex and Esso for spin-on and automotive filters.
These out-of-the-box marketing strategies put Purolator beyond the reach of existing companies, establishing it as a market leader.