Goa,
A state in India, was once nothing more than a sleepy,
colonial port.
Even today Goa is known for its
sunny beaches, majestic temples, beautiful churches,
merry music and colorful people. Today, it is also
known for a name that's synonymous with industry
in Goa - the Chowgule Group. A Group ever on the
move. Propelled by an inexhaustible entrepreneurial
drive and innovative spirit.
Like any beginning, the Chowgules made theirs too in a
small way. With the export of tin scrap, coconut oil, wood
and bamboo to the Middle East. Till they realized the tremendous
potential of Goa in a field unexplored - mining ore.
A small beginning goes
a long way
From modest beginnings in 1916, the Chowgule Group has
today quietly burgeoned into an industrial giant with activities
in areas as diverse as :
- Iron ore mining.
- Transportation
- Iron Ore pelletization
- Shipbuilding
- International shipping with integrated logistics
management
- Shipowners ( international tramp trading )
- Explosives
- Industrial salt
- Industrial gases
- Breweries
- Machine Fabrication
- Marketing Agencies
- Education
A diversification that has only been possible and successful
because of the role played by the people at Chowgules,
their shareholders and the natural resources of the land.
Why not ? is always followed by an answer.
The key to understanding the Chowgules' success is that
they are always punching the frontiers of the possible.
To achieve the impossible
Their success can also be attributed to a simple fact.
They have always kept pace with trends in the world,
anticipated market needs and the shape of things to come.
Again, everything the Chowgules did, was done not with
an eye on their own profits, but on the status of the
rest of the industry as well. It is common knowledge
that the mining and shipping communities benefited and
profited from the Chowgule revolution.
The significance of Chowgules to the Indian economy
cannot be measured only in numbers. Neither in the millions
of tonnes of iron ore and iron ore pellets they produce
and market year after year. Nor in the foreign exchange
generated for the country. But in the goodwill earned
and the confidence instilled in overseas buyers for and
towards Indian enterprises.
Leadership breeds leaders
The Chowgules' contribution to the Goan, the Indian
economy, cannot be emphasizes enough.
Indeed, Chowgules' greatest contribution may have been
in the boost it gave to local entrepreneurship and job
opportunities. No more was Goa, 'a sleepy town with lazy
beaches'.
The Chowgule Group encourages leadership not just for
its own benefit but for the industry in general. From
various local, national and international business and
industrial fora, they have always given guidance and
shared their knowledge and experience with other industrialists
and fell businessmen. A fact that has inspired confidence
in not just other industrialists, but also in the Japanese
who still have a large stake in Goa's mining industry.
The Chowgule Group's biggest achievement - Education
The Chowgules contributed as pioneers to the quantum
leap in education in Goa. They were the first to set
up a college in Goa, and introduce computer education.
They started a Technical Training Institute and promoted
a Shipbuilding Institute in Goa, and schools at various
places , including the mining areas.
The Chowgule philosophy can be summed up in one line:
When you grow, we grow
When you benefit, we benefit
Whatever the Chowgules did, they never did it with an
eye to improving only their own profits, but served to
improve the conditions of the rest of the industry, and
of society, who also benefited and profited from the
innovations and advances of the Chowgules.
And its biggest investment -People
Chowgules' approach
right through has been to work along with people, by involving
them, by training them, by creating specialists. And most
importantly, by using and honest, down-to-earth style of
functioning. Almost fanatically people-oriented, Chowgules
uphold traditional values as the core of its philosophy.
Chowgules have made one of the safest investments in
the Group - in its people. And in relationships.
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