Durametallic India (1977) , Flowserve Sanmar (2010) , Durametallic India early days
The Sanmar Engineering we see today is a well-integrated, synergistic group of engineering companies serving the process industry—in India and abroad.
Its journey started in 1976—a small beginning, with a small number of enthusiastic engineers, at a small workshop at a distant outpost of the city of Madras (now Chennai).
35 years down the road, it is time for us to look back—with pride and satisfaction, with gratitude, with warm memories of the great teamwork that has shaped that beginning into the successful international partnership it is today—professional, dedicated, globally competitive.
Durametallic India (DMI) (today Flowserve Sanmar)
Two business enterprises came together in international collaboration back then—a path- breaking initiative by N Sankar in India and Durametallic Corporation (DMC) in the USA.
Durametallic 10th year celebrations (l-r): SR Seshadri,
N Sankar, Jim Ware, KS Narayanan,
R Ramachandran, S Ramaswamy, VS Dhandapani
and N Kumar (1986)
To everyone involved in the journey that began in July 1976, it has been the coming together of two “families”, strong in team spirit and camaraderie. If the young team that N Sankar, a 27-year-old industrialist in the making, had gathered around him was the Indian “family”, Durametallic Corporation, a world leader in mechanical seals, was the American “family” based in Kalamazoo, Michigan The late Paul Jackson and Raymond Battilana, Jim Ware, Clark Halbert, Tom Haan and
Bill Adams are some of the outstanding men who struck life-long friendships with Sanmar.
It has been a story of repeated success, of sustained growth and expansion, a constantly widening range of products, making the group the only supplier of the whole gamut of engineering solutions for its target consumers in the hydrocarbon, chemical and energy sectors; a story of the trust and confi dence generated by the first joint venture leading to successive repetitions of the experience, by the good will Sanmar earned from each of its partners; a story of technical, managerial and marketing excellence, but also one of enduring relationships, of friendships that have survived thechanges of ownership and migrations of personnel inevitable in a globalising scenario.
Sanmar Engineering, Karapakkam
It has been a story of a highly principled joint venture philosophy that has evolved organically through honest, transparent communication based on respect for intellectual property rights, and a clear understanding of the need for the joint
ventures and the roles and mutual obligations of the partners. Yes, it was a small beginning, all right. But the youthful visionaries behind the venture were clearthat the fi rst product had to be high-tech, and not made in India; that there should be a foreign collaboration with world leaders in the particular technology—preferably American, as Sankar, who had studied in the US was familiar with American business practices.
Sankar and SR Seshadri, a young veteran of Chemplast, zoomed in on mechanical seals as the product with which to launch their new venture. It was a key component required in the process industry. It was a high- tech product, hitherto imported. It fi tted the bill perfectly. They knocked on the doors of some of the fi nest makers of mechanical seals in the world. Their audacious exploration led them to Durametallic Corporation.
“Durametallic Corporation is a world leader in engineered mechanical sealing systems” wrote a chronicler, after the joint venture was born. The chemistry between the two companies proved to be perfect.
Mr and Mrs PD Jackson, Durametallic USA, with
KS Narayanan (1976)
N Sankar with PD Jackson during the inauguration of Durametallic Asia, Singapore (1982)
Their business values and spirit, as well as the management style, were similar. Soon an enduring bond of mutual trust and confi dence was forged between the two.
A fortuitous decision to invest in some 14 acres of land at remote Karapakkam in the outskirts of Madras city came in handy. Durametallic India came up in 1976—with 40 people on the shopfl oor. People driven by a passion for the product combined at Karapakkam to produce mechanical seals as good as those made in Kalamazoo.
Along with N Sankar and N Kumar were the likes of SR Seshadri, R Sundaresan, R Ramachandran, each one a character—committed, confi dent, crazy about his work, with an incredible customer focus.The chemistry worked.Going into production in July 1976, DMI made a profi t in its very fi rst year. Later MN Radhakrishnan, V Ramesh, KR Varma and others equally dedicated joined, making Durametallic India synonymous with mechanical seals in India.
“The main strength of our collaboration lies in mutual trust and respect, and in our dedication to Sanmar being the best seal company in India. Talented staff from both Durametallic and Sanmar complement each other’s strengths”: James S Ware, Chairman, Durametallic Corporation
Dealer networks were the global norm in the industry, but DMI introduced direct sales to customers through an all India network that soon won excellent customer response.
Today, it is Flowserve Sanmar—after many changes in ownership through the mergers and acquisitions route— but it has never really looked back. It has grown into a large enterprise, with an enviable market share of engineered mechanical seals in India. Remarkably, all subsequent capital infusion has been made from internal accruals, from the dividends declared year after year.
N Sankar with JT Kenneally, BS&B, USA, and WM
Jordan, Flowserve Corporation, USA (1996)
The Durametallic success encouraged Sanmar to venture into more joint ventures to manufacture similar products. By the end of the 1980s, it had added BS&B, Xomox, Geosource (Smith and Crosby) and Asco. By the next decade, Sanmar Engineering Corporation, a group of engineering industries serving the chemical, hydrocarbon and energy sectors was born.
An aerial view of Sanmar Engineering at
Viralimalai
Durametallic Asia
In 1982, DMC and DMI joined together to set up Durametallic Asia,in Singapore. The entire technology was transferred from India by DMI, while the capital was provided by the US company. Gopinath and Seshadri were the two key people who moved to Singapore to man the new operation.
N Sankar with Charles F Knight, Emerson Electric Co., USA, during the 20th anniversary of Durametallic India (1996)
“It was a beautiful marriage. We had the technology, but we couldn’t invest overseas because of Reserve Bank regulations, while the US company could provide the money, but not the people to set up the plant, as that would have been too expensive.”
N Sankar.