V S T Mudaliar was a driven, disciplined man with immense faith in the future. He put his considerable abilities in raising funds to work in acquiring properties in key locations in Bangalore and Chennai, laying the foundation for the Group’s future growth. The business grew and diversified in the1920s and 1930s with the addition of petroleum products and the undertaking of civil construction contracts for the British Army.
His, sons, V T Padmanabhan, V T Krishnamoorthy, and V T Velu, started to take active roles in the business in the 1930s. The three sons took an active role in fostering growth, transforming themselves into skilled business leaders to rise to the challenges and opportunities ahead. Padmanabhan, with his hands-on approach, was a natural fit for the construction business.
Krishnamoorthy, as one of the first Indians to study at the prestigious London School of Economics, naturally took on the financial side of the business and was the key to all the investments made from the 1950s to the 1990s. Velu proved to be a dynamic and far-sighted industrialist, steering the manufacturing sector of the group for over two decades, focusing initially on the India Garage automobile dealership and later on VST Tillers Tractors Ltd, becoming the managing director and eventually the chairman of VST Tillers Tractors Ltd.
The grandsons have since steered the Group, building upon the foundation laid by their fathers and grandfather. V P Thirumurthy, son of V T Padmanabhan, was the founder of Chennai Ford, VST Bajaj (Bangalore and Mysore) and also managed India Garage Chennai for many years. VST’s automobile dealership businesses, for instance, has grown with the emergence of India as a leading global market for vehicles.
It also reflects India’s combination of strong homegrown enterprise and global mindset, representing leading Indian brands like Tata Motors and Mahindra as well as premium overseas brands like Ford, VW, Land Rover and Jaguar at different dealerships across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
The construction side of the company has contributed to the nation’s growing public and private infrastructure. The financial division of the company helps foster private enterprise by focusing on providing loans to small and medium transport companies.
The VST Group has business interest in seven different sectors with a turnover of over Rs 3,000 crore.
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