V-Guard: Aiming for more than just stability

Kochouseph Chittilappilly is a very unusual man, and it isn’t in the business sense alone. To give a hint of Kochouseph’s remarkable nature, take the instance of how despite huge family disapproval, he donated one of his kidneys at the age of 60 to an unknown person. This exceptional act of sacrifice was in line with his conviction in his business too.

Kochouseph is a first generation entrepreneur who has built a tidy fortune had a humble beginning. To hark back in time, after his Post Graduation in Physics from St. Thomas College in Thrissur, Kerala, the 25-year old Kochouseph joined a local firm that made Voltage Stabilizers in 1973.  But, the firm closed down abruptly. Instead of finding another job, Kochouseph saw a great business opportunity in making Voltage stabilizers as power fluctuation was a major problem in Kerala.

With Rs 1 lakh borrowed from his father, Kochouseph set up V-Guard Industries in a small room in Kochi in 1977 with just two employees.  It was a humble beginning with the company making 50 voltage stabilizers a month.

The initial few years were smooth. But in 1984 it confronted its first major challenge in the form of a labour problem. And this seemed like the end of the road for Kochouseph. But a chance meeting with a priest of a local church changed his destiny. He hit upon a novel idea of outsourcing the manufacturing of voltage stabilizers to small scale units run under the supervision of the church. Strategic moves like these helped V-Guard to make progress from a single-product company in 1992 to manufacturing a range of products.