Between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m every day, the veranda at 76-year-old M. Elumalai’s house on Vadivelmudali Street in Venkatapuram, Ambattur Old Town, resonates with laughter.
Seniors — most of them in their 70s — get together for a conversation. The common thread uniting them is their association with the Dunlop Rubber Company, the British multinational tyre company that had its unit in Ambattur. There was only one more unit in India, which was in Kolkata.
They have been meeting on this verandah since 1980s.
Altogether, over 200 retired employees would have gathered at Elumalai’s house. It’s here that they decided to start an association in 2012 to communicate their demands to various State agencies and the defunct management (liquidator). Every day, on an average, around 20 retired employees gather at the house, and during the Association’s meeting, which is held once in three months, the veranda is packed.
“From films and politics to culture and economics, we discuss various subjects. However, not a single day has passed by without Dunlop figuring in our conversations. These are fond memories that will never die,” says 74-year-old K. Balakrishnan, who served the organisation in its electrical wing for 39 years before the company shut down in 1998.
C. Shanmugam, who at 78 is the oldest member of the group and had served the organisation for 38 years as a helper, says, “Dunlop is known for inculcating discipline among its staff. Employees followed work schedules meticulously ensuring the company met the deadlines for its domestic and international markets. In the 1970s, when Dunlop was at its peak, on an average, it manufactured 1,200 truck tyres every day, in addition to tyres for two-wheelers, cars and for the defence forces (mainly Main Battle Tanks) and aeroplanes of various sizes,” he says.
Another feature of Dunlop that they cherish was how it cared for its employees and their families.
Spread over 100 acres in Ambattur, Dunlop Company had a school, A clinic, a cooperatives store where essential goods were sold at reasonable prices.
A PDS outlet and a playground were also present. The organisation encouraged employees to settle down in the neighbourhood by providing them with financial support for the same. Today, many of those who had worked at Dunlop are found in serveral neighbourhoods, which include Ram Nagar, Venketapuram, Krishnapuram, Cholapuram, Lenin Nagar, Pudur and Meenambadu. Most of these residential areas are found within a two-kilometre radius of the company. Many of these areas owe a part of their development to Dunlop.
Divided into 80 sections, the company had various departments including electrical, production and technical departments. On an average, around 3,500 employees worked at the company’s Ambattur unit in 1970s when the organisation was at its peak, in terms of production.
