OK TATA, OK SUMO

Travel by any road in India, and it is very likely that you will soon see a TATA truck, carrying essential items such as grains, pulses or construction material. Chances are also high that you will find, painted on the back of the truck, the two words “OK TATA”. This lovely phrase is painted by truck drivers and local painters who are proud of their colourful truck art, and not by the Company.

I have often wondered, why “OK TATA” ? The best answer I have found is in the life of Sumant Moolgaonkar, the brilliant engineer-technocrat who headed Tata Motors (then called TELCO) for several years. JRD Tata appointed him Director-in-Charge of TELCO in 1949. In 1954, the Company entered into a partnership with Daimler-Benz of Germany, for manufacturing trucks. The partnership with Benz was for a period of fifteen years, thereafter TELCO went forward on its own, and “we never looked back after that”, said Moolgaokar.

He was a stickler for perfection, and he sought of his people that every Tata truck be of excellent quality. He would not tolerate the “Chalta Hai” attitude that we sometimes associate with shoddy Indian work. Moolgaokar famously said – “Do not accept second-rate work. Expect the best, ask for it, pursue it relentlessly, and you will get it.” He also asked for the best ancillary parts from all his suppliers, and thus played a big role in elevating engineering standards across the country. Tata trucks continue to be known for their robust quality, until today. 

But “OK TATA” has much more to it than excellent quality alone. There was a period of time in the 1970s when Tata trucks were in short supply. Hence, the trucks were being sold by middle-men at a premium of around Rs. 40,000 per truck. Moolgaokar naturally faced a lot of pressure from various quarters, to raise prices, taking advantage of the constrained supplies. Tata Motors, under his leadership, stood steadfast, and refused to profiteer by raising truck prices. Later, Moolgaokar was asked by the historian RM Lala, regarding why he took this decision. Here is his answer. “Profits should come from productivity and not by raising prices in a favourable market”, said Moolgaokar, “our greatest asset is customer affection.”

I discovered yet another reason for “OK TATA” during my visits to the Tata Motors plant in Pune. Adjacent to this factory, I found a beautiful lake, full of migratory birds. Very unusual for a factory that makes trucks and cars, I thought to myself. I was intrigued, and read up on history. When empty land was first bought for this factory, Moolgaokar insisted on planting of trees around the factory, and then an artificial lake to store and supply water for the nurturing of these trees. At that time, he was criticized for spending Rs. 15 lakhs to create this lake. But today, this man-made wetland of 245 acres holds 60 million gallons of water, has dense green cover with over 150,000 trees, has supplied thousands of fruit trees to surrounding villages, and is a beautiful haven for over 150 species of migratory birds and 60 types of butterflies. For him, the larger environment was as important as the product itself.

Think of all this, and think of Sumant Moolgaonkar, when you next see “OK TATA” on a truck. No wonder Tata Motors named one of its first crossover vehicles as the “SUMO”, in tribute to him – borrowing the first two alphabets of his first name and second name, respectively. OK TATA, OK SUMO.