Born on October 14, 1936, our founder Mr. N. Krishnan had his schooling in Delhi and was a B- Tech from the 1957 batch of IIT Kharagpur. He then studied at the Loughborough College of Technology (now the Loughborough University), UK, thanks to a Burmah Shell scholarship.
Returning to India, NK, as he was known, worked in the automotive industry before turning entrepreneur in the 1960s. Having successfully run manufacturing entities, NK set up HVK in 1986 as a distributor for Vickers Systems International Limited, now Eaton Fluid Power. HVK was the first of its kind in India, for Vickers and for that matter all hydraulic manufacturers till then handled supplies directly to customers for replacements and spares. The success of the HVK experiment saw the appointment of 17 other distributors for Vickers across the country in later years. The HVK model also became the standard that was emulated by all other hydraulic manufacturers and today, selling via a distribution network has become the norm.
The HVK Group became known for its solution-based approach as opposed to simply selling what was on offer. NK coined the phrase Service Before Sales and that became the motto – it was necessary to understand what was the pain point of the customer and solve it before attempting to sell anything. This was an arduous route to take to build loyalty but it proved most effective in the long run. Today, the HVK Group can boast of being vendor to a large base of industrial hydraulics consumers.
Systems, adherence to commitment and professionalism in all dealings were the hallmarks of NK’s style of management, all of which are the basic tenets on which the HVK group operates. NK created a team of people who became passionate adherents to the HVK style of management and running of business. While many stayed on to spend their entire careers in the company, others who left carried on the same practices in their work life, earning laurels. NK’s inspiring leadership ensured that most past employees became part of a worldwide HVK family, with great goodwill to the mentor who had inspired them. He too on his part, never hesitated to spend time to counsel whoever came seeking it from him.
Apart from running his businesses successfully, NK found plenty of time for a wider social circle and for charitable causes. He was President of Round Table India in 1976. He was Charter President of the Rotary Club of Ambattur. In Rotary circles he was known especially for his espousal of International Service and within it the Group Study Exchange and Semester at Sea programmes. He was a President of the Ambattur Industrial Estate Manufacturers Association as well. He was a mentor to several young entrepreneurs and in this capacity was actively involved with the BharatiyaYuva Shakti Trust. In 2017, he received this body’s Excellence in Mentoring Award, which was given to him by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. In 2018, NK received the Distinguished Service Award from his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur. In his personal capacity, NK established a charitable trust through which a substantial part of his earnings went to deserving cases in the fields of education and healthcare.
An exemplar of simple living, high thinking and a lifelong adherent to the principle of positivity in
thought, NK became a mentor to the employees of HVK as time went along. He passed away on April 23, 2021, mourned by a wide circle comprising family, employees past and present, friends and above all those whose life his kindness had touched. The HVK Group resolves to continue on the path he laid out for it.
The company was co-founded by Hema Krishnan, presently the Jt Managing Director. Beginning from the time when she was virtually the first salesperson of the product range, Mrs Krishnan has had
considerable influence on the way the company has grown, in particular with reference to its human resources, internal systems and procedures.
