Sona Group chairman Dr Surinder Kapur passes away

Dr Surinder Kapur, the 71-year-old founder and chairman of the Sona Group, passed away after a brief illness in Munich, Germany yesterday.

Dr Kapur was a noted industrialist and a driving force of the Indian automotive component industry. In 1987, he set up the Sona Group which is today a US$ 800 million global company with 16 plants across India, three in Germany and one in the USA. The Group also has a strategic position in Fuji Autotec, Europe which has subsidiaries in Brazil, France, Sweden and the Czech Republic. 

Over the years, Dr Kapur has held various positions of responsibility in key industry bodies. He has been a past president of the Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA) as well as the chairman of TPM Club of India. He also served as the chairman of the Industrial Relations Council of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and was awarded the CII President’s award for contribution to the mission for ‘Innovation in Manufacturing for 2006-2007’.

Dr Kapur was a member of the National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC) and National Council for Electric Mobility (NCEM). He was also a member of the Automotive Mission Plan (2006-2016) set up by the Ministry of Heavy Industry, government of India and has led CII’s mission on Innovation in Manufacturing.

Ramesh Suri, president, ACMA said, “It is indeed very unfortunate that the auto component industry has lost a distinguished leader. Dr Surinder Kapur was a great statesman known for his unstinted support and contribution to the Indian auto component industry and the industry at large. A true believer of globalisation, he not only led the Indian auto component industry to export, but was also a pioneer in international acquisition. Dr Surinder Kapur will also be remembered for his contribution to several national and international forums, which he served with great passion and dedication.” 

Vikram Kirloskar, president, SIAM, said that Dr Kapur was one of the doyens of the auto component industry who played a pioneering role in creating a modern automotive supply chain in India. He epitomised the spirit of entrepreneurship and professionalism and was looked upon as a role model for the manufacturing sector and for the entire component supplier industry. “I would always remember him as a person totally committed to quality and best practices in manufacturing. His passion for quality led to Sona Koyo becoming one of India’s earliest Deming Award winners which set an example for the entire auto-component industry to follow,” said Kirloskar.