Rajkumar Gopal, Former Manager (HVTL)

125 years of service

Mr. Rajkumar Gopal who has worked as a manager with HVTL, a subsidiary of Tata Motors for 43 years reminicises on the days that were.

The Gopal family has given 125 years of service to Tata Motors – his father served the Company for 37 years; Gopal himself has 43 years service; his younger brother S. Gopal (still serving) is working with Tata Motors for the past 24 years, his brother-n-law (Prem Bhardwaj – still serving) has 20 years of service to his credit, while his son Amrit Gopal is a temporary employee. If that isn’t loyalty to Tata Motors, what is!

On completing his Matriculation, Gopal enrolled as a trade apprentice in the Company’s Training Division. The division, he recalls was set up by Mr. K Pflueger, who ran the shop with German discipline and precision. Apprentices worked with their hands, were given practical classes, were entrusted with cleaning their premises and trained as NCC cadets. The training and discipline imbibed in those days has stood all the apprentices in good stead – today most of them are skilled and valued hands on the job. The apprentices who topped the exams were sent for further training to Daimler Benz, Germany.

During his days in apprentice school, Mr. Ratan Tata had spent a few weeks in the shop as part of his training in Tata Motors. Gopal adds that the Chairman was simple, unassuming and did not make people feel that he bore a distinguished lineage.

As a member of the first Kaizen team (Cam shaft line) at Tata Motors, Jamshedpur, Gopal has seen stints in various departments and has also seen ups and downs in his career. He recalls the time he was transferred to Final Rectification (which he considered a punishment). However, not a person to be cowed down, he resolved to make a difference to the place. On his insistence the environment of the shop was improved and as a result the productivity improved.

For a man who started on a stipend of Rs. 52/ per month and who retired on a basic of Rs.32,000/- , Gopal admits that he has not had a bad deal , inflation considered. He feels that Tata Motors has been good to him and though he plans to settle in Chandigarh, he will carry fond memories of the company in which he spent his whole working life.

Source: As told to Daphne D’Souza, Tata Motors, Jamshedpur.