Growing a legacy

 On completion of its 125 years, Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Limited (G&B), the flagship company of the eponymous conglomerate plans to double its revenue in the next five years. Some of the cornerstones of this growth will be exports and its consumer businesses, noted a press release. "We celebrate 125 years of making India…I am proud to say we have built a legacy that promises innovation and progress,” noted G&B chairman and managing director Jamshyd Godrej in a message to employees. "This would not have been possible without our people… each one of you…Thank you for being the force behind G&B and for making us one of India’s most trusted brands,” he stated.
 
 
 
 
 
 
  Clockwise from above: Jamshyd Godrej;
  image from Godrej & Boyce’s virtual archives;
  new logo; booklet on the Group’s founders
 
 
 
 

A new logo, the launch of a new 32-page comic book on their founders Ardeshir and Pirojsha Godrej, and a publicly available virtual tour of their business archives marked the 125th Foundation Day of G&B on May 7, 2022. A press release from the company states that the new logo "captures its efforts to not only be forward-thinking in business but also to be at the cutting edge of innovation and sustainability.” The new futuristic logo which bears the same colors as the earlier one "is an effort to showcase G&B’s pioneering role over the last 125 years in shaping India as a nation, introducing innovative products and nurturing the trusted relationships it has built, stated executive director Nyrika Holkar. "As a company, we are reinvigorating ourselves to build products and services that are not only relevant but that positively impact the planet through technology that is clean.”
The logo, first unveiled to its employees on May 6 at its headquarters in Vikhroli, will prominently feature on all collaterals and product packaging through the year, stated the press note. The company collaborated with graphic designer Aniruddh Mehta from Studio Bigfat, to launch an identity that honors the history of G&B while focusing on its future, states the write-up.
The story of the life and times of Ardeshir and Pirojsha will be told in a booklet brought out by graphic novel experts, Amar Chitra Katha (ACK). G&B has attempted to "showcase stories from its history to help inspire future generations with stories of courage, perseverance, nation building, agility, innovation and more,” stated the release. Jamshyd told the Business Standard (BS) on April 4 that "we were looking at how we could reach children and young adults so that we could share the Godrej story, because they have not been associated so much with the brand… A comic book where you can use narrative writing and tell a story with illustrations was a great way to go.”
ACK have earlier published comic books on other industrialists like Jamsetji Tata, J. R. D. Tata and Ghanshyam Das Birla. Preeti Vyas, chief executive officer of ACK told BS that "one challenge we faced was the page count — 32 pages are too little to write the stories of two business giants like Ardeshir and Pirojsha.” Jamshyd told BS that the story was "supported by a wealth of archival material from the 1900s which has been collected, sorted and made available to anyone interested in the Godrej history.”
The company’s virtual tour of their archives is titled "Back to the future: the Godrej story through an archival lens.” The virtual exhibition space, donned in bright orange, blue and yellow is available at http://www.archives.godrej.com/virtualtour/. Head of the company archives, Vrunda Pathare told Parsiana on April 10 that the aim of the exhibition is "to capture the journey of G&B’s past with an aim to inspire the future.” The "tour” uses interactive tools such as audio bytes from their oral history collection, video glimpses of their first corporate film, advertisements, three dimensional images of the ballot box made by the company for independent India’s first general election and their first typewriter, among other artefacts. She added, "We hope that the virtual tour triggers interest among the audience leading them to visit our physical exhibition at Godrej campus, Vikhroli.” 
Founded in 1897, G&B patented the world’s first springless lock and since then has diversified into 14 businesses across various sectors that include security, furniture, aerospace, infrastructure and defence. The company will undertake an "organization-wide initiative with a focus on bringing new innovative solutions to market that are not only sustainable but also boost growth across its key businesses, to mark its entry into its 126th year,” noted the write-up.