Laxmanrao Kashinath Kirloskar (1869-1956) was an India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n businessman. He was the founder of the Kirloskar Group

Kirloskar Group

The Kirloskar Group is India's largest Engineering and Construction Conglomerate with sales exceeding $3.5 billion...

.

In 1888, he set up his first venture - a small bicycle repair shop at Belgaum

Belgaum

Belgaum is a city and a municipal corporation in Belgaum district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the fourth largest city of the state of Karnataka, the first three being Bangalore, Mysore, Hubli-Dharwad....

. Strongly believing that agricultural implements must fit the milieu they are used in, he manufactured iron ploughs, the first Kirloskar products.

He had read about industrial townships in Europe and America where the owners of industries had built communities for the employees. His dream was to build his own industry and community for his employees; he realized this dream with Kirloskarwadi

Kirloskarwadi

Kirloskarwadi is an industrial township based around the Kirloskar Brothers factory in the Sangli district, in Maharashtra state, India. It is the second oldest industrial township in India...

, a place where he started the Kirloskar Brothers Limited factory in 1910.