Lachhman Das Mittal, Retired LIC Agent, started business at 60, gone bankrupt, now owns a Rs 20,000 crore company

Lachhman Das Mittal, Founder of Sonalika Tractors: It is a true saying that success sees no age. This statement can be validated by reading the motivational life of Lachhman Das Mittal, founder of Sonalika Tractors. Mr. Mittal began his entrepreneurship journey at the age of 60. When most people retire from work, he after leaving the state-owned Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) launched Sonalika Tractors. Nowadays, the start-up culture is prevalent among young people. Many kids aspire to be entrepreneurs. However, Lachhman Das Mittal started his business at the old age of 60 years and is now the chairman of one of the largest tractor manufacturers in India.

After starting his business career in 1990, Mr. Mittal founded Sonalika Tractors in 1995 in Punjab, India. It is the third-largest tractor manufacturer in India by market share. It has the capacity to produce 3 lakh tractors in a year. Sonalika Tractors also became the number 1 company in tractor exports in the financial year 2021-22. It sold more than 35,000 tractors in many foreign countries in the financial year 2021-22. Sonalika Tractors manufactures tractors ranging from 20 HP to 120 HP. It wields around 11.7% market share of the tractor industry in India.

Lachhman Das Mittal hailed from a middle-class family. Working with LIC allowed him to learn about investing and savings. Rather than maintaining his money in bank accounts, he invested it in various schemes and mutual funds. Despite having a good career at LIC, he attempted to plan something more ambitious. He decided to start his farm machinery as a side business. This completely backfired on him, leaving him bankrupt. He lost everything he had invested. After that, he applied for a Maruti dealership to make up for his losses, but he was turned down.

The Beginning of Sonalika Tractors

Despite suffering heavy losses, Mr. Mittal did not lose his perseverance and patience. One day, he saw Japanese machines separating hay and wheat, which resonated in his mind. Extending this idea, he decided to enter the agricultural machine industry. He started making threshers for farmers. This strategy proved so successful that he received national recognition for his machinery in just eight years. Sonalika Thresher became one of India’s most recognized agricultural brands. Tractors were not something he intended to offer; instead, his clients persuaded him to consider the notion. The results were promising, but he needed funding to do this work on a larger scale. He then approached his trusty dealers and was able to acquire a Rs 22 crore loan. This paved the way for Sonalika Tractors.

Business Overview of Sonalika Tractors

Sonalika Tractors were founded in Jalandhar, Punjab. This venture proved to be a big success. Lachhman’s Sonalika tractors are presently supplied to 74 countries and employed on Indian farms too, thanks to five distinct manufacturing sites around the world. Sonalika Group presently sells 70,000 agricultural tractors each year and exports many such units on a regular basis to more than 70 countries. It is operated by International Tractors Limited, the flagship firm of Sonalika Tractors. Japanese firm Yanmar owns a 30% stake in International Tractors Limited. Mr. Mittal has delegated operations to his sons Amrit Sagar and Deepak, as well as his grandsons Raman, Sushant, and Rahul, but he remains actively involved in the firm. According to Forbes, he currently owns a net worth of 2.5 Billion Dollars (more than 20,000 crores rupees).