THE HISTORY OF HERO GROUP

THE HISTORY OF HERO GROUP

Men of Steel

The success of the Hero Group lies in the determination and foresight of the Munjal brothers, who shared their vision with their workers and led the Group to a position where its name has become synonymous with top-quality two wheelers.
The flame kindled by the Munjal brothers in 1956 with the flagship company Hero Cycles; Mr. Satyanand Munjal, Mr. Brijmohan Lall Munjal and Mr. O. P. Munjal continue to carry the torch and are actively involved in the day-to-day operations of the Hero Group.
The saga is being continued with the same zeal by the second and third generations of the family and by the large working force of the Hero Group. The spirit of enterprise which dominates the progress of the Group is characteristic of the land where it all began - the City of Ludhiana, in Punjab - home to some of lndia's finest workers and entrepreneurs.
The Hero Group is a thriving example of three generations of a family working and striving together to ensure quality, satisfaction and extensive growth.

Milestones
Hero's success saga contains an element of spirit and enterprise; of achievement through grit and determination, coupled with vision and meticulous planning.
1956
Hero Cycles Limited is established.
1961
Rockman Cycles Industries Limited established, which is today the largest manufacturer of bicycle chains and hubs.
1963
It pioneered bicycle exports from India - a foray into the international market.
1971
Highway Cycles was set up to meet the demands of Hero Cycles. It is today the largest manufacturer of single speed and multi-speed freewheels.
1975
Hero Cycles Limited became the largest manufacturer of bicycles in India.
1978
Majestic Auto Limited was formed and the Hero Majestic Moped was introduced.
1981
Munjal Castings established.
1984
Hero Honda Motors Limited established in joint venture with Honda Motors of Japan, to manufacture motorcycles.
1985
Munjal Showa Limited established to manufacture shock absorbers and struts and is today among the top two shock absorber manufacturing companies in India.
1985
The 100 cc Hero Honda Motorcycle arrived and by 1988 was the No. 1 among all motorcycles in India.
1986
Hero Cycles Limited entered the Guinness Book of Records as the largest bicycle manufacturer in the World.
1987
Hero Motors, a division of Majestic Auto Limited set up in collaboration with Steyr Daimler Puch of Austria.
1987
Gujarat Cycles Limited, now known as Munjal Auto Industries Limited was established to manufacture and export state-of-the-art bicycles and allied products in its fully automated plant at Waghodia.
1987
Sunbeam Auto Limited, earlier a unit of Highway Cycles Limited, established as an ancillary to Hero Honda. It is the largest die casting plant in India.
1988
Introduced "Hero Puch" from Hero Motors Limited. This revolutionary machine immediately set new records of petrol efficiency and usable power in 50 - 65 cc machines.
1990
Hero Cold Rolling Division established and is one of the most modern steel cold rolling plants.
1991
Hero Honda receives National Productivity Council's Award.
1991
Hero Honda receives the Economic Times - Harvard Business School Association Award against 200 contenders.
1992
Munjal Showa Limited receives National Safety Award.
1993
Hero Exports established as the International Trading Division for Group and non-Group products.
1993
Hero Motors becomes Indias largest exporter of two wheelers
1995
Hero Corporate Services Limited as the service segment for the Hero Group Companies, ancillaries, suppliers, dealers and other associates.
1996
- Hero Winner, a large-wheeled scooter was introduced by Hero Motors Limited with a choice of 50 cc and 75 cc engines.
1996
Munjal Showa Limited receives British Council's National Safety Award.
1998
- Hero Briggs and Stratton Auto Private Limited was set up to produce 4-stroke two-wheeler engines in various cubic capacities.
1998
Munjal Auto Components established to manufacture gear shafts and gear blanks for motorcycles.
2000
The Hero Group diversifies into IT and IT enabled services through its service segment - Hero Corporate Services Limited.
2000-2001
Hero Honda emerges as the market leader in motorcycles with sales of over a million motorcycles and a strong market share of 47%.
2001
Hero Global Design established to offer engineering services in CAD/CAM/CAE related to New Product Development, Design, Engineering and Manufacturing.
2002
Hero Cycles ties up with National Bicycle Industries, part of Matsushita Group to manufacture high-end bicycles.
2002
Fastener World Established.
2002
Easy Bill Established to offer utility bill collection & retail services.
2003
Tie up with Livebridge Inc., USA.
2004
Tie up with Bombardier - Rotax GmbH for scooter engines.
2004
Tie up with Aprilia Scooters, Italy.
2004
Hero Honda continues as the World's largest manufacturer of two-wheelers with annual sales volume of 2.07 million motorcycles and a market share of 48%.
2004
Retail Insurance business established.
2004
HeroITES, a division of HeroCorporate Service Limited hived off as a division of new company Hero Management Service Limited.
2005
HeroITES strengthens its relationship with ACS,USA,USD 5.0 billion market cap and Fortune 500 company.
2006
Hero Honda enters the scooter segment, launches 100cc "Pleasure"
2006
Hero Honda crosses a unit sales threshold of 3.0 million motorcycles
2006
Hero Group celebrates Golden Jubilee year since inception.It was commemorated by sales of over 15 million motorcycles & over 100 million bicycles.
Today, Hero Group comprises of 20 companies, 300 ancillary suppliers, deep market penetration with over 5,000 outlets, 23,000 + employee and has a turnover of US$ 3.20 billion (FY 2006).

The History of Paper

Paper making is one of the inventions by Chinese. 105 A.D. is often cited as the year in which papermaking was invented. In that year, historical records show that the invention of paper was reported to the Eastern Han Emperor Ho-di by Ts'ai Lun, an official of the Imperial Court. Recent archaeological investigations, however, place the actual invention of papermaking some 200 years earlier. Ts'ai Lun broke the bark of a mulberry tree into fibres and pounded them into a sheet. Later it was discovered that the quality of paper could be much improved with the addition of rags hemp and old fish nets to the pulp. The paper was soon widely used in China and spread to the rest of world through the Silk Road. An official history written some centuries later explained: In ancient times writing was generally on bamboo or on pieces of silk, which were then called ji. But silk being expensive and bamboo heavy, these twoich materials were not conveninet. Then Tsai Lun thought of using tree bark,n hemp, rags, and fish nets. In 105 he made a report to the emperor on the process of paper making, and received high praise for his ability. From this time paper has been in use everywhere and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai."

In few years, the Chinese began to use paper for writing. Around 600 A.D. woodblock printing was invented and by 740 A.D., The first printed newspaper was seen in China.

To the east, papermaking moved to Korea, where production of paper began as early as the 6th century AD. Pulp was prepared from the fibers of hemp, rattan, mulberry, bamboo, rice straw, and seaweed. According to tradition, a Korean monk named Don-cho brought papermaking to Japan by sharing his knowledge at the Imperial Palace in approximately AD 610, sixty years after Buddhism was introduced in Japan.

Along the Silk Road, we learned that paper was introduced to Xinjiang area very early according to the archaeological records. The paper found at Kaochang, Loulan, Kusha, Kotan, and Dunhuang sites dated as early as the 2nd. century. The technique eventaully reached Tibet around 650 A.D. and then to India after 645 A.D. By the time Hsuan Tsang from China arrived to India in 671 A.D., paper was already widely used there.

For a long time the Chinese closely guarded the secret of paper manufacture and tried to eliminate other Oriental centers of production to ensure a monopoly. However in 751 A.D. the T'ang army was defeated by the Ottoman Turks at a mighty battle at the Talas River. Some Chinese soldiers and paper makers were captured and brought to Samarkand. The Arabs learned the paper making from the Chinese prisoners and built the first paper industry in Baghdad in 793 A.D. They, too, kept it a secret, and Europeans did not learn how to make paper until several centuries later. The Egyptians learned the paper making from the Arabs during the early 10th century. Around 1100 A.D. paper arrived in Northern Africa and by 1150 A.D. it arrived to Spain as a result of the crusades and established the first paper industry in Europe. In 1453 A.D. Johann Gutenberg invents the printing press. The first paper industry in the North America was built in Philadelphia in 1690.