Coimbatore: Founder of Shanthi Gears and the company’s philanthropic wing Shanthi Social Service P Subramaniam died in the early hours of Friday in a city hospital.
Subramaniam, 79, was undergoing treatment for throat cancer and was hospitalised for the past few days. He is survived by three daughters.
Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said he was saddened by the loss of a person who committed himself to serving the society till the end, while leader of the opposition MK Stalin in a Facebook post praised Subramaniam’s philanthropic work.
Subramaniam also known as `Gear Man of Coimbatore`, founded Shanti Gears in 1972, prior to which he made small gear assemblies for textile machinery and dabbled in teaching too. The company was sold to Tube Investments, part of the Murugappa Group that took over the company in 2012. Post that, he was active in social work under Shanthi Social Service (SSS). The unit provided medical consultations at Rs 30 at SSS’s medical centre and food