Tamil Nadu News

Chennai's Industrial Map

August 30 , 2026 11 hrs 0 min 15 0

It was Madras — a city whose business story was already taking shape several centuries ago.
The industrial development of the Madras Presidency was a matter of serious concern and in 1899.
Alfred Chatterton, who was then with the College of Engineering in Guindy, was appointed to stimulate industrial technical education in the region.
From Fort St. George in 1639, Madras shipped rather than made — cotton piece goods, indigo, hides.
The artificial harbour of the 1880s turned an open roadstead into a working port.
Binny’s Buckingham Mill in 1876 and the Carnatic Mill in 1881 employed tens of thousands at Perambur.
Simpson began coach building in 1840.
Long before Chennai became known as the Detroit of India, Madras was already laying the foundations for the automotive sector.
The first car to arrive in Madras was in the early 1900s. Simpson’s, the city’s famed coach builders then, played a role in this.
In 1948, Madras had become home to automotive pioneers such as Standard Motor Products of India and Ashok Leyland (Ashok Motors).
While Enfield India began two-wheeler manufacturing in 1956.
Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE), headquartered in Chennai, is the second largest tractor manufacturer.
The Madras Rubber Factory, known as MRF, began its journey in Madras as a small toy-balloon manufacturer and went on to become one of India’s largest tyre makers.
Indian Bank began its journey in Madras in 1907, followed by Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) in 1937.
In 1958, Madras opened the Guindy Industrial Estate, one of India’s first industrial estates alongside Delhi’s Okhla.
In 2030 Chennai is still an automotive, electronics, and services city, and GCCs remain its highest-wage employer.
Madras laid the foundation and Chennai is building what comes next.