Not much is known today about the origins of the company, except that it was founded in Madras 1843. In his book “Southern India: Its History, People, Commerce and Industrial Resources”, Somerset Playne says that the Napier Engineering and Foundry Works belonging to M/s Massey and Co Ltd had was situated in Cochrane Basin Road, “within a short distance from the Central Station”. For a long time, the company’s furnaces were the first sight to greet visitors by train to Madras. The company was into a wide range of engineering activities. It also held agencies for Hornsby Oil and Gas Engines, Ruston Oil and Gas Engines, Roturbo Pumps and Johnson’s Elephant Brand Cement. Outside of the engineering sector, it held agencies for Lipton’s tea and coffee in addition to representing a few insurance firms and breweries. The company had branches in Coorg and other places across South India.
According to its website, the company was bought over by the current management in 1940. It however continues to operate from the same headquarters in Royapuram.
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