Archive · 4 Oct 2026
From Locks to an Empire: How Godrej Built Trust
Ardeshir Godrej first trained to be a lawyer, but he left that work after he would not argue something he thought lacked enough evidence.
A business making surgical tools did not work out, so he looked for another idea.
In 1897, he started making locks in a small shed in Bombay.
He later made safes and created a soap made with vegetable oils.
His brother Pirojsha helped grow the business and added many kinds of products.
Over time, the company expanded into areas such as furniture, farming, property and aerospace.
Godrej products are now sold in many countries, and the group has grown far beyond the locks that began the story.
After leaving law and seeing a surgical-instruments venture fail, Ardeshir Godrej began making locks in Bombay in 1897.
His early locks led to safes, and he later introduced vegetable-oil soap, including Godrej No. 1 in 1922.
Ardeshir’s brother Pirojsha joined the business in 1906 and expanded it into a wider manufacturing company.
The company grew into industries including furniture, typewriters, chemicals, agribusiness, real estate and aerospace.
Godrej companies now operate across multiple sectors; the article says their combined market capitalization exceeds $25 billion.
- Who
- Ardeshir Godrej and his brother Pirojsha Godrej.
- What
- The article traces how their lock-making business grew into a diversified industrial group.
- When
- The business began in 1897; the article follows its development through the present.
- Where
- It began in a shed in Lalbaug, Bombay, and later expanded to Vikhroli and other markets.
- Why
- Ardeshir pursued lock-making after a newspaper report about burglaries prompted him to seek a better way to make locks.
- Lock production began
- 7 May 1897, in a 20-square-metre shed in Lalbaug.
- Initial loan
- Merwanji Cama lent Ardeshir Rs 3,000 for his earlier surgical-instruments venture.
- First safes
- Godrej safes reached the market in 1902.
- Springless lock patent
- The brothers applied for a British patent in July 1908; it was granted in October 1909.
- Godrej No. 1
- The vegetable-oil soap followed in 1922.
- Vikhroli land
- Pirojsha bought about 3,000 acres in 1943, with another 400 acres added later.
- Group market capitalization
- The article reports that Godrej Group companies have a combined market capitalization exceeding $25 billion.