Feisty Bijon Nag presides over the company he created like a pint-sized feudal dynamo:brilliant engineer, potent motivating force, stubborn taskmaster, benign father figure.Any IFB worker can walk into Nag’s—or any manager’s—room at any timeand discuss his problems. During the post-Ayodhya riots, Nag and his managers personallydrove every employee home from work. IFB has never had a labour union.
In 1990, IFB extended its engineering success into the consumer market, launching itswashing machines and grabbing the lion’s share of the premium segment. When thetechnical collaboration with German giant Bosch ended, the washing machines became plainIFB from IFB Bosch, and, belying conventional marketing logic, consumers didn’tcare—IFB continues to lead the segment. Clearly, when it comes to spotting sheerengineering quality, the Indian consumer is as canny as the world’s best carmanufacturers.