On July 27, 2003, L&T announced the passing away of Henning Holck-Larsen, aged 96, the co-founder of the Indian Engineering and Construction conglomerate Larsen & Toubro Limited.

Born July 4, 1907 in Denmark, Mr. Holck-Larsen was educated at the University of Copenhagen. Larsen came to India in 1937 after being sent to do some construction work. Understanding that there were only few Indians who had knowledge of engineering in 1938, he and his former schoolmate Soren Kristian Toubro established Larsen and Toubro Limited, which was to become one of India`s industrial giants. World War II kept Larsen from returning to Denmark, and he was to spend 60 years in India, and dying there itself in Bombay.

Times of India ran a tribute to him saying he did not teach, but he made an environment where Indians sought after knowledge themselves. He did not do anything, but he inspired and created a vision they were motivated to work fort.

Honoured by the Padma Bushan in 2002 by the Indian Government, he remarked : "India, my adopted homeland , have a special place in my heart. With the Padma Bushan, I`m happy to realise that I have a place in her heart too. I regard this honour as a tribute to the unique spirit of L&T, and the values it has always stood by: its professionalism, its commitment to quality, and its concern for the entire community of stakeholders."

Mr. Holck-Larsen was a visionary in the true sense of the word. "It is our ability to anticipate the future", he once said, "and react accordingly that will determine our success." L&T's distinctive place in Indian industry, its spectacular record of achievements and its unique character are due, in great measure, to his inspirational leadership. The Company's strong customer orientation and its professionalism can also be traced to the values he instilled.

Mr. Holck-Larsen was perhaps the only foreign industrialist to have spent more than 60 years in India. L&T is, and always was, an essentially Indian success story. Once, when asked what he would define as the single most important ingredient of his success as an industrialist in a developing country, Mr Holck-Larsen replied: "If you want to belong to a country which becomes a nation, you have to keep the economy growing by creating jobs. And you can only do that by investing in tomorrow, and tomorrow is made by people." So strongly is the Company and its achievements identified with Indian aspirations, that its tagline reads ' We make the things that make India proud'.

On retirement from L&T, he was made Chairman Emeritius of the Company. He divided his time between Denmark and India, and maintained a keen interest in the working of L&T.

Mr. Holck-Larsen received several prestigious awards, medals and honours from around the globe - the Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding (1976), a knighthood from Queen Margarethe II of Denmark (1977), Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial Peace (1980), Chemtech Foundation's Chemical Industry Stalwart Award (2000), the Bombay Management Association's Lifetime Achievement Award (2001), a citation from the Indo-European Union Business Summit for promoting business beyond boundaries (2002), and the Padma Bhushan (2002) for his contribution to Indian industry.

Mr. Holck-Larsen is survived by a daughter, and of course a legacy of one of India's most respected companies.

http://www.larsentoubro.com/ - We make the things that make India proud

Henning Holck-Larsen, civilingeniør, direktør, chairman emeritus, fhv. generalkonsul, Bombay, er død 96 år. Næppe nogen anden enkeltperson har ifølge Berlingske Tidende ydet så førsteklasses u-landsarbejde, uden at det har kostet den danske stat en krone.

Henning Holck-Larsen, der blev student fra Metropolitanskolen i 1925 og 5 år senere cand.polyt., oprettede i 1938 sammen med skolekammeraten og ungdomsvennen Søren K. Toubro et firma med sæde i Bombay, som skulle komme til at bygge cementfabrikker, kunstgødningsanlæg, boligkarreer, havneanlæg og et atomkraftværk i Indien.

Ingeniørfirmaet Larsen & Toubro giver i dag beskæftigelse til godt 20.000 indiske medarbejdere og har holdt livet oppe hos 300.000. Toubro og Holck-Larsen bragte know-how til landet og skabte en række basisindustrier. De udviste tidligt stor social ansvarlighed og oprettede klinikker for de mange ansatte.

Holck-Larsen fik i 1976 "Asiens Nobelpris" for den menneskelige måde, hvorpå han havde ført teknologien ind i Indien. Prisen på 10.000 dollars gav han videre til Indira Gandhis fond for naturkatastrofer. 4 år senere fulgte Sir Jehangir Gandhy guldmedaljen.

Henning Holck-Larsen trådte tilbage som formand for Larsen & Toubro i 1980, men da en storaktionær i 1990 ville slå hul på pengetanken, vendte han tilbage, da med titlen Chairman Emeritus, for at beskytte aktiekapitalen på omkring en kvart milliard kroner og de betydeligt større indre værdier.

Forfatterinden Iris Garnov skriver i sine mindeord bl.a., at "Henning Holck-Larsen gik helt nye veje: Han købte jord, byggede boliger og sørgede for uddannelser til de voksne arbejdere; han byggede skoler, hvor arbejdernes børn fik undervisning... Han blev kendt overalt på Jorden som den smukke, statelige og elskelige dansker.. hans kultiverede adfærd var lykkeligt forenet med hans flotte stil og store charme og berigede alle i hans nærhed.. hans hjerte var i Indien, og det var dér, det holdt op med at slå."

Henning Holck-Larsen boede de sidste mange år halvdelen af tiden i Gentofte og den anden halvdel i sit elskede Bombay. Han blev født 4. juli 1907 i København og døde i storbyen på Indiens vestkyst 27. juli 2003.

Source: http://u-landsnyt.dk/