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{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Søren Kristian Toubro
|image =
|image_size =
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|birth_name =
|birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1906|02|27}}
|birth_place = [[Denmark]]
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1982|03|04|1906|02|27}}
|death_place = [[Denmark]]
|body_discovered =
|death_cause =
|resting_place =
|resting_place_coordinates = 
|residence =
|nationality = Danish
|ethnicity =
|citizenship = [[Denmark]]
|other_names =
|known_for = Founder of [[Larsen & Toubro]]
|education =
|alma_mater = [[Technical University of Denmark]]
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|children = Ole K. Toubro (son), Annelise Mette Toubro (daughter)
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'''Søren Kristian Toubro''' (27 February 1906 – 4 March 1982) was a Danish engineer who co-founded the engineering firm [[Larsen & Toubro]], an [[India]]-based [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]].<ref name="the_hindu_giant">{{cite news
| url = http://www.blonnet.com/2007/07/04/stories/2007070450270900.htm
| title = The engineer behind the giant
| author = N. Ramakrishnan
| publisher = [[The Hindu]]
| date = 4 July 2007
| accessdate = 13 May 2009
}}</ref>

== Early days in India ==
Toubro began his career as a [[civil engineer]]. As an employee of [[FLSmidth|F. L. Smidth & Co.]] of [[Copenhagen]], he came to India in 1934 to erect and commission the equipment supplied to the [[Madukkarai]] Cement Works (near [[Coimbatore]]) and the [[Rohri]] Cement Factory (near the [[Sukkur Barrage]] in [[Sindh]]).<ref name="the_hindu_formula">{{cite news
|url = http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2006/03/06/stories/2006030600380500.htm
|title = The Toubro formula
|publisher = [[The Hindu]]
|date = 6 March 2006
|access-date = 13 May 2009
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080317102248/http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2006/03/06/stories/2006030600380500.htm
|archive-date = 17 March 2008
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> Sometime after landing in India, he read a report in ''[[The Bombay Chronicle]]'' that quoted [[Mohandas K. Gandhi]] as saying: "(I am) not leading a movement to rid India of its white colonial masters in order to substitute them with brown ones." Toubro felt that such an India would "offer great opportunities to anyone with modern technological and management skills."<ref name="the_hindu_formula"/>

== Larsen & Toubro ==
In 1938, Toubro partnered with his former schoolmate [[Henning Holck-Larsen]], a chemical engineer and a fellow Smidth's employee, to establish [[Larsen & Toubro]]. The idea of L&T was conceived during a holiday in [[Matheran]], a hill station near [[Bombay]] (now Mumbai).<ref name="the_hindu_formula"/> Holck-Larsen was a risk-taker while Toubro was more conservative.<ref name="the_hindu_giant"/> Larsen & Toubro saw opportunities in India at a time, when few Europeans had realised the country's potential for industrial growth.

The first office of L&T, located in Bombay, was so small that only one of them could use it a time.<ref name="larsentoubro_evolution">{{cite web
|url = http://www.larsentoubro.com/lntcorporate/common/UI_Templates/html/common_AABL_BHIS.htm
|title = Evolution of L&T
|publisher = L&T
|access-date = 13 May 2009
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110713184540/http://www.larsentoubro.com/lntcorporate/common/UI_Templates/html/common_AABL_BHIS.htm
|archive-date = 13 July 2011
|df = dmy-all
}}</ref> Initially, L&T represented Danish [[dairy]] equipment manufacturers. However, the Danish imports were restricted during [[World War II]], forcing L&T to start a small workshop that provided servicing and undertook small jobs. The imports stopped after the [[Operation Weserübung|German invasion of Denmark]], forcing L&T to start manufacturing dairy equipment indigenously, a move that was successful.<ref name="larsentoubro_evolution"/>

Seeing opportunity in ship repair during wartime, Larsen and Toubro formed a new company called Hilda Ltd. Around this time, L&T also started two repair and fabrication shops. The internment of German engineers who were supposed to build a [[soda ash]] plant for the [[Tata Group|Tatas]] provided L&T another new opportunity.<ref name="larsentoubro_evolution"/>

In 1944, Larsen and Toubro established Engineering Construction & Contracts (ECC). L&T started collaborating with international companies around this time. In 1945, L&T signed an agreement with the [[Caterpillar Tractor Company]] of the United States for marketing earthmoving equipment. L&T also started representing British manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture a variety of products including biscuits, glass, hydrogenated oils and soaps.<ref name="larsentoubro_evolution"/>

At the end of World War II, the war-surplus Caterpillar equipment were available in bulk at low prices. However, L&T lacked the money to purchase them. Therefore, Larsen and Toubro decided to raise additional [[equity capital]], and as a result, Larsen & Toubro Private Limited was established on 7 February 1946.<ref name="larsentoubro_evolution"/> After India gained independence in 1947, L&T set up offices in [[Calcutta]], [[Madras]], and New Delhi. In 1948, L&T acquired {{convert|55|acre|ha}} of undeveloped land in the [[Powai]] suburb of Mumbai.

Larsen and Toubro gradually transformed L&T into a large business house with diverse interests. A 2006 article in ''[[The Hindu]]'' described Toubro as follows:<ref name="the_hindu_formula"/>
{{Quote|A [[workaholic]], he expected the same of others. A hard taskmaster with a schoolmasterly attitude to training he may have been, but the young he mentored still remember the lessons he taught: that no effort was too great to ensure customer satisfaction, that there must be attention to detail in the quest for perfection, and that there must be pride in whatever was being done.}}

Soren K. Toubro served as the director of L&T from 1946 to 1981, and retired from active management in 1962–63.<ref name="larsentoubro_evolution"/> He continued to serve on the L&T and ECC board of directors till 1981.

== Last years ==
After spending nearly five decades in India, Toubro retired to Denmark in 1981, and died there the following year.<ref name="the_hindu_formula"/> Toubro had a large house and estate in [[Kodaikanal]], where his wife spent her last days.

The Toubro Training Centre, located in the [[Manapakkam]] campus of L&T's ECC division, is named after him. The Toubro Construction Technology Centre, is also named after him, and was inaugurated by his son Ole K. Toubro in 2006.<ref name="the_hindu_formula"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Larsen & Toubro}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toubro, Soren Kristian}}
[[Category:20th-century Danish businesspeople]]
[[Category:Danish expatriates in India]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Larsen & Toubro]]
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]

Søren Kristian Toubro - Revision history

imported>Rathfelder: −Category:20th-century businesspeople; ±Category:Danish businesspeople→Category:20th-century Danish businesspeople using HotCat