Robert Stanes: Coimbatore’s Renaissance Man from London

Robert Stanes, an Englishman who arrived in India in the late 19th Century, left a lasting legacy in the form of the Stanes Group. His philanthropic Victorian values shaped his endeavours in India, ranging from agriculture to transport. He established the first mill, Coimbatore Spinning and Weaving Mills, and helped a vendor acquire machinery to start the Lakshmi Group. Stanes also brought the bicycle to Coimbatore and developed tea estates in the Nilgiris. He also set up two schools, ensuring quality education for all. His legacy continues to this day through the Stanes Group, now in its third generation.

In the annals of India’s colonial history, some remind us of the hard times the country faced. Then there are those who continue to stand as beacons of change. Their contributions to society transcended their time to inspire generations that came after. Robert Stanes, an Englishman who arrived in India in the late 19th Century, is undoubtedly one such luminary whose legacy endures to this day in the Nilgiris and the present-day Coimbatore.

But just how synonymous is the name Robert Stanes with the industrial fabric of Coimbatore, also called the ‘Manchester of South India’? The answer lies in a common retort most people living in and around Race Course Road, Coimbatore’s posh locality, have to offer — “Stanes? Do you mean the company, mill, school? There is everything with that name.”

Stanes was born in 1841 in London at a time when the British Empire was at its zenith. His formative years were influenced by the Victorian value of philanthropy. This early upbringing would shape his endeavours in India, where he arrived in 1861, with the initial purpose of working as an apprentice in a trading company. But destiny had grander plans for him. Having learnt the art of brewing in 1862, he founded the T. Stanes & Co. trading firm in Coimbatore [the ‘T’ denoting Thomas, his father]. What began as a modest enterprise trading in tea, coffee, and indigo soon expanded to a diverse conglomerate, with interests ranging from agriculture to transport. By 1948, Stanes had established five companies, one of which was Stanes Transport Ltd. It was one of the first passenger bus services in Coimbatore.

“Robert Stanes, who established the city’s first mill, Coimbatore Spinning and Weaving Mills, became the inspiration for the famous Lakshmi Mills Company Ltd., founded by G. Kuppuswamy Naidu. In fact, Stanes Mills was also the first to sell tourist tickets for visiting the premises,” said historian and author Rajesh Govindarajulu.

In his book, Friends of the Earth: The Stanes Story, historian V. Sriram writes that a young man supplied high-quality fibre to Stanes and the segregation of cotton from seed was done by bullocks as the vendor could not afford a machine. Impressed, Stanes helped the vendor acquire machinery through a loan from the Bank of Madras. This kick-started Kuppusami Naidu’s successful venture, the Lakshmi Group. Stanes was also invited to Naidu’s wedding and played a significant role in the beginning of the business.

A little-known fact about Stanes, Mr. Govindarajulu said, is how the industrialist also had a role to play in bringing the bicycle to Coimbatore. “Stanes encouraged his secretary William Frazer to introduce the bicycle to the people of Coimbatore. Frazer did so by importing a cycle from England in 1895, and the city quickly took to the newer mode of transport.” The imported bicycles were initially sold for ₹25 in the city. While his name is popular in Coimbatore, Stanes also contributed to the development of the Nilgiris, which he once left reluctantly to set up business. To give Coonoor a modern landscape, he recognised the region’s untapped potential for tea cultivation and established tea estates that put the Nilgiris on the map. “Englishmen began constructing roads in the Nilgiris and were setting the stage for European-style development in the region. This meant there would be an increase in demand for jobs. It is then that the Stanes tea estate played a major role in providing livelihood while making a mark in the beverage market,” Mr. Govindarajulu said.

With the establishment of two schools, one in Coimbatore and the other in Coonoor, Stanes realised his philanthropic dreams. Not only did he lay emphasis on quality education for all but also ensured that “the schools had a regular income by earmarking and settling in trust certain shares of T. Stanes & Co Ltd., thus making them sole beneficiaries of dividend receipts,” writes Mr. Sriram. Today, the Stanes Group stands testament to his legacy. The business continued to evolve and diversify, contributing significantly to India’s economy when Amalgamation Group took it over, with S. Anantharamakrishnan at its helm in 1961. Today, the group is also well into its third generation in business.