Gogte Mines In the early 1950s,
Japanese interest in the
iron and
manganese ores of
Portuguese Goa led
Raosaheb Gogte, a lawyer at the time, to explore the possibility of mining for the ores in the districts of
Ratnagiri and
North Kanara. In 1954, he began mining for manganese near Kuveshi. With financial encouragement from local lenders, Gogte established the Gogte Mines company and began mining for iron ore at
Redi in 1957, having leased 187 acres and 16
gunthas for the project, and producing 15,000 tonnes of iron ore within the first four months. In 1962, the company came under scandal when one of its mines collapsed, injuring several workers. When contractors began demanding higher rates, he commissioned two self-propelled
barges for the transport of the ore, which were inaugurated by
Yashwantrao Chavan and his wife. Turning a profit after a decade of functioning, Gogte formally incorporated his mining company on July 20, 1967. By 1973, the company was considered one of the leading exporters of iron ore in Maharashtra, with their mine in Redi, being cited as the principal producer.
Gogte Salts In 1963, Gogte scouted 1500 acres of land near
Nala Sopara for developing a
salt works. He tasked his brother Vasudev with its management, who would apply
French and
Tunisian techniques of salt production at the works. The Gogte Salts company was inaugurated in 1964 at the hands of
Sadashiv Govind Barve, Negotiations concluded, after the company acquiesced to manufacture both
edible and
industrial salt for which the government would allot 2,000 acres of land to the company. In July 1964, the
Government of Maharashtra gave the company licenses to manufacture
soda ash and
ammonium chloride.
Gogte Minerals By 1974, Gogte had secured buyers for the company's iron ore in
Romania, formally incorporating the Gogte Minerals company on February 23, 1977, for promotion of
ammonium chloride fertilizers. As of 2020, the company's research in the use of the minerals it mines, as well as the company's export practices have been cited by several government and educational institutions studying the field.
Gogte Textiles On May 17, 1980, Gogte established Gogte Textiles, venturing into
textiles, manufacturing
cotton yarns and
fabrics. Under the advisement of
S. M. Krishna, he pursued to obtain a license from the
Government of Karnataka under
Gundu Rao, to set up a
textile mill in Kakti, acquiring 100 acres for the venture, and ordering weaving machinery from
Switzerland. After promises of financial encouragement from the
Ministry of Industry fell through, Gogte appealed to
R. N. Malhotra at the
Reserve Bank of India for provision of
working capital. Financial encouragement came from the
State Bank of Mysore and
IDBI, under the advisement of
Shankarrao Chavan. In the late 1980s, Gogte's son Arvind, and his wife presented samples of their Textile Mills'
terrycloth towels to then
Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, when they learned that his wife
Sonia Gandhi had enquired after them. When Gandhi requested Gogte to arrange a visit to the mills, the mills' workers went on strike. By 1990, the Gogte Textile Mills was one of the largest exporters of textile goods in Karnataka. == References ==