PROTOS BAT OIL

In the year 1944, as already mentioned, Mr. F.C. Sondhi started a company in England by the name of F.C. Sondhi and Company Limited. At that time it was dealing only in Toys but after the partition of India in 1947, Mr. F.C. Sondhi felt that perhaps he could help the small Sports Goods Industry in Jalandhar by importing some goods from India and selling them in England. With this idea in mind, in 1950 he journeyed to India by chance, with his younger son and set up a branch of his company in Jalandhar City. The branch was situated at No. 1 Basti Nau and he appointed a Manager, Mr. M.R. Khorana to look after the company. Though the industry was only just beginning to settle down after the upheaval of partition, yet small quantities of Hockey sticks, Cricket balls, Footballs etc., were purchased from Jalandhar and exported to England. In 1961 the Indian Government passed a law saying that all branch offices of foreign companies must be Indianised and the company then was converted to F.C. Sondhi and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd., with local shareholders. The company continued to export goods to F.C. Sondhi and Company Limited in England but also to other Sports Goods Importers in England. In fact Mr. F.C. Sondhi established contacts with others in England who started importing from the Indian Company. The company continued to be a merchant exporter upto the year 1967.