Indian Quality improvement pioneer QIMPRO turns 20

19 November 2007

Qimpro was established in 1987 as the sole Indian affiliate of the Juran Institute, one of only 10 such affiliates worldwide. Suresh Lulla, founder, Qimpro, talks to Sourya Biswas on 20 years of helping Indian companies assimilate the quality culture

To become a business leader is a notable achievement, but to create a business itself, consistently set new standards and occupy the leadership position for a period spanning two decades is something fewer still achieve in their lifetimes.

Qimpro, India''s first dedicated quality consultancy firm set up in 1987 by Suresh Lulla, celebrates 20 years of leadership in guiding companies "to do things right". Suresh Lulla, founder Qimpro, who has spearheaded the "quality movement" in India.

The codification of quality and associated processes had its origin in the works of two legends, Dr. William Edwards Deming and Dr. Joseph Moses Juran. While Dr. Deming concentrated on the statistical methods of quality control, Dr. Juran looked at "managing for quality", or the human side of enterprise. Following their directions, the ravaged post-war economy of Japan flourished and has today emerged as the last word on quality.

Qimpro was established in 1987 as the sole Indian affiliate of the Juran Institute, an honoured member of the rarified group of only 10 such affiliates worldwide. Dr. Juran was very particular about the nations where such institutions were established. In a way, he had foreseen India''s current growth 20 years ago and found in his protégé Lulla the ideal person to navigate her shores.

When Lulla started in 1987, "quality" was an unknown word in the Indian business lexicon, and he candidly admits that he didn''t have any clients for two years. It was only on 2 January 1989, when the legendary TISCO (as Tata Steel was then known) boss Russi Mody asked him to address his executives at Dimna, 50 kilometres from Jamshedpur, that Qimpro''s march to success began.