In 1974, Mr. Madhavan Pillai started Pal & Vat, the first member company of Pillai Group in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India. It was a modest operation of two lathe machines. His experience as a QA Engineer at Ruston & Hornsbey (I) Ltd helped him secure a major client - Mahindra and Mahindra, supplying 5000 transmission components per month. In the 1980s, the area of Kolhapur emerged as an important foundry cluster in India for automotive components. Mr. Pillai seized this opportunity and set up a Cupola Furnace (Grey Cast Iron) and a Machine Shop in 1980 with a capacity of manufacturing 100 tons per month of machined castings. When quality became paramount in manufactured components, he upgraded his operations by adding Induction Furnace & another advanced machine shop that supplied 250 tons per month.

Just when the business needed a trailblazer to expand the customer base, he was joined by his son in law, Anu Kumar, a Mechanical Engineer with a MBA degree. With demand rising from offshore companies, Mr. Anu Kumar commissioned an automated sand plant in 2000.