High Voltage Growth

The chittilappilly family has helmed the growth of v-guard industries, and now wonderla holidays.

- Anshul Dhamija

In 1977, Kochouseph Chittilappilly borrowed Rs 1 lakh from his father to start the voltage stabiliser manufacturing company V-Guard Industries, headquartered in Kerala’s Kochi. “I was a supervisor at a small [electric and electronic manufacturing] company, and I couldn’t find a better job,” says the 66-year-old, who, back then, earned a tidy sum of Rs 850 a month after completing a master’s degree in physics from St Thomas College, Thrissur.

Kochouseph is the chairman of the Rs 1,800-crore V-Guard Industries, and vice chairman of Wonderla Holidays, which operates amusement parks in Kochi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, with a fourth coming up in Chennai.