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{{Short description|Danish businessman and engineer}}{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2018}}

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|birth_place = Frederiksberg, Denmarkdf=yes07190704}}|death_place = Mumbai, India|nationality = Danish/Indian|known_for = Founder of Larsen & Toubro}}Henning Holck-Larsen (4 July 1907 – 27 July 2003) was a Danish engineer who co-founded the Indian engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

Early life and career

Holck-Larsen was educated at the University of Copenhagen (and what is now the Technical University of Denmark). He came to India in 1937 as a chemical engineer working for F. L. Smidth & Co. of Copenhagen. Partnering with his former schoolmate and fellow employee Søren Kristian Toubro, he set up Larsen & Toubro in 1938. The idea of L&T was conceived during a holiday in Matheran, a hill station near Mumbai.NEWS , Holck-Larsen and Toubro saw opportunities in India at a time when few Europeans had realised the country’s potential for industrial growth.The first office of L&T, located in Mumbai, was so small that only one of them could use it at a time.WEB , Initially, L&T represented Danish dairy equipment manufacturers. However, the Danish imports were restricted during the World War II, forcing L&T to start a small workshop that provided servicing and undertook small jobs. The imports stopped after the German invasion of Denmark, forcing L&T to start manufacturing dairy equipment indigenously, a move that was successful.Seeing opportunity in ship repair during wartime, Holck-Larsen and Toubro formed a new company called Hilda Ltd. Around this time, L&T also started two repair and fabrication shops. The internment of German engineers who were supposed to build a soda ash plant for the Tatas provided L&T another new opportunity.In 1944, Holck-Larsen and Toubro established Engineering Construction & Contracts (ECC). L&T started collaborating with international companies around this time. In 1945, it signed an agreement with the Caterpillar Tractor Company of USA for marketing earthmoving equipment. L&T also started representing British manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture a variety of products including biscuits, glass, hydrogenated oils and soaps. At the end of World War II, the war-surplus Caterpillar equipment was available in bulk at low prices. However, L&T lacked the money to purchase them. Therefore, Holck-Larsen and Toubro decided to raise additional equity capital, and as a result, Larsen & Toubro Private Limited was established on 7 February 1946. After India gained independence in 1947, L&T set up offices in Calcutta, Madras and New Delhi.Holck-Larsen and Toubro gradually transformed L&T into a large business house with diverse interests, and went on to become one of the most successful Indian companies.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}He later wedded his wife Karen at the Church of St Andrew and St Columba.BOOK, Harboe, J., Tigeren i sit leje. Henning Holck-Larsen og hans virksomhed i Indien, SAGA Egmont, 2021, 978-87-26-55767-1,books.google.com/books?id=l2k1EAAAQBAJ&pg=PT102, da, 2023-07-02, 102, After retirement, Holck-Larsen served as the chairman emeritus of the company. He used to call India his “adopted homeland” and divided his time between Denmark and India.NEWS , He died in 2003 at the Breach Candy hospital, Mumbai. {{Cn|date=May 2024}}

Awards and recognitions

• Ramon Magsaysay Award for International Understanding (1976)
• Knighthood from Queen Margrethe II of Denmark (1977)
• Sir Jehangir Ghandy Medal for Industrial Peace (1980)
• Chemtech Foundation’s Chemical Industry Stalwart Award (2000)
• Bombay Management Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award (2001)
• Citation from the Indo-European Union Business Summit for promoting business beyond boundaries (2002)
• Padma Bhushan (2002) for contribution to Indian industry.WEB,mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf, Padma Awards, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, 2015, 21 July 2015, dead,mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf," title="web.archive.org/web/20151015193758mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf,">web.archive.org/web/20151015193758mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/LST-PDAWD-2013.pdf, 15 October 2015,
• India Post issued a commemorative postage stamp of Rs 5.00 on 12 June 2008

References

{{Reflist}}{{Larsen & Toubro}}{{PadmaBhushanAwardRecipients 2000–09}}{{Authority control}}