page_title: Vasantrao Ghatge
section_title: Education and business
hierarchical_section_title: Vasantrao Ghatge / Education and business
caption_attribution_description: English: Ghatge &amp; Patil Showroom in 1971
context_page_description: Vasantrao Madhavrao Ghatge was an Indian entrepreneur, business magnate, industrialist and a professor. He was the co-founder of Ghatge Patil Transports along with Jaykumar Patil in the year 1945 based in Kolhapur. Ghatge was widely recognized as the pioneer in the road transport sector for revolutionizing transportation of cargo or goods. He was born in Kolhapur to Radhabai and Madhavrao Ghatge. He was raised in Kolhapur in the 1920s and completed Master of Science in Botany in the year 1938 from Fergusson College of Pune.
  During his lectureship at the Rajaram College of Kolhapur, he fell prey to Tuberculosis and had to leave his position due to his prolonged treatment. After fighting TB, he along with his friend Mr. Jaykumar Patil started goods transportation in the year 1946 as Ghatge Patil Transports Ltd. Extensive reach of Ghatge Patil trucks in every corner of Maharashtra had made it a household name. Soon, the organization diversified to multiple industries like spare parts manufacturing unit named as KGP Auto Ltd., the top engine and automobile dealerships like Morris Motors, Lambretta under its wing during the 1950s.
context_section_description: After finishing Master of Science in Botany from Fergusson College of Pune, Ghatge started his career as a professor in Rajaram College. After teaching for a few months, he had to resign his post when he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Ghatge, being calm and understanding by nature made friends very easily; one of his closest friends was Jaykumar Patil.
  Jaykumar Patil belonged to a Jain family of Kolhapur. The Patil family ran a small goods transportation business which was dependent on a single truck and the route for which was a fixed Kolhapur-Mumbai trip. Many a times, Jaykumar Patil himself drove the truck all the way to Mumbai. Sakharampant, the elder brother of Ghatge was a civil engineer by profession had started with the construction business in Kolhapur. During 1941–42, Sakharam had bagged an Airport building contract which required regular goods transportation from Kolhapur to Belgaum. Sakharam had one truck to handle the transportation but had a shortage of one truck. Ghatge suggested Jaykumar what for the assignment to which Jaykumar agreed at once to help. After the completion of the assignment in 1943, Ghatge suggested to start a sole goods transport business using the two trucks and that is how Ghatge Patil Transports took birth and the partnership began. In 1945, during the reign of E.W Perry, the business bagged its first major contract of Rajaram Rifles to transport wood under the commandment of Gen. Thorat. With this contract, Ghatge & Patil had struck a gold mine and gained respect in town for handling the Indian Army consignments.
caption: Ghatge & Patil Showroom in 1971
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