The story of ‘Servis’ begins in late 1930s when a group of three young graduates from college, started exploring the possibility of doing business together instead of aspiring for secured jobs. These determined young men, Chaudhry Nazar Muhammad, Chaudhry Mohammad Husain, both hailing from villages in Gujrat and Chaudhry Muhammad Saeed from the neighboring district of Gujranwala, had scarce capital as they came from families with modest means. They pooled their personal savings, and started small businesses of making Mosquito nets, minor steel products, leather chappals and eventually travel bags, hand bags and holdalls, made of canvas and leather largely for supply to the army.
Their promising business, operating out of an apartment with four small rooms in Gowalmandi, Lahore, received a serious setback at the end of World War II when the army stopped purchases and again in 1947 when subcontinent was partitioned into Pakistan and India. Most of their market was lost as it was based in Indian Cities of Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras and Cawnpur. The money they had thus far invested was recovered. They were using a neutral name of Service Limited for their products, not revealing any particular religious identity under intense competition from people of other faiths.
After independence, they started their business afresh and this time with production of slippers, commonly called chappals in Pakistan. The limitation of financial resources did not deter them. They had experience of handling leather and canvas as well as handmade chappals. They established Service industries in 1953, converted to a Public Limited Company in 1959 and ultimately listed on the stock exchange in 1970.
In 1954, they installed a shoe manufacturing plant at industrial area in Gulberg, Lahore, and started production in the same year. The industry started manufacturing various types of shoes. A few years earlier retail outlet had been started at the old Roadrunder banner of Hilal Store, later converted into a Servis store.
At Gujrat, they acquired large piece of land and established one of the biggest industrial complexes in Punjab, manufacturing leather and canvas footwear, canvas fabric, textile spinning and eventually also bicycle tires and tubes.
Humility, fairness and diligence were the core values held by our founders and these led to the phenomenal success of the group over the years. They were hugely focused on the impact of their enterprise on society as a whole. They remained extremely particular about payment of taxes to the national exchequer, and in looking after the interests of shareholder and workforce alike. The importance to society of creating employment opportunities, improve employees’ qualifications, develop backward areas and establish an export market stemmed from their vision and directed their growth.
In the public sphere, they were the pioneers and founders of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Lahore Stock Exchange.
Ch. Nazar Muhammad and Ch. Muhammad Saeed were both Presidents of the Lahore Chamber, and Ch. Nazar Muhammad also served as the President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as Chairman of the newly established Lahore Stock Exchange. He founded the Businessmen Hospital Trust and through it became the founding Chairman of the Shalamar Hospital.
Ch. Mohammad Hussain was a great promoter of cricket and became President for the Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan.
Today, the Servis group has transferred into 5 main companies namely Service Industries Limited, Service Long March Tyres (Pvt) Limited, Service Global Footwear Limited, Service Tyres (Pvt) Limited and Service Retail (Pvt) Limited selling quality Footwear in local and export, all steel truck and bus radial tyres, Agri Tyres and tubes, 2 wheeler and 3 wheeler tyres and tubes, and a retail network of footwear operating with their brand Servis. The Servis group is the leading exporter of footwear, tyres and tubes from Pakistan. Our manufacturing facilities are spread over four locations, with three in Punjab and one in Sindh.
A humble venture of three friends has grown into a group that employs almost fifteen thousand people and makes a difference in the lives of millions of people every day.
