Born in the Pre-Independence era in the year 1933 in the small village of Palwal in East Punjab (now Haryana) in a financially-challenged home, his struggle started from the very beginning. He lost his mother at the mere age of 2, his only support system being his elder brother who was aged 5.

He managed to complete their schooling facing tumultuous challenges throughout their childhood, living in a country that was still reeling with the heat of the partition of 1947. He was only 14, and he made it through these rough times with his wit and courage, both of which ended up teaching him important lessons that followed him his entire life.

After completing his schooling in 1951, he left his hometown and got admitted into Dayal Bagh Engineering College in Agra for further education. He and his brother both managed to graduate from college, handholding each other and supporting themselves by working at all times, even during holidays.

Mr. S.L. Mangla Completed his B.Sc. in Engineering in 1956. Due to his sheer hard work and dedication, he got the support of his college principal, who went on to become his mentor and godfather. In 1956, following his mentor’s advice, he decided to join Kirloskar Brothers Limited at Kirloskarwadi in Maharastra, a then-unknown destination (now considered to be the 2nd oldest Industrial town in India). Mr. Mangla joined Kirloskar Brothers Ltd. in September 1956 and began his journey in the pump industry of India as an apprentice. He considered his service in Kirloskarwadi to be his best days. For the first time in his life, he got recognition, respect, and affection from the people around him. Even though he was one of the first North Indians working in Kirloskarwadi, he learned the ways of the people, picked up Marathi, and soon became well-versed in the culture of the city.

He got married in 1958 and was soon after blessed with a daughter and a son. Kirloskar Brothers, seeing his potential at work, sent him on a year-long training assignment to the United Kingdom in Europe.

In 1965, KBL decided to finally transfer him to Dewas, Madhya Pradesh to set up their manufacturing plant which then got initiated in 1962, another unknown destination that became an industrial town later on. Mr. S.L. Mangla worked at KBL Dewas for 25 years and handled various functions of business- from manufacturing and design to administration and even marketing. He was the “Jack of All “ for the purposes of the plant and thrived in all scenarios, dedicating all his hard work and energy to his work

He retired in 1990 after 34 years of loyal service to Kirloskar Brothers Ltd., only to start his even more successful second innings with Mangla Engineering Ltd. that he set up alongside his son Mr. Girish Mangla, an idea percolated by Mr. Sanjay Kirloskar himself. With the little money he had saved from retirement benefits of PF & gratuity, back-to-shop floor given by high executives, and 2 old 1965 make lathes bought for Rs 11000 from KBL, a remarkable journey of 32 years began.

Mangla Engineering Ltd. went on to become the largest domestic pump manufacturing company in Central India with the capacity to produce 4 lakh pumps per annum with its own in-house foundry, machine shop, auto winding, assembly line, and more. Integrated along with the manufacturing were departments dedicated to developing modern designs and technology, all of which were combined using a cloud-based ERP. The company is reputed to be one of the preferred manufacturing units for many OEMs in the Pump Industry, not only because of its manufacturing capabilities but also because of the ethical values of business Mr. Mangla rooted in business, his son, and all his employees.

During his journey of 66 years, the Kirloskars were always present in his work, memories, and heart. During his 66 years of work with KBL, he interacted with 5 generations of Kirloskars- starting with Mr. Laxmanrao Kirloskar in 1956 to Alok Kirloskar. He considered Mr. C.T. Shevde & Mr. M.M. Vaidya from his early days to be his guru in the field, and he spoke highly about them till the end.

In recognition of his 66 years of incredible work, he was presented with the esteemed National Outstanding Entrepreneurship award in 2004 at the hands of the then Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. He was also conferred with the Life Time Achievement award by IPMA in 2020.