About Us
We professional mechanical engineers who have been serving you since 1962
Our History
Established in 1958 by the founding Father and our late Chairman Dr. Sohan Singh Josh who arrived in Kenya in 1947 after witnessing the bloody partion of India & Pakistan. He joined his Father Mr Kartar Singh Mudher who was already settled in Karatina and working for the British as an ironmonger in the railways.
He however had dreams to start up his own workshop and after a brief period working as a machinist for Gailey & Roberts in Nairobi he started Kartar Engineering Works in 1950 with his late brother Puran Singh Mudher. After working for a number of years the brothers decided to part company and so Sohan Singh Josh & Sons Ltd was established in 1962 by Dr. Josh & Mudher Engineering Works was established by his younger brother a few years later. 
Dr. Josh rented a small workshop on Ukwala Road, downtown Nairobi and started initially with a few hand tools, a vice and a welding machine. Through sheer grit and long hours he started acquiring second hand machines to help in growing the business. Over the next ten years he managed to acquire larger machinery allowing him to take on bigger jobs as well as a variety of repair work. It was in the late 60’s that Dr. Josh decided to look into crankshaft rebuilding machinery which was not available in the country, this lead him to the UK and then on to the USA where he met William R. Gleason of Gleason Engineering Industries (Texas). Mr Gleason was the inventor of the submerged arc welding machines used specifically to rebuild worn out crankshaft journals in all types of engines. Dr. Josh seized the opportunity and ordered a machine which was to arrive in Nairobi in 1968, the first one of its kind in Africa besides South Africa. Dr. Josh’s two sons (Rajinder & Robinder “JJ”) as well as son in law (Tarlochan Singh Panesar “Totu”) joined the business in the early 1970’s and the engine reconditioning business flourished.
Dr. Josh expanded the reconditioning machinery by buying a number of crankshaft grinders from the AMC group in Denmark as well as block borers, cylinder head skimmers and line boring machines. In the early 80’s Mr Josh invested in a much larger arc welder to cater for heaver & longer crankshafts as well as rollers and bought an exclusive license with Gleason the manufacturer not to sell the same type of machine in the East African region for the next 10 years. This license together with the high level of expertise in using such complex machinery cemented the name of Sohan Singh Josh & Sons as leaders and pioneers in the field of mechanical engineering in Kenya as well as East Africa.
Over the next twenty years more machinery was purchased from the UK and European markets to add to the existing wealth of machinery and emphasis was put on precision quality work rather then quantity, this has been the benchmark of the workshop to this day.
Into the new millennium and Mr Josh asked his two Grandsons (Del & Arv) to join the business. Del a qualified Mechanical Engineering post graduate from Brunel University (West London) worked as a Project Engineer with Chevron Texaco in the UK for over 8 years before returning to the family business in 2007, he is the current MD of the company. Arv obtained his HND in Business Studies and worked in the banking industry for a number of years whilst in the UK before joining the family business in 2010.
The company celebrated its golden anniversary in 2012, the very year Dr Josh passed away peacefully at his Parklands residence aged 87 (April) having set the solid foundations for the business, he was actively involved in the running of the business until the final years of his fruitful life. Our beloved CEO was also an internationally renowned literature poet in his native Punjabi language and had been bestowed with many honors (click on the Dr S S Josh Section to view his poetic achievements). In March 2013 an article was written on Dr. Josh in the “Business Post” a monthly business magazine in circulation in Kenya in recognition of his business legacy.
Sadly we also lost our fellow Director, Brdother, Uncle and younger son of the Late Dr Josh, Robinder fondly known as “JJ” in the same year aged 57.
The engine reconditioning market had started saturating shortly into the new millennium and so it was decided to start up a fabrication branch at Josh Industrial Estate located on Mombasa Road, Mavoko County. A wide range of quality used machines were sourced from the UK and a 10,000sq ft machine shop was set up for cutting, bending and rolling machinery and an acre open yard was set aside for fabrication work. Initially steel panel water tanks (JOSH TANKS) and towers were fabricated but over the years the company started getting work to recondition and then fabricate farm trailers & tippers, water bowsers, sugarcane baskets and an assortment of agricultural transport vehicles. The company was approached by CMC Motors Group in conjunction with KVM of Thika in 2010 to become a preferred supplier of engineering services to both companies namely to repair & fabricate under the CMC brand.
In January 2017 the company launched its own brand name “JOSH QUALITY” fabricating trailers, tippers, low loaders, enclosed & low sided body lorries all from Mombasa Road factory which employs over 25 skilled staff members of staff.
Dr Josh set the solid foundations for the business and put emphasis on precision quality work rather then quantity, this has been the benchmark of the workshop to this day and will continue to be our motto in the future too.
Dr. SS Josh
- July 1947 – Arrival in Kenya after witnessing first hand the bloody partition of India Pakistan
(Dr Josh lived & worked in Lahore when partition occurred and was lucky to survive the bloodshed) - April 1967 – Founding father and 1st former chairperson of “Punjabi Kavi Sabha, Nairobi”.
- December 1985 – Golden Disc for the lyrics of “Nach Kuriye & Kehar di Jawani” by Diamond Disc Company (England) as sung by Channi Singh of Alaap Group of UK (Right)
- November 1987 – 2nd Golden Disc for the lyrics of “Nach Mundeya & “Pyar de Pujari” by Mulitone Records Ltd (England) as sung by Channi Singh of Alaap Group UK Mr Josh wrote a total of 16 songs for Alaap Group between the period 1985 to 1993,.
- January 1988 – Platinum Disc for the lyrics of “Pi ke tu ayan” in the album “Wah Ni Jawaniye” as sung by Gurdas Mann by Supercassettes Industries (P)
- November 2004 – “Contemporary Elite for remarkable achievement in the field of Poetic Literature” & recorded in the “Contemporary Who’s Who of Professionals, ‘04 Edition” the American Biographical Institute, USA.
- June 1994 – “Cultural Doctorate in Poetic Literature” The humble & uneducated Josh became a honorary Dr Josh! World University Roundtable, Arizona, USA
- February 2008 – “Gold Medal” by virtue of extreme contributions & commitment to Poetic Literature. Presented by
Governing Board of Editors of the American Biographical Institute, USA. - May 2007 – “Genius Laureate of Kenya” for distinguished progression & mastery in the field of Poetic Literature as recorded in
“500 Greatest Geniuses of the 21st Century.” American Biographical Institute, USA. - April 3rd 2012 – Passed Away Peacefully at his Parklands (Nairobi) Residence aged 87. He was the husband of Nirmal Kaur, father of Pinder (USA), Shinda, Rano (UK), Late Jindi & Poli. Grandfather & Great – Grandfather