Before Kaliappan Muthukasinathan ever stepped through the gates of APB, the brewery was already a big part of his life story.
“When I was a kid, everyone knew my dad worked at APB. They used to tease me, ‘Your dad’s company has a tiger that will bite you!’” he recalls. “Back then, there was a life-sized tiger statue out front (in the brewery). Not a real one, of course, but I thought it was magical.”
Kaliappan and his parents
Those childhood memories planted the seed. When he was 12, Kaliappan visited the brewery for Family Day. “Even back then, I had this feeling – it would be cool to work here one day. But after I graduated, I went into banking because of my finance background.”
Banking, however, didn’t turn out as he expected, and it left him searching for something more meaningful. “I wanted to be in an industry that had breadth, where I could learn and grow. And I kept thinking about APB.”
When Kaliappan told his dad, who had spent over 30 years at the brewery, he expected encouragement. What he got was something different.
“He was open to me doing anything … except joining APB,” he laughs. “He didn’t want people comparing us. You know, things like, ‘Your dad does this so well, why aren’t you doing it the same way?’ He wanted to protect me from that pressure and for me to build something on my own.”
Still, with persistence, and quiet support from his father eventually, Kaliappan found his way in. But with no technical background, he knew he had to work hard. “I started in Packaging. I had to learn everything from scratch – how the machines worked, how to read the data. I couldn’t just nod along when something broke down; I needed to understand it myself.”
From packaging operations to efficiency planning, and now a reliability engineering role, every move has been a steep learning curve. “Today, I manage project budgets across Supply Chain. I never thought I’d be here, but every step taught me something.”
Though their shifts didn’t often overlap, Kaliappan and his dad did spend a short time working under the same roof – he in the office, his father on the production floor. “We have a really close relationship, like friends. But at work, when he was around, I’d suddenly turn super quiet,” he admits. “There’s something about being in the same space professionally, it just made things feel a bit different.”
His first beer was also a memorable milestone – thanks to his dad. “When I turned 18, he offered me a Tiger (beer) and said, ‘You’re going to drink with your friends anyway, so better you try it with me first.’” There was just one condition: never touch any competitor beer. “Till today, I don’t. Even if we get freebies, my dad’s like, ‘Throw it away!’,” he laughs.
A Tiger toast with Kaliappan’s dad to commemorate his rare office visit
Though he’s only been with APB for a few years, the brewery already feels like home. “This place shaped both of us,” he says. “Now I get to carve my own path here, while still being part of something bigger. Every time I feel comfortable, like I’ve figured things out, something changes. And I like that. It keeps me growing.”
Still, Kaliappan holds his memories close. He may have entered APB long after his father, but the spirit they share – the pride, the quiet dedication, the love for the place – is unmistakable.
His story is a reminder that legacies aren’t just inherited. Sometimes, they’re chosen. And when they are, they’re all the more meaningful.