Shri. Kaliappa Nadar started the first printing press of Sivakasi known as 'Sivakasi Industrial Printing Works' during the year 1937, which simply kick started the success story of massive printing industry base of the town.

As a matter of fact, Sivakasi falls second only to Gutenburg Press located in Germany for the total number of offset printing machines it owns.

The town of Sivakasi is notable for its printing industries as the region houses more than 500 printing presses, including offset printing, foam printing and flexo printing.

In 1922 Shri. Shanmuga Nadar and Shri. Ayya Nadar were moved from Sivakasi to Calcutta to get exposed to the various techniques involved in the safety matches production.

The Nadars came back back to the town of Sivakasi with all the essential expertness regarding safety matches production and collectively founded South India's first safety matches industry known as 'The South India Lucifer Match Industry' during the year 1923. As of now, Sivakasi manufactures about 60% of country's demand of safety matches. Also, the town of Sivakasi houses more than two hundred safety matches companies in the region extending employment opportunities to more than thirty thousand people.