TATA STEEL

BEGINNING

Jamshedpur’s pride TISCO’s Indian registration on August 26, 1907

Jamshedpur, Aug 25: It was on August 26, 1907 that Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO)
was registered in India. It may be mentioned that the company was initially registered in
England in 1906 but due to lukewarm response of investors there, the step to register the
company in India was taken whereby the journey of Industrial success on the international
firmament continues to be written in letters of gold.   

In 1867, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata attended a lecture by the famous British essayist, Thomas
Carlyle, in which he mentioned, “The nation which gains control of iron, soon acquire control
of gold.” Little did Carlyle know that his lecture would lead to a path-breaking journey of
India’s economic resurgence. Jamsetji’s thoughts on building a steel plant, thus, received a
positive impetus at this moment.

In 1899, a report by Major Mahon recommending the steel industry be promoted in India
received acceptance, and Lord Curzon, the then viceroy of India, immediately liberalised the
mineral concession policy which provided a golden opportunity to Jamsetji to advance
towards his dream of giving India its first integrated steel company.

In 1902, Jamsetji met Julian Kennedy, head of Julian Kennedy, Sahlin and Co. Ltd.  in
Pittsburgh, USA. Jamsetji briefed Kennedy about his desire to come up with a steel plant in
India. Kennedy advised Jamsetji to have a thorough scientific investigation of the local
conditions, availability of raw materials, and the market conditions in India. He also
recommended Charles Page Perin, an eminent consulting engineer in New York, for the
project.

On February 24, 1904, the Tatas received a letter from Pramatha Nath Bose, the first graded
Indian geologist that spoke about the high quality of iron available in Mayurbhanj state and
the availability of coal in Jharia.

In 1905, Charles Page Perin and his associate, C M Weld, presented their report as to how the
steel plant would be erected. In September 1905, the Maharaja of Mayurbhanj granted the
prospecting license to the Tatas.

In 1906, Government of India through an official letter declared its intent to help Tatas by
promising to purchase steel for a particular period of time, and also providing other assistance
that the company would require to start its production.

It was on August 26, 1907, that the Company was registered in India with an original capital
of Rs 2,31,75,000. A notice to raise the capital was issued. The response was tremendous and
within three weeks the entire amount was raised. In 1908, the construction of the Works
began, and steel production started on February 16, 1912.

GROWTH AND VISION

Established in 1907 as Asia's first integrated private sector steel company, Tata Steel Group
is among the top-ten global steel companies with an annual crude steel capacity of over 29
million tonnes per annum. It is now the world's second-most geographically-diversified steel
producer, with operations in 26 countries and a commercial presence in over 50 countries.
The Tata Steel Group, with a turnover of Rs. 1, 48,614 crores in FY 14, has over 80,000
employees across five continents and is a Fortune 500 company.

Tata Steel’s larger production facilities comprise those in India, the UK, the Netherlands,
Thailand, Singapore, China and Australia.  Operating companies within the Group include
Tata Steel Limited (India), Tata Steel Europe Limited (formerly Corus), Tata Steel Singapore
and Tata Steel Thailand.

The Tata Steel Group’s vision is to be the world’s steel industry benchmark in “Value
Creation” and “Corporate Citizenship” through the excellence of its people, its innovative
approach and overall conduct. Underpinning this vision is a performance culture committed
to aspiration targets, safety and social responsibility, continuous improvement, openness and
transparency.

In 2008, Tata Steel India became the first integrated steel plant in the world, outside Japan, to
be awarded the Deming Application Prize 2008 for excellence in Total Quality Management.
In 2012, Tata Steel became the first integrated steel company in the world, outside Japan, to
win the Deming Grand Prize 2012 instituted by the Japanese Union of Scientists and
Engineers.

Towards Self-Sufficiency:

The Steel Company obtained its first colliery in 1910, adding six more in course of time.
Several mines were spread over the states of Bihar, Orissa and Karnataka. The Tatas soon
became the first to own a fully mechanised iron ore mine in India at Noamundi. The Coal
Beneficiation Plant at West Bokaro undertook beneficiation of low-grade coal, thus helping
in the conservation of the fast-dwindling resources of high-quality coal. The collieries, the
mines and the quarries together furnish the bulk of the raw material requirements of the plant.
When the entire world was reeling in the Great Depression, the Tatas survived and supplied
nearly three-fourth of the country’s steel requirements. By the Second World War, Tatas’

production capacities had expanded enough to make their prices lower than those of steel
produced in England, raising them to an authoritarian position. Post-Independence the Tatas
decided to set on the Herculean task of nation building. The much-required steel for the
newly devised ‘Five-year Plans’ came from the Tata factories. The Company undertook the
Howrah Bridge in Calcutta, the Bhakra-Nangal Project and the Damodar Valley Corporation,
the port at Kandla, the city of Chandigarh and many more important projects.

Picking Up Pace:

The last decade of the twentieth century happened to be a very hectic period of self-renewal
and growth for Tata Steel. An extensive technological overhaul, several improvement
projects, cost control measures, optimising IT support and a strong customer-centric approach
were all instrumental in finding the right direction for changing outlooks. At the turn of the
millennium, Tata Steel had earned the complete trust of the whole wide world and emerged
as a strong entity in the global steel industry.

The last decade has been marked by Tata Steel’s prominent role in the overall development
of the country, even during phases of economic turbulence and its decisive foray into more
and more global territory. Intense strategic thinking about future expansions, plans for
organic growth and initiation of new projects are a few highlights in Tata Steel’s expanding
and more penetrative roles in the larger perspective. The acquisition of NatSteel in 2004 was
Tata Steel’s first overseas acquisition and the series of joint ventures and mergers that
followed found a peak when the acquisition of Corus, happened in April 2007.  But in every
positive step that the Company has taken towards growth and expansion, involving diverse
cultures and geographies, Tata Steel has never lost sight of its great heritage of social and
community responsibility.

Building A Family:

From the very beginning the Tatas invested substantial time and resources to enhance the
human capital. The farsightedness of the Tatas, to access the future much in advance has
always kept them in the forefront. The organisation has always focused on the long-term
collective objectives rather than short-lived, immediate gains. Hence they succeeded not only
in building a steel factory but also in the re-creation of a nation.

The Tatas were the first employers to introduce the 8-hour working day (1912), free medical
aid (1915), workers’ provident fund scheme (1920) and many other welfare schemes even
before they were introduced in the West. The “employee association with management”
programme initiated in 1956 gave the workers a stronger voice in the affairs of the Company.

Hence, the story that began with a zest for adventure expanded into an ever-evolving saga of
achievement and excitement. Having started out the hard way, at a time when India had no
industrial base, self-reliance has become a way of life with Tatas. The humane dialogue
initiated by Jamsetji Tata fostered an attitude of mutual trust and concern, which characterises
Tata relationships even today.

The story of Tata’s achievements is a collective effort of people who sank differences of
caste, creed, race and status to strive for a common goal- excellence. They offered their best
as an expression of a sense of belonging, a sense of commitment to the family of which they
were a part - the Tatas