Essar is one of the leading business conglomerates of
India. Here is a brief profile and history of Essar Group
Essar
Essar is one of the leading corporate houses of India. The group has
diverse business interests spanning Steel, Energy, Power,
Communications, Shipping & Logistics, and Construction. For the
financial year ending March 2007, March 2007, Essar Group earned
revenues of over US$ 4 billion. Essar Group employs 20,000 people in 50
locations worldwide. All the investments of the group have been
consolidated under Essar Global Ltd., along with its six sectoral
holding companies: Essar Steel Holdings Limited, Essar Energy Holdings
Limited, Essar Power Holdings Limited, Essar Communications Holdings
Limited, Essar Shipping & Logistics Limited and Essar Constructions
FZE.
Essar Group was founded by the Ruia family. The Ruia family originally
belongs to Rajasthan. In the 19th century, the family moved to Mumbai
for business and trading purposes. In 1956, Nand Kishore Ruia, the group
founder, moved south to Chennai to begin independent business activities
and thus the foundations of Essar Group were laid. In 1969, after the
demise of Nand Kishore Ruia, his sons Shashi and Ravi Ruia took over the
group and guided the group to its present destiny.
Business Interests of Essar Group
Steel: Essar Steel Holdings Limited is a global producer of
steel with presence in India, Canada, USA, Middle East and Asia. It is a
fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer from iron ore to
ready-to-market products. Its product range include Iron Ore Pellets,
Hot Briquetted Sponge iron (HBI), Hot Rolled Products, Cold Rolled
Products' Galvanised Products. Essar Steel is India's largest exporter
of flat products.
Energy: Essar Oil Ltd. (EOL) is leading integrated oil and gas
company spanning the entire value chain: Exploration & Production,
Refinery, & Marketing. Essar was one of the first private companies
to bid for exploration blocks in 1993. It was also among the first to
enter the refining sector when it was opened to private participation.
Its refinery at Vadinar, Gujarat has a capacity of a capacity of 10.5
MTPA.
Power: Essar Power Limited set up India's first new generation
independent power plant with a 515 MW combined cycle capacity, at Hazira
in the early 1990s. The capacity of this plant is being enhanced to 1500
MW. The plant has set new standards of excellence in the Indian power
sector. It has the lowest manpower to megawatt ratio and one of the
lowest capital costs per megawatt in India. Besides the above plant,
Essar has commissioned a 32 MW coal based captive power project at
Vishakapatnam; It is currently executing a captive gas based Combined
Cycle Power Plant of 355 MW in two phases at Hazira, Gujarat; and
setting up a 120 MW Refinery residue based Captive Co-generation Power
Project at Vadinar.
Communications: In the field of communications, Essar has
interests in providing telecom services, telecom retail and telecom
infrastructure. Hutchison- Essar, a joint venture between Essar and Hong
Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, is India's second largest GSM service
provider. The JV was recently acquired by the UK-based Vodafone Group
Plc at a value of USD 18.8 billion. Essar has retained its 33% stake in
the new JV with Vodafone. Essar has entered telecom retail with its
brand The MobileStore. The MobileStore is a chain of retail outlets
managed by Essar Telecom Retail Ltd. in association with the Virgin
Group. The store chain sells mobile handsets and accessories, as well as
digital lifestyle products. Essar Telecom Infrastructure Private Limited
(ETIPL) is one of the largest independent telecom infrastructure service
provisioning companies in India.
Shipping: Essar Shipping Ltd. (ESL) is one of the world's
leading integrated sea logistics companies. It accounts for almost 14%
of India's shipping fleet and owns India's largest VLCC (Very Large
Crude Carrier), which is also India's first double hull, double bottom
VLCC.
Construction: Essar is India's leading engineering, procurement
and construction (EPC) contractor. Essar has special expertise in marine
construction and pipelines. Essar has laid 2,500 km of pipelines and
built 150 km of the prestigious Narmada canal. Essar is a well-known
name in the field of infrastructure construction particularly in the
areas of ports, jetties and roads.
Major Achievements of Essar Group
- Set up India's first new generation independent power plant with
a 515 MW combined cycle capacity at Hazira.
- Built the world's largest gas-based sponge iron plant
- Pioneered the laying of offshore oil and gas pipelines in India
- Built India's first and longest island breakwater
Note: The above information was last updated on 21-07-2007
