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One of the most dynamic business houses of India today, the Jindal Group - founded in 1952 - started as a single plant in Hisar, Haryana and over the years emerged as a multi-national, multi-product steel conglomerate with its business interests also spanning iron ore mining, power, industrial gases and port facilities
The founder of the Jindal Group of companies, OP Jindal, had a vision at the age of just 22 of being a manufacturer of steel products using indigenous resources within India at a time when imports were the order of the day. He made his mark as an entrepreneur with foresight and expanded business opportunities throughout the 1950s and 60s, to build his US$4bn empire, before his sudden death in 2005.
Activities of the Jindal Group can be broadly divided into nine business sectors:
* Carbon Steel;
* Structured Steel
* Stainless Steel;
* Sponge Iron;
* SAW Pipes, DI Pipes, Seamless Tubes;
* Maritime Infrastructure;
* Mining;
* Power;
* Industrial Gases;
Currently the group has manufacturing outfits across India, the USA and Indonesia and marketing representatives' offices across the globe. The technology-driven group's strength lies in the dynamic and aggressive approach of its leaders toward consolidation. These leaders are the four sons of late OP Jindal, ably coordinated by his widow Mrs Savitridevi Jindal as the group chairperson. Under their various leaderships the respective companies are managed by the four sons as shown in Table 1.
The group, always in the mood for expansion and growth, has announced its intention to set up greenfield steel plants and power plants in the states of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka. The group is continuously on the look out for logistic acquisitions of various iron ore and coal mines, for achieving indigenous control over the critical inputs in steel making.
Group financial highlights for FY 200506 are shown in Table 2.
The proportion of contribution of each company to the group financiáis shows...