Cynthia Rodrigues

Few companies have the privilege and the lineage to celebrate one hundred years of successful existence. Tata Steel, a distinguished member of that select club, raises a toast to its centenary

B Muthuraman has a hundred reasons to feel good. The managing director of Tata Steel — which is celebrating one hundred years of a remarkable existence — can afford to look back with satisfaction on the exceptional achievements notched up by the company. “I believe our founder’s vision of conceiving an integrated steel plant in 1907,much ahead of its times, at a remote place like Sakchi, Jamshedpur, in close proximity to key raw materials was the most significant milestone in the history of the company,” he says. This provided — and continues to provide — us the cutting edge to be cost competitive compared to steel players with no captive raw material access.

Having begun well, Tata Steel strove hard to fuel its growth aspirations, despite working in an era of severe controls and tight regulations until 1990. Its efforts were enhanced by a four-phase modernisation programme — in 1979, 1985, 1990 and 1996 — which helped upgrade the company’s facilities, enabling it to gear up to face international competition.

Tata Steel has come a long way since its inception, when it started with steel production of 1,00,000 tonnes a year. “In the last 100 years, Tata Steel has changed its identity from a dominant domestic player to a regional player to an upcoming global company, ranking sixth in the world in steel production,” says a proud Muthuraman. “We have 84,000 employees spread across four continents.”

There have been many more milestones along the way. Tata Steel has been an EVA-positive company since 2003. It was declared the ‘lowest cost producer of steel in the world’ in 2001 and the ‘world’s best steel plant’ in 2005 by World Steel Dynamics.

Going global
The last few years has seen Tata Steel take giant strides and make its mark around the world. “The acquisition of NatSteel Singapore, which has production bases in seven countries, and Millennium Steel (now Tata Steel Thailand) were the first steps in Tata Steel’s global growth strategy,” says Muthuraman. “Our acquisition of these companies gave us a strong foothold in the growing economies of South East Asia and provided us the base to further consolidate our position in the region.” Both these acquisitions proved to be perfect fits in Tata Steel’s growth strategy.

The acquisition of Corus in January 2007 took Tata Steel from a world position of 56 to six. It also gave Tata Steel access to the former’s developed markets, its strong product portfolio and its research and development facilities. Muthuraman adds, “We aspire to have a balance between the growing markets of the developing countries and mature markets with high-end products and technologies. The Corus acquisition has been a giant leap in this direction.”

Tata Steel’s global acquisitions are in tune with its strategy of adopting the de-integrated production model — to produce primary (semi-finished) steel near the source of raw material in countries such as India, and then turn these into final products closer to its markets.

The acquired companies have been seamlessly integrated into the Tata Steel family. The similarity in the acquired companies’ work ethics, as also Tata Steel’s stress on constant and seamless communication between the top management of both companies and the operating units, has enhanced the process of integration.

Buoyed by the strength and resources of its new partners, Tata Steel has now renewed its desire to become a significant player in the global steel industry. “I would like to emphasise that our growth and change has been driven by our ability to dream big, supported by well laid out strategies and plans,” says Muthuraman. “With every achievement, we have shifted the goalpost. Today, we are aspiring to be the second largest steel company in the world by 2012 and a 100-million tonne company.”

A time to cheer
With so many significant achievements and so much to look forward to, Tata Steel’s centenary is cause for celebration. Numerous activities have been planned and all companies and manufacturing locations within the Tata Steel family, in India and worldwide, will be encouraged to participate in these celebrations.

Noteworthy events include the release of two books — the first, authored by RM Lala titled Romance of Tata Steel, which was released on August 26, 2007, and the second authored by Rudrangshu Mukherjee to be released during the year. A new corporate anthem, a special raga on ‘Harmony’, by renowned sarod maestro ustad Amjad Ali Khan, a special centenary diary, a calendar depicting some of the defining moments in the company’s history and a mobile exhibition on the uniqueness of Tata Steel are other initiatives to commemorate the historic occasion.

Also, a painting competition and a quiz are planned for the children of Tata Steel employees. A special centenary website has various features on the company and allows interaction between stakeholders and Tata Steel.

True to the spirit of the Tata Group, Tata Steel will ensure that the commemoration is not merely self-congratulatory in nature.

Recognising the fact that a lot needs to be done to improve the quality of life of the communities in which the company operates, Tata Steel has signed a Rs100-crore agreement with the Sir Ratan Tata Trust for land and water management initiatives in the backward tribal areas of Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. The company aspires to turn these blocks into models of excellence that may be replicated by the government and corporate entities working in the area of community development.

A second Tata Steel initiative on this red-letter occasion is the launch of three all-day schools, which will accomodate 1,000 children from the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe in Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh. “These initiatives are long-term in nature and designed to help to improve the quality of the life of the people in that area,” says Muthuraman.

Uploaded in December 2007