The Beginning

The modern iron and steel industry in India owes its origin to the grand vision and perseverance of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. The Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (Tata Steel) was registered in Bombay on 26th August 1907. The construction of the steel plant was then taken up in earnest with the first stake being driven in February 1908. R.G. Wells, an American with steel plant construction experience took over as the General Manager in 1909. Success came when the first blast furnace was blown-in on 2nd December 1911, and the first ingot rolled on 16th February 1912.

The company was originally constructed for a capacity of 160,000 tonnes of pig iron, 100,000 tones of ingot steel, 70,000 tones of rails, beams and shapes, and 20,000 tonnes of bars, hoops and rods. The plant essentially consisted of a battery of 180 non-recovery coke ovens and 30 by-product ovens with a sulphuric acid plant, two blast furnaces (each of 350 tonnes per day capacity), one 300 tonne hot metal mixer, four open hearth furnaces of 50 tonne capacity each, one steam engine driven 40-inch reversing blooming mill, one 28-inch reversing combination rail and structural mill with re-heating furnaces, and one 16- inch and two 10-inch rolling mills. Besides, the steel works had a power house, auxiliary facilities and a well-equipped laboratory. The cost of the plant as erected came to around Rs.23 million.