Essar Steel Quiz: Steel Crisis to Comeback

Essar Steel built its integrated steel plant at a coastal industrial location in Gujarat. The site was chosen for its proximity to a port, which made importing raw materials and exporting finished steel more practical. The plant had a significant steelmaking capacity and was one of the largest private steel facilities in western India.

The Essar Group was built from the ground up by two brothers who started with a construction contract in Chennai in 1969. They expanded the business across sectors including steel, oil, telecom and power over the following decades. The group's name is derived from the phonetic initials of their father's name.

The company that became the Essar Group began as a specialised construction firm focused on marine and infrastructure projects. Its first major contract was building an outer breakwater at a major Indian port. This early success funded the group's expansion into steel, oil refining, telecom and other capital-intensive industries over subsequent decades.

After a prolonged legal battle under India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, Essar Steel's assets were acquired by a joint venture formed between two of the world's leading steel producers. One is a Luxembourg-headquartered global giant and the other is Japan's largest steelmaker. The combined entity was later rebranded for the Indian market.

In 2007, Essar Steel made its first major international acquisition by purchasing a well-established steel mill in Canada. The facility had a long operating history and produced a range of flat steel products. This acquisition was part of Essar's broader ambition to grow beyond India and build a global steel footprint.