Jamsetji Tata, founder of India's first Iron and Steel factory (1907)

Founder of Tata Steel.Jamsetji Tata.twitter.com

 American geologist Charles Weld, helped  Tata set up a steel  plant in India. The year was April, 1904 
and  it happened to be the first iron and steel factory in India. The Tata group  is not only a major group of compantes in India, but one of the leading successful companies in the world. The group is actively involved in the business of production in innumerable products covering heavy equipments to salt. This group has been a major player in the production of iron and steel for more than a century and now it is a leading multinational company. The beginning of the Tata Iron and Steel company is an interesting one.
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Tata Steel Plant,Jamshedpur,India.campusdiaries.com

The Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (Tata Steel), registered in Bombay on 26th August 1907. It owes its roots and growth to the the great vision and hard work of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata. The construction of the steel plant was then taken up sincerely in February 1908.The first General Manager was an American -R.G.Wells. The first blast furnace was blown-in on 2nd December 1911, and the first ingot rolled on 16th February 1912. Since then, the company has not turned back and progressed to become a major steel producer in the wold. Tata Steel had technical collaboration with Kaiser Steel Company of the USA.

The Tata Centre on Nehru Street,in Kolkata, India. en.wikipedia. org

Jamshedpur Map.www.turkey-visit.com

American geologist Charles Weld and  Dorabji Tata, the eldest son of  Jamsetji Tata, traveled  through present day Chattisgarh in search of iron ore deposits. Dorabji Tata was very particular about  setting up a modern iron and steel plant in India to cater to the needs of Indian market. One day, after traveling for many hours in the forests, both Weld and Dorabji came upon a small village and, to their astonishment, found a group of men and women carrying basket loads of iron ore. These people were the  local tribes - Agarias. When asked where they had found the iron ore, the Agarias pointed to a hill in the distance. With renewed  ray of hope, Weld and Dorabji reached the distant hill after an exhausting trek through dense forests.

After initial survey and upon some exploratory work in the hilly place, the Mr. Weld declared that they had at last found what they had been looking for - high quality iron ore deposits with good reserves that would last for a long time.  Rajhara Hills had one of the finest ores in the world. But there was a problem. The region was dry and water, necessary for running the  iron factory, was not to be found nearby. However,it was a very important discovery of  iron ore deposits in India. Thanks to  Dorabji Tata and American geologist Weld. This interesting discovery by them with the help of the tribes - Agarias  that would later supply the giant Bhilai Steel Plant.

A few years later a large area of forest was cleared on the banks of the river  Subarnarekha to set up the factory and an industrial township – Jamshedpur, now a major industrial city in the state of  Jaharkhand.  Here there was sufficient water available near iron ore deposits. The Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO) that came up began producing steel in 1912. TISCO was set up at an opportune time when there was an increasing demand for steel. All through the late nineteenth century, India was importing  British steel for her requirements. Expansion of the railways in British India had provided a huge market for rails that Britain produced. Now  Tata Steel company, one of the biggest in the world,has operations in 26 countries.

Ref:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Steel
 "Tatas hungry for more". Business Standard. 3 February 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
 
"Unabated appetite for global growth". Financial Express. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 31 August 2013.
 
"Tata Steel's Jamshedpur expansion on course: Tata". Economic Times. 3 August 2011. Retrieved 31 August 2013.