On a bed of steel

With its core business as the foundation, the JSW group is morphing into a conglomerate that spans energy, cement, ports, paints, and electric cars

- ISHITA AYAN DUTT & PRACHI PISAL

You have to grow, and grow fast — that’s the DNA of the JSW group, Chairman Sajjan Jindal said as JSW Cement made its debut on the stock market mid-August.

The remark captured not just the moment but also the momentum of JSW’s growth story.

JSW Steel — the flagship of the conglomerate — has transformed from a two-million-tonne (mt) plant in the early 2000s to India’s largest steel producer. Along the way, the group has morphed into a $23-billion force, stretching from energy and cement to ports and paints, all while steel remains its bread and butter.

Now, it is gearing up for the future with another audacious bet: Electric vehicles (EV).

Anchored in steel

Steel was the starting point for the group — going back to 1982 when a Cold rolling unit was set up at Vasind near Mumbai.

The turning point, however, came in 1993 when Jindal laid out a detailed plan for the 2 mt plant before then ICICI chairman, Narayanan Vaghul. That paved the way for Vijayanagar Works (Karnataka) and set the stage for everything that followed.

The journey from 1.6 mt of steel capacity in 2002 to 35.7 mt (including 1.5 mt in the US) has been driven by a mix of acquisitions and organic growth.

Alongside, the group has branched into businesses that supported the core. These businesses now stand as independent verticals, each chasing its own growth ambitions.

On JSW Infrastructure, analysts at Motilal Oswal said that by consciously reducing dependence on captive JSW group cargo and expanding into containerised, liquid, and other diversified categories, the company is mitigating concentration risks while opening new revenue pools.

That philosophy of de-risking and diversifying the customer base runs through its other businesses as well. Over the last two decades, about ₹2 trillion has been put in across sectors.