Ispat International
Encyclopedia
Ispat International N.V. was a steel
producing company with operations in Mexico
, Trinidad
, Canada
, Germany
and the United States
. The company is specialized in the integrated mini-mill process and has a wide range of flat & long steel products, including slabs & wire rods.
Lakshmi Mittal
was the founder and chairman of the Ispat Group. Born in Safalpur, India, he is reportedly the richest Indian and a “Forbes 100 Billionaire" is the mastermind of the Mittal family empire and new owner of Sparrows Point, has managed to move up from ownership of a single steel plant in Calcutta in 1976 to become the single largest owner of steel properties on the globe, valued at $30 billion.
Mittal (who does not discourage westerners from pronouncing his name “me-tal,” as in “The Metal King”) accomplished his alchemy by scooping up “distressed” mills in obscure corners of the world and turning them around through tough management practices. His quest to become the greatest steel tycoon in history hasn’t been hurt by his political connections in his adopted land of Britain or by the West’s economic policies that place a premium on privatization and make it easy for clever businessmen to transmute leaden public-sector assets into private gold.
Mittal moved to Calcutta when his father bought a small steel mill. Mittal worked at his father’s company, which he inherited. In Calcutta he also met his wife, Usha, the daughter of a moneylender, who would become a key adviser to the nascent tycoon.
Ispat was taken public in 1997 and traded on the Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges. Backed by investor cash, the Mittal-controlled company made its first foray into American steel in 1998 by acquiring Inland Steel
, the sixth largest U.S. steelmaker.
By 2004, the Ispat/LNM empire spanned four continents and included steel works in 14 countries. Among them, Sidbec and Acufil (Canada); Hamburger Stadtwerk, Stadtwerk Ruhr, and Walzdraht Hochfeld (Germany); Unimetal, Trefileurope, and SMR (France); Ispat Shipping (UK); Polska Stal and Czestochowa (Poland); Nova Hut (Czech Republic); Annaba (Algeria); Caribbean Ispat (Trinidad); Ispat Mexicana (Mexico); Ispat Indo (Indonesia), Ispat Petrotub, Ispat Siderurgica, and Ispat Tepro (Romania); BH Steel and Zenica (Bosnia Herzegovina); and Ispat Iscor (a partnership in South Africa). The Ispat Group takes over the Iron & Steel Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Sidemgical Del Balsar SA, Mexico, and additional units in Canada, Germany and Ireland.
In 2004, Ispat International merged with LNM to form Mittal Steel. The new company immediately bought International Steel
, and merged with Arcelor
the next year to form ArcelorMittal.
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
producing company with operations in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The company is specialized in the integrated mini-mill process and has a wide range of flat & long steel products, including slabs & wire rods.
Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Mittal
Lakshmi Narayan Mittal is an Indian steel magnate. He is the chairman and chief executive officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company....
was the founder and chairman of the Ispat Group. Born in Safalpur, India, he is reportedly the richest Indian and a “Forbes 100 Billionaire" is the mastermind of the Mittal family empire and new owner of Sparrows Point, has managed to move up from ownership of a single steel plant in Calcutta in 1976 to become the single largest owner of steel properties on the globe, valued at $30 billion.
Mittal (who does not discourage westerners from pronouncing his name “me-tal,” as in “The Metal King”) accomplished his alchemy by scooping up “distressed” mills in obscure corners of the world and turning them around through tough management practices. His quest to become the greatest steel tycoon in history hasn’t been hurt by his political connections in his adopted land of Britain or by the West’s economic policies that place a premium on privatization and make it easy for clever businessmen to transmute leaden public-sector assets into private gold.
Mittal moved to Calcutta when his father bought a small steel mill. Mittal worked at his father’s company, which he inherited. In Calcutta he also met his wife, Usha, the daughter of a moneylender, who would become a key adviser to the nascent tycoon.
Ispat was taken public in 1997 and traded on the Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges. Backed by investor cash, the Mittal-controlled company made its first foray into American steel in 1998 by acquiring Inland Steel
Inland Steel Company
The Inland Steel Company was a U.S. steel company active in 1893-1998. Its history as an independent firm thus spanned much of the 20th century. It was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois at the landmark Inland Steel Building....
, the sixth largest U.S. steelmaker.
By 2004, the Ispat/LNM empire spanned four continents and included steel works in 14 countries. Among them, Sidbec and Acufil (Canada); Hamburger Stadtwerk, Stadtwerk Ruhr, and Walzdraht Hochfeld (Germany); Unimetal, Trefileurope, and SMR (France); Ispat Shipping (UK); Polska Stal and Czestochowa (Poland); Nova Hut (Czech Republic); Annaba (Algeria); Caribbean Ispat (Trinidad); Ispat Mexicana (Mexico); Ispat Indo (Indonesia), Ispat Petrotub, Ispat Siderurgica, and Ispat Tepro (Romania); BH Steel and Zenica (Bosnia Herzegovina); and Ispat Iscor (a partnership in South Africa). The Ispat Group takes over the Iron & Steel Company of Trinidad and Tobago, Sidemgical Del Balsar SA, Mexico, and additional units in Canada, Germany and Ireland.
In 2004, Ispat International merged with LNM to form Mittal Steel. The new company immediately bought International Steel
International Steel Group
International Steel Group was a steel company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2004 it was ranked #426 on the Fortune 500. It was created after the turn around fund, WL Ross & Co. LLC, purchased LTV Steel in February 2002...
, and merged with Arcelor
Arcelor
Arcelor S.A. was the world's largest steel producer in terms of turnover and the second largest in terms of steel output, with a turnover of €30.2 billion and shipments of 45 million metric tons of steel in 2004...
the next year to form ArcelorMittal.