1790. During the French Revolution, Jessop was the pre-eminent engineering firm on this side of the Suez. It build Bridges, Railways, Wagons, Road Rollers, Heavy Cranes, you name it. Heavy Engineering was its forte.
In 2003 Government of India, divested its stake in Jessop & Co. Ltd under privatization programme and sold its 72% stake to Ruia group owned by Pawan Kumar Ruia at a paltry sum of Rupees 18.5 Crores. The move was opposed by the Left in Parliament which tried hard to block the transfer. Having failed they were in a quandary. The West Bengal Government was in the mode of industrial revitalisation and was in some way looking for a picture perfect compromise. They were looking for an ally through whom they could negotiate a turn around without compromising on the state interest. Particularly Labour and Production.
It is here that I came in. After completing Swabhumi I was looking for a greener pasture, as I was not an operation guy to run the park. Having worked with the government in setting up the park I had gained experience in PPP model and had earned a name for myself. The Government of West Bengal pinned down on me to do the job of re-opening the company. Thus I joined Jessop in 2003 as the Chief of Corporate Communications to act as the bridge between the government and the company. It fell on me to equate a healthy balance to look after the interest of the State and the Company.
The government went out of its way to help the turn-around and the rest is history. The company made profits, declared dividends, announced bonus and took up expansions.
The roots of Jessop & Company Ltd. go back to 1788 when Breen & Company was founded in Calcutta. In 1820, Henry and George, sons of William Jessop acquired Breen & Company on behalf of Butterfly Company established in Derbyshire, England in 1790 by William Jessop. These two companies merged together to become Jessop & Company.
Jessop is one of the oldest Engineering Company in the Country. Two hundred and twenty years ago Henry and George, son of Sir William Jessop Pioneered in building the first in India like the Gomti Bridge, also known as Shahi Bridge, a 16th-century bridge over river Gomti in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. Lohe-ka-Pul, the Old Yamuna Bridgelocated in Delhi, the longest and oldest bridges in India.It was also one of the company to build the Howrah Bridge . Jessop also manufactured Steam boat, Road Roller, EMU coach for Indian Railway, Cable stayed Bridge and others. The Lohe-ka-Pul was ordered by none other than the Nawab of Oudh. Jessop's has also built one steam locomotive, delivered to the Nawab of Oudh in the 19th century.
Spread Over an area of 67 acres at Dum Dum it has five main divisions which worked as Independent Profit Centre like Coach, wagon, Crane, structural & Mechanical, Road Equipment & Hydraulics catering to the needs of Core sectors like Railways, Ports, Mines, Steel Plants, Petroleum industries, Shipping companies etc. It is the only company in Asia which has Integrated Test Facility for testing Power roof support and Hydraulic items.
This opened the flood gates for the young and the aspiring engineers. The Company was considered as the country’s training and mentoring centre for the Heavy Engineering Industry. During the last two centuries, the company has consistently modernized and streamlined its production facilities to keep abreast with the latest technology and has introduced many new products for core sector industries in the country. After 1990 there has been no expenditure on modernization or production facilities.
Subsequently in 1973, the company was taken over by the Government and Jessop became a Govt. of India undertaking. In 1986, with the formation of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited (BBUNL), a Public Sector Holding Company under administrative control of Department of Heavy Industry, Ministry of Industry, Govt. of India they passed a law in the Parliament in 2003 and Jessop became a part of the Holding Company.
