The establishment of Jindal Strips Limited at Hisar, a mini steel plant producing hot rolled carbon steel coils, plates, slabs, and blooms, marks the inception of not only Jindal Stainless but also the entire O P Jindal Group of Companies. Today, this industrial conglomerate boasts an annual turnover of over USD 38 billion.

Under the stewardship of O P Jindal, PR Jindal pioneers the Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD), a significant advancement in stainless steel technology. This innovation leads to the production of India’s first indigenously manufactured stainless steel.

The company’s stainless steel products, with quality standards on par with imported stainless steel, gain widespread recognition. The company also undertakes the expansion of its downstream facilities.

The company sets up a cold rolling unit in Vasind village in Thane district, Maharashtra, which later becomes a part of JSW Steel Limited.

The company launches its Initial Public Offer (IPO) of 12,00,000 equity shares and 4,80,000 nonconvertible debentures. It also acquires a steel manufacturing unit from Piramal Steels Limited, which subsequently becomes a part of JSW Steel Limited.

Amid a severe shortage of nickel due to depleted forex reserves, the company introduces the lownickel 200 series commercially for the first time globally. This trend is soon adopted by China and, subsequently, by the rest of the world. The company’s popularised J1, J2, J3, and J4 grades remain in vogue today.

The company takes a significant leap in manufacturing excellence by becoming the exclusive producer of stainless steel strips for razor and surgical blades in India. Four years later, it adds stainless steel precision strips to its product portfolio. The company also establishes a sponge iron plant at Raigarh in Madhya Pradesh, which later becomes a part of Jindal Steel & Power Limited.

The Hisar plant undergoes a major expansion to produce sophisticated, high-end stainless steel. The company’s stainless steel melting capacity expands by 3,50,000 tonnes this year. Jindal Ferro Alloys Ltd., established in 1987, is amalgamated with the company, forming the Ferro Alloys Division in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.

The company commences the production of coin blanks in Hisar. Jindal Stainless also opens a 40,000 tonnes cold rolling facility, Massilon Stainless, in Ohio, USA, to manufacture thin grades of stainless steel for the US market. However, the unit is closed down following economic slowdown in the US after the September 2001 terrorist attack.

Deepika Jindal’s pioneering leadership revolutionises stainless steel. She launches Arttd’inox, a premium brand of homeware and tableware that combines the utility of stainless steel with the elegance of art.

Jindal Strips is restructured and the manufacturing operations are spun off to form Jindal Stainless. Arttd’inox introduces designer stainless steel lifestyle products in the retail market. The company also acquires Jindal Chromite Mines in Kaliapani village, Odisha.

Ratan Jindal initiates the establishment of a 3.2 million tonnes integrated stainless steel project at Kalinga Nagar Industrial Complex in the Jajpur district of Odisha. The facilities are installed in two phases over the subsequent years.

Jindal Stainless expands its presence in the markets of South East Asia and Oceania with the acquisition of a stainless steel cold rolling plant in Indonesia.

The Jindal Stainless Foundation, the CSR arm of Jindal Stainless, is established. The company enters a joint venture with Steelway and opens four service centres. Two years later, the company forms an international joint venture and establishes Iberjindal SL, a service centre in Spain. Steelway is later acquired as a fully-owned subsidiary.

The Hisar unit expands to a capacity of 0.8 million tonnes, and production commences at the Jajpur unit with a capacity equivalent to Hisar’s.

Jindal Stainless is chosen to supply stainless steel to the globally renowned International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor’s cryostat megaproject in France.

Jindal Stainless becomes India’s first metal manufacturing firm to transition to the HANA enterprise cloud platform. The company also ventures into the defence sector by signing an agreement with DRDO to manufacture high nitrogen steel (HNS), becoming India’s first company to commercially manufacture HNS.

The Jajpur unit expands operations to produce 1.1 million tonnes. With Hisar’s 0.8 milliontonne capacity, the total capacity reaches 1.9 million tonnes annually.

The company achieved new heights with the acquisition of Rathi Super Steel and Jindal United Steel Limited. The Collaboration Agreement with New Yaking Pte Ltd made JSL the first Indian company to invest in Nickel Pig Iron abroad (Indonesia), while the merger process of JSL and JSHL also achieved fruition.

Jindal Stainless entered into a joint venture for developing and operating a stainless steel melt shop (SMS) in Indonesia with an annual production capacity of 1.2 MTPA., which will increase the company’s melting capacity by over 40%.