The Rama Prasad Goenka Group, commonly known as RPG Group, is an Indian industrial and services conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai.[3] The roots of the RPG Group can be traced back to the enterprise of Ramdutt Goenka in 1820.[4] RPG Enterprises was established in 1979 by Rama Prasad Goenka and initially comprised the Phillips Carbon Black, Asian Cables, Agarpara Jute, and Murphy India companies. R. P. Goenka held the title of Chairman Emeritus until his death in 2013. The present chairman is Harsh Goenka, R. P. Goenka's eldest son.[5]

RPG Group
Company typeCorporate group
IndustryConglomerate
Founded1820; 204 years ago (1820), in Calcutta, India
FounderRamdutt Goenka[1]
HeadquartersRPG House, Annie Besant Road, Worli, Mumbai, India
Key people
Harsh Goenka (Chairman)
Products
Revenue25,500 crore (US$3.1 billion)[2] (2018−19)
2,660 crore (US$320 million)[2] (2018−19)
1,085 crore (US$130 million)[2] (2018−19)
Number of employees
30,000+ (2018)[citation needed]
SubsidiariesCEAT
KEC International
Zensar Technologies
RPG Life Sciences
Raychem RPG
Harrisons Malayalam
RPG Ventures
Websitewww.rpggroup.com

The RPG Group currently consists of more than fifteen companies, mainly infrastructure, tires, and life sciences.[6] Some of the companies it holds are CEAT Tyres, information technology firm Zensar Technologies, infrastructure company KEC International, pharmaceutical company RPG Life Sciences, a 50/50 joint-venture with TE Connectivity for Raychem RPG, plantation company Harrisons Malayalam, and e-commerce company Seniority.

Group companies

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The conglomerate's major companies, subsidiaries and affiliates are divided among the following 4 sectors.[7]

Tyres

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CEAT

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CEAT is the flagship company of RPG Enterprises, with an annual turnover of 7,573 crore (equivalent to 100 billion or US$1.2 billion in 2023) in the financial year 2020-21.[8][9] It is the largest exporter of tyres in India,[10] exporting to over 100 countries.[11] The company is headquartered in Mumbai. It has manufacturing plants in Bhandup and Ambernath in Mumbai, Nashik, and Halol (near Baroda).

CEAT Sri Lanka

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Entering the Sri Lankan market in 1992, CEAT India formed a joint venture with AMW, and subsequently a three-way venture with Kelani Tyres in 1999, to manufacture and market CEAT tyres in Sri Lanka. This venture resulted in the creation of CEAT Kelani Associated Holdings, formerly Kelani Tyres, which is today the largest domestic tyre manufacturer in Sri Lanka. The exit of AMW in 2009, resulted in a joint venture between CEAT Kelani Holdings and CEAT India. Commencing operations with one plant in Kalutara, the company today has three plants, including a radial plant constructed in 2006.[12] CEAT Kelani is the single largest brand in the radial tyre segment in Sri Lanka, with a 33 percent market share.[12]

CEAT Bangladesh

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In 2017, the conglomerate entered into a joint-venture with Bangladeshi group, A K Khan & Company, to set up a plant in Bhaluka, Mymensingh with an initial investment of US$67 million.[13] CEAT obtained a 70% stake in this joint-venture.[14]

Infrastructure

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KEC International

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KEC is a power transmission engineering-procurement-construction (EPC) companies in the world,[15] recording a turnover of 13,114 crore (equivalent to 180 billion or US$2.1 billion in 2023) in the financial year 2020–21.[16] The company has developed power infrastructure in over 70 countries across South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Africa, Central Asia, and the Americas. While power transmission is its largest vertical, the company also has a presence in railways, civil, urban infrastructure, solar infrastructure, and oil and gas cross-country pipelines.[17]

SAE Towers

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In April 2010, KEC International set up the world's largest tower testing station at Butibori, in Nagpur. The new test station will facilitate validation of the Extra-High Voltage (EHV) energy network.[18] In September 2010, KEC International acquired Houston-based SAE Towers, a group of operating companies incorporated in the United States, Mexico, and Brazil, consolidated through SAE Towers Holdings, LLC. This acquisition created the second largest steel-lattice tower manufacturer in the world with approximately 1,02,000 MT of annual production capacity. The company also executes EPC works for several transmission lines in the region.

Information technology

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Zensar Technologies

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Zensar Technologies is an information technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Pune, India. It offers information technology (IT) and BPO products and services to Fortune 500 clients. Zensar has a marketing presence in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, and South Africa.[19] The company has software development centers at Pune, Hyderabad, and Bangalore in India; Gdańsk, Poland; and the Middle East.

Zensar service areas include application support and development, application portfolio management, testing, enterprise collaboration and content management, enterprise application integration, business intelligence and data warehousing. Zensar's core competency is application modernization, using Zensar's SBP framework. Zensar is a CMMI Level 5 Company with activity that spans utilities, retail and distribution, banking, financial services and insurance, manufacturing, and telecommunications.

Specialty

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Raychem RPG

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Raychem RPG Limited is a 50:50 joint venture between RPG and US group TE Connectivity (formerly Tyco Electronics). It is involved in engineering products and services to power, telecommunications, hydrocarbon, oil and gas, and water industries. It manufactures cable accessories up to 245 kV, and connector systems, viz. shear bolt, low power-loss wedge connectors, insulation piercing, deep step indentation, and bolted, up to 1200kV. Raychem Zero-Halogen Heat-shrink technology is widely used in Metro underground applications. Raychem has an innovation centre in Halol, Gujarat, wherein research on polymers for electrical applications, connection technologies, and power electronics, take place. The thrust is on solutions to the power sector, to lower the Aggregate Technical & Commercial losses (AT & C). Raychem RPG has introduced Delta-transformer technology, which has lower No-load losses, as compared to conventional transformers.[20]

RPG Life Sciences

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RPG Life Sciences (RPGLS) is an Indian pharmaceutical company, formerly known as Searle (India) Ltd. Its three major sources of business are manufacturing and marketing of bulk drugs, also known as API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients), pharmaceutical formulation and fermentation & biotechnology. It has global partnership for dossiers/DMF in Europe and Canada, artificial sugar in UK, NSAID in Europe, and formulations in Asia, Canada and Europe.

RPGLS offers services like marketing partnership, NDDS development, development of non-infringing process technologies, and P2P and/or contract manufacturing to its global partners. In 2012, it was named as one of India's best places to work by the Great Places to Work institute.[21]

Harrisons Malayalam

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Harrisons Malayalam is an agricultural business corporation. It cultivates between 14'000 ha – 26'000 ha (information varies) of its own land and processes products from other farmlands in its neighbourhood.[22] In addition to banana, cardamom, cocoa, coffee, coconut, pepper, and vanilla, its primary products are rubber, tea, and pineapple. Harrisons Malayalam is the largest producer of pineapples in India,[23] and the largest producer of tea in South India.[24] It employs around 13,000 people in rural Kerala.[24]

Venture capital

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RPG Ventures

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It is the venture capital arm of the RPG Group, which makes investments in startups in different sectors like health and wellness, technology, automotive, infrastructure, and project management.[25] In October 2016, it invested an undisclosed amount in Bangalore-based bot-mitigation and management startup, ShieldSquare, through a series A funding.[26] In September 2017, it invested US$1 million in Pune-based elderly-care e-commerce platform, Seniority.[27][28] In November 2017, it backed the Pune-based online pharmacy, Medsonway Solutions with US$600,000.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "The tycoon who kept faith in Bengal". The Times of India. 15 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  2. ^ a b c RPG (2019), p. 55.
  3. ^ "RPG Group to spend Rs 160 crore on expansion of specialty retail business | TopNews". Topnews.in. 7 May 2010. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  4. ^ "The tycoon who kept with in Bengal". The Times of India. 23 April 2013. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  5. ^ Tree, The Neon. "RPG Enterprises - History". RPG Group.
  6. ^ "Welcome to RPG - Overview". Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  7. ^ "RPG Contact Us". Rpggroup.com. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  8. ^ "CEAT Annual Report" (PDF). www.ceat.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  9. ^ Tree, The Neon. "RPG Enterprises - Tyres - Infrastructure - Information Technology - Plantations - Energy - Pharmaceuticals - RPG Ventures". RPG Group.
  10. ^ "Page not found – India Transport Portal". indiatransportportal.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2013. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  11. ^ "Ceat sees new markets driving export revenues 50% this fiscal".
  12. ^ a b "CEAT Kelani's Truck Bus Radials enter market". lankabusinessonline.com. Lanka Business Online. 27 June 2019.
  13. ^ "Ceat Bangladesh project confirmed". Tyrepress. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  14. ^ Mathew, Manju. "Ceat Confirms Planned JV for New Factory in Bangladesh". Tires & Parts News. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  15. ^ "K e C International Ltd Background details about Company Profile - Indiainfoline.com". Archived from the original on 19 June 2013. Retrieved 22 March 2013.
  16. ^ "KEC International Annual Report" (PDF). www.kecrpg.com. Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  17. ^ "KEC International Limited - About Us - Company". Kecrpg.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  18. ^ "World's largest tower testing station at Nagpur-Projects Info". www.projectsinfo.in. Archived from the original on 12 April 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Zensar Technologies divests non-core businesses". fortuneindia.com. Retrieved 28 January 2019.
  20. ^ Umarji, Vinay (21 March 2013). "Raychem RPG to now sponsor its Halol workers' education". Business Standard.
  21. ^ "Business News Live, Share Market News - Read Latest Finance News, IPO, Mutual Funds News". The Economic Times.
  22. ^ "Forgery case filed against Harrisons Malayalam staff". The Hindu. 2 November 2013.
  23. ^ "Welcome to RPG - Harrison Malayalam Ltd". Archived from the original on 17 June 2015. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
  24. ^ a b "We are Being Victimised, Alleges Harrisons Malayalam Limited".[dead link]
  25. ^ Dhanjal, Swaraj Singh (27 December 2018). "Seniority looks to raise funding to scale up business". livemint. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  26. ^ "RPG Ventures, Endiya Back Bot Mitigation Startup ShieldSquare". Inc42 Media. 26 October 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  27. ^ "Old businesses tap startups for new ideas - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  28. ^ aparnamishra.06 (7 September 2017). "RPG Group Invests $1 Mn in Senior Citizens Ecommerce Portal - Seniority". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 3 February 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  29. ^ "RPG Ventures backs e-pharmacy startup Medsonway with $600K". VCCircle. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2019.

Further reading

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  • R. K. Dwivedi (1995). Organizational Culture and Performance. M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd. p. 20. ISBN 81-85880-59-X.