Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T)

Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) is a technology-driven engineering and construction organization, and one of the largest companies in India's private sector. It has additional interests in manufacturing, services and Information Technology.

A strong, customer-focused approach and the constant quest for top-class quality have enabled the Company to attain and sustain leadership in its major lines of business across seven decades.

L&T has an international presence, with a global spread of offices. A thrust on international business over the last few years has seen overseas earnings growing to 18 per cent of total revenue. With factories and offices located around the country, further supplemented by a wide marketing and distribution network, L&T's image and equity extends to virtually every district of India.

History

The evolution of L&T into the country's largest engineering and construction organizations is among the more remarkable success stories in Indian industry. The company was founded in Bombay (Mumbai) in 1938 by two Danish engineers, Henning Holck-Larsen and Soren Kristian Toubro - both of whom were strongly committed to developing India's engineering talent and enabling it to meet the demands of industry. Beginning with the import of machinery from Europe, L&T rapidly took on engineering and construction assignments of increasing sophistication. Today, the company sets engineering benchmarks in terms of scale and complexity.

Record of Achievements

L&T's signature of excellence is evident on:

• India's first indigenous hydrocracker reactor
• Oil and gas platform projects executed to global benchmarks
• The world's largest continuous catalyst regeneration reactor
• The simultaneous execution of clean fuel projects at eight refineries around India
• The world's biggest fluid catalytic cracking regenerator
• The world's longest product splitter
• Asia's highest viaduct - built for the Konkan Railway
• The world's longest LPG pipeline
• The world's longest cross country conveyor
• Building an international class football stadium in 260 days

Engineering&Construction-Projects

L&T's engineering & construction track record consists of successful implementation of turnkey projects in major core and infrastructure sectors of Indian industry. L&T has integrated its strengths in process technology, basic and detailed engineering, equipment fabrication, procurement, project management, erection, construction and commissioning, to offer single-point responsibility against stringent delivery schedules. Strategic alliances with world leaders enable L&T to access technical know-how and execute process-intensive large-scale turnkey projects to maintain its leadership position. L&T's core competencies in engineering include highly qualified and experienced personnel from various disciplines, state-of-the-art 2-D and 3-D CAD facilities with sophisticated plant design systems and basic engineering capabilities. L&T is the only Indian EPC company pre-qualified for executing large, process-intensive projects for oil & gas, refinery, petrochemical and fertiliser sectors.

Heavy Engineering

L&T is acknowledged as one of the top five fabrication companies in the world, with engineering and manufacturing capabilities that are among the most sought after in industry. Operating at the high end of the technological spectrum, L&T has led Indian industry in introducing new processes, products and materials in manufacturing. L&T also has the logistics capabilities of fabricating and supplying over-dimensional equipment to tight delivery schedules. L&T's globally-benchmarked workshops are located in Mumbai, Hazira, Baroda and Kansbahal.

Construction

ECC - the Engineering Construction & Contracts Division of L&T is India's largest construction organization. Many of the country's prized landmarks - its exquisite buildings, tallest structures, largest industrial projects, longest flyovers, highest viaducts, longest pipelines … have all been built by L&T. L&T's leading edge capabilities cover every discipline of construction - civil, mechanical, electrical and instrumentation. L&T has also expanded its focus to the Middle East, South East Asia, Russia, CIS, Mauritius, African and SAARC countries. L&T is also developing markets for its construction services in the Indian Ocean rim countries, Africa and Latin America.

Electrical&Electronics

L&T is a major international manufacturer of a wide range of electrical and electronic products and systems. In the electrical segment, the Company is India's largest manufacturer of low tension switchgear, and is rapidly establishing itself in international markets. Its products are widely sold in markets in Europe and Australia. Recently, L&T set up a new manufacturing base for high-end air circuit breakers in China. L&T also manufactures custom-engineered switchboards for industrial sectors like power, refineries, petrochemical, cement, etc. In the electronic segment, L&T offers a wide range of meters and provides complete control and automation systems for diverse industries. Medical equipment and systems manufactured by L&T include advanced ultrasound scanners and patient monitoring systems.

Information Technology

Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited, a 100 per cent subsidiary of L&T, offers comprehensive, end to end software solutions and services with a focus on Manufacturing, BFSI and Communications & Embedded Systems. It provides a cost cutting partnership in the realm of offshore outsourcing, application integration and package implementation. Leveraging the heritage and domain expertise of the parent company, its services encompass a broad technology spectrum, catering to leading international companies across the globe. It leverages the L&T parentage to also provide services in the embedded intelligence and e-Engineering space.

Machinery & Industrial Products

L&T manufactures, markets and provides service support for critical construction and mining machinery - surface miners, hydraulic excavators, aggregate crushers, loader backhoes and vibratory compactors.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Beyond the corporate objectives of achieving growth and profitability, L&T is conscious of its larger social obligations. The Company's efforts have been widely recognized.

Human Resources

L&T’s employment policies and systems radiate from a single principle – L&T believe in people. People are their most valued asset - their core strength. L&T have, therefore, created a ‘climate’ which is distinctive in industry. Employees gain a level of freedom which provides security, satisfaction and, most importantly, a sense of professional fulfilment. At L&T, learning is a continuous process. Human Resources Development Department offers training programmes for employees right through their career. A good blend of skill development, behavioural and core programmes provide stimulus for growth and career development. Courses are designed to keep employees in touch with the latest trends in management. Emphasis is laid on creativity, innovation, achievement motivation for excellence, empowerment, augmenting communication and interpersonal skills, developing initiative and leadership qualities and providing knowledge of computer applications. The compensation package offered by L&T compares favourably with respective industries in which L&T operate.
 

History of L&T

Mr.Soren Kristian Toubro,a civil engineer from Denmark, together with Mr. HenningHolck-Larsen, founded the partnership firm, L&T, in 1938. They had much in common – both were from Copenhagen in Denmark,studied in the same school and worked together for F. L. Smidth & Co. Holck-Larsen was junior to Toubro by two years.While serving FLS, both were posted in India. It was during this time that they conceived the plan to set up L&T… and the rest was history.  

Profile of HenningHolck-Larsen

Henning Holck-Larsen was born on July 4, 1907 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The only son of Louis Holger Christian Larsen, stationmaster of Copenhagen, and Ida Jörgensen, Henning has one younger sister. As is often done in Denmark to acknowledge relationship, he was given a surname combining a family name from his mother's side with his father's family name. He attended Jesuit primary and secondary schools and in 1922 entered the Metropolitanskolen (high school) of Copenhagen from which he graduated in 1925. During his high school years he traveled with his parents to Sweden, Germany and Austria and vowed to see more of the world when he grew older. He feels his interest in foreign countries and his urge to travel may have been inculcated from his father who, in 1898, left the Danish Railways and joined a railway construction company in South Africa. When the Boer War started, he joined on the Boer side and won two medals for bravery until malaria forced him to return to Denmark, where he rejoined the Danish Railways. On May 1, 1938, HOLCK-LARSEN and Soren Kristian Toubro left F. L. Smidth, formed a partnership and established the firm of Larsen & Toubro to import machinery to India from Scandinavia. They employed a clerk and a messenger and adopted the motto, "In Service Lies Success." They were to adhere to this motto as the firm grew from the two-man partnership to become (in 1976) the 19th largest private sector company in India.

Profile of Soren Kristian Toubro

Toubro was a director of L&T from 1946 to 1981. From 1946to 1956, Holck-Larsen and he alternated the position of Chairman of L&T Board of Directors. He was also a director of several companies in the L&T Group In 1963, having worked for nearly 25 years, Mr. Toubro relinquished his executive responsibilities and retired from L&T ManagementPrivate Limited, the managing agents of Larsen & Toubro Limited at the at time. He however continued to serve on the Board of Directors ofLarsen & Toubro Limited and Engineering Construction CorporationLimited till 1981. Mr. Toubro was a highly dedicated person having a keen sense of duty.He was a perfectionist and would appreciate everything that is well done. The interest of the L&T Group of Companies was always uppermost in his mind. On many occasions Mr. Toubro sacrificed personal interests for the benefit of the firm. He took great interest and pride in a healthy Indianisation of the Company and spared no effort to convey and explain his basic ideas of sound business and service.

To know more about L&T Limited, please visit www.larsentoubro.com