MITTAL PROVES HIS METAL

lakshmi niwas mittal has proved his mettle.he finally acquired 'arcelor' after a bitter resistance put up by the company's top management fully supported by the luxembourg government.it was a well planned and executed acquisition of the world's second largest steel-maker and a great step towards consolidation in the world steel industry.the world coudn't believe that an indian could even have the chutzpah to think of taking over such a big european company and have the audacity to push it through successfully and making joseph kinsch and guy dolle of arcelor eat humble pie.

mittal was ridiculed,his products and arcelor's were compared to eau de cologne and perfume and his money was referred to as 'monkey money'. racial discrimination came in the way and the so-called propagaters of free world trade and globalisation put roadblocks and played every trick in the book to prevent the takeover. kinsch and dolle were even prepared to take a poison pill and merge arcelor with severstahl a russian company than live with the humiliation of having been acquired by an indian. ultimately mittal's intelligence,tenacity,perseverance and strategic thinking paid off. he won amd became world's no 1 in steel production. a dream that he saw when he started his career in indonesia in the 80s.he split away from his family later in 1994.gradually he started buying old and lossmaking mills and turning them around.

in sanskrit laksmi niwas means the residence of goddess lakshmi.the goddess of wealth,love and luck.true to his name he has all of these factors.after having bagged arcelor he returned to india triumphant and got accolades from politicians and captains of industry.not one to rest on his laurels he visited orissa and jharkand and ofcourse to kolkata where he had had his education. he has an mou with jharkhand and now he has signed one with orissa. whoever gives him the better deal-land,mining rights,electric power and other infrastructural requirements will get the project.it will be a 10 million ton steel plant. he has also sent shivers down the other steel manufacturers like tatas who are fortifying themselves for a possible assault at a future date from mittal. and the japanese and the chinese are rewriting their rulebooks to prevent another 'arcelor'.

guided by his father to whom he is very close,ably supported by his wife usha whose advice he trusts,and his two children aditya and vanisha he has now set his eyes on china. he already has a jv but that is not going to whet his appetite. it will be interesting to watch his next move.

already the richest man in uk and world's third richest man,l n mittal is surely closing the gap between him and two others ahead of him.it is a question of time as to when he will be declared the richest man in the world.

the supersteelman has arrived.