Media Type: Archive

GFG Alliance Executive Chairman Sanjeev Gupta’s success in building a flagship international metals, industrials, energy and financial services group has been recognised with the title ‘21st Century Icon’ in a prestigious award programme supported by ELITE London Stock Exchange Group.

Sanjeev was named an ‘Icon’ in the ‘Astute Finance and Investments’ category for his relentless pursuit of a strategy to revive metal manufacture and other heavy industry across the developed economies and his embrace of innovation in order to make industry both competitive and sustainable.

The accolade, which also honoured his work in establishing the industry-friendly Wyelands Bank, was announced during the second annual 21st Century Icon Awards Gala Dinner at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower, Knightsbridge, London.

The awards which cover business, the arts, sport, entertainment and technology, have been set up both to celebrate the work of a new generation of high achievers and to provide inspiration to the next generation.

Winners were chosen by a prestigious panel of judges which included Baroness Verma of Leicester, David Sayer, Vice Chairman Financial Services, KPMG, Hugo van Vredenburch, former partner and MD of Goldman Sachs and Denise Lewis the former Olympic heptathlon gold-medallist.

Unable to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments overseas, Sanjeev’s award was accepted on his behalf by his father PK Gupta who received it from leading entrepreneur GP Hinduja, Co-Chairman of the Hinduja Group.

Tarun Ghulati, Founder, President & Chief Executive Officer and Preeti Rana, Founder, Chief Creative Officer, Squared Watermelon Ltd, creators and hosts of these Global Awards said: “Sanjeev Gupta is a trailblazer and a true global Icon. He has been a front runner for many years and an inspiration and role model for the next generation.”

Commenting on the award Sanjeev said: “This is a great honour for all of us in the worldwide GFG family and I’m thrilled for us to be recognised in a programme that specifically sets out to inspire future generations. I received a lot of encouragement as a young man which has definitely been the foundation of my journey. It is now important for me to try to inspire and encourage the next generation of young entrepreneurs.”

GFG Alliance has appointed Mahendra Singh Mehta, one of India’s most experienced and senior industrial leaders to oversee the establishment of its fast-growing business across India.

Mr Mehta, former CEO of Anil Agarwal’s global natural resources and metals group Vedanta, and more recently CEO of Reliance Infrastructure now becomes GFG’s Country Head for India, responsible for building the group’s business across the country this will include building corporate governance structure for the group.

The announcement comes only days after the NCLT made orders clearing the way for the Liberty House Group, part of the GFG Alliance, to acquire automotive component giant, Amtek Auto, and steel manufacturer Adhunik Metaliks, with a combined Indian workforce of more than 7,000 people. This will take GFG’s global workforce to c 21,000 and its turnover to c US$ 17 billion.

GFG, whose business spans metal manufacturing, engineering, energy, financial services and property will shortly unveil executive lead teams in India for each of its business divisions, comprising senior professionals from across industry.

The group also plans to announce an advisory board for GFG India and that will provide governance, strategic advice to the group and its executives in India help them navigate its fast changing business and political environment. Members will include highly-credible individuals regarded as stalwarts of industry, banking and law.

Mr Mehta said: “It’s a privilege to be given the responsibility to help launch and establish Liberty and GFG in India, particularly given the recent outstanding and ground-breaking achievements of the group globally. I’m looking forward to leading the development of the group in India as it quickly becomes a valuable and prominent part of the industrial landscape here.”

Mr. Mehta has more than 36 years’ experience in operations, strategy and business turnaround in sectors spanning steel, non-ferrous metals, mining, power generation and distribution, infrastructure and cement.

Commenting on the appointment Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance said: “We’re very pleased to have someone of Mr Mehta’s calibre to lead our entry into Indian industry. His leadership will be extremely valuable to us at this critical juncture, India presents boundless opportunities for growth as the country undergoes dramatic reform under the current government and a young population unleashes demand. Following GFG’s successes in so many other parts of the world, I am very excited to bring our pioneering business model to my own motherland and I’m confident that the appointment of Mr Mehta and many other respected senior executives and advisors will enable us to establish a significant base in India capable of sustained long term growth.”

Intrepid Highland cyclist, Jenny Graham, is aiming to test Scottish bike-building expertise to the limit on the roads of 15 different countries as she embarks this weekend on an epic 18,000-mile round-the-world record attempt.

The gutsy 38-year old children’s services worker from Inverness visited the team at Shand Cycles’ Livingston factory, West Lothian, for some last-minute checks on the bike they built specially for her to smash the female unsupported world record for circling the global on two wheels.

Shand Cycles, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global metals and industrials group, the GFG Alliance, built the bike based on their Stooshie model to enable Jenny to cover a challenging 180 miles a day on highways, by-ways and dirt tracks and slash 34 days off the current 144-day record set by Italian rider Paola Gianotti four years ago.

Jenny said she was particularly proud to be making the bid for glory on a bike with strong Scottish credentials, designed and built for her by Shand founder and general manager, Steven Shand and his team at Livingston with support from colleagues at the firm’s sister plant – Trillion – in Leamington Spa, who completed the final assembly.

She’s already completed 3,000 miles training on the machine and is looking forward to embarking on her daring journey from Berlin on Saturday morning (16th June) to secure a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Shand Cycles offered to sponsor Jenny by creating and donating the bike after she met Steven at a cycle race organised by the women’s endurance cycling group, the Adventure Syndicate. She said: “It was amazing. They just measured me up and then produced this great machine that fits me like a glove. I just sat on it and felt ‘wow’ I am really going to get on with this bike. It was like meeting an old friend. It is a steel frame and the key with steel is that it absorbs the shock which will be important because I’ll be on all sorts of roads.”

Jenny, who is part of The Adventure Syndicate and a member of Cycling UK, plans to ride for around 15 hours a day, carrying all her own equipment. Her route will take her through Germany, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Mongolia, China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, US, Portugal, Spain, France and Holland. She will take four flights and a boat journey en route.

Steven Shand said he had every faith in both rider and bike to break the record. “Our aim for Jenny was to create a bike that would give her maximum comfort, so she could almost forget it was there at all. We’re always excited by the stories that come from people using our bikes and those stories don’t come much bigger than a round-the-world record attempt. Jenny is such an inspiration and our team are so proud to be part of her story,” said Steven, who has worked with the Adventure Syndicate for nearly four years and has also made a keirin bike for Sir Chris Hoy.

Jenny also received good wishes from Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance whose multi-billion-dollar global business plan includes the revival of cycle manufacture in the UK. “Cycling brings so many benefits and people like Jenny are amazing ambassadors for the sport. Her ambition and tenacity are hugely impressive and I’m looking forward to seeing her break the record,” said Sanjeev who began his business career selling bikes internationally near 30 years ago.

In addition to Shand Cycles, Jenny’s world record attempt is being sponsored by Leigh Day Cycling, Endura, Apidura, Unitas Global, John Hampshire Coaching, Hunt Wheels, Ritchey and Komoot.

British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, has appointed prominent American executive, Grant Quasha, to lead its investment drive across USA.

The move comes ahead of the group’s planned reopening of the former ArcelorMittal wire rod steel plant at Georgetown, South Carolina, which will be the launchpad for a major expansion into the metals, mining, energy and financial services sectors in the United States.

Mr Quasha, who has been appointed as GFG’s Chief Investment Officer (USA), will be based in New York, which the $15 billion turnover group is establishing as a new global hub in a network that already has centres in London, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney, with a presence in over 30 countries.

He is joining GFG following a successful period as CEO and Managing Director of Paringa Resources, a publicly-listed junior mining company developing new coal mines in Kentucky. Prior to that, Mr. Quasha was the Chief Commercial Officer of Bowie Resource Partners, LLC, the largest producer of Western bituminous coal in the US.

He’d previously gained extensive experience of the metals sectors through his roles as North American Manager of Corporate and Structured Finance at Trafigura AG, one of the world’s largest independent commodity trading houses, and, before that, as an investment banker in JPMorgan’s New York mining and metals division. He serves on the board of directors of the National Mining Association.

Mr. Quasha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, Cum Laude, from Harvard College and an MBA with distinction from Harvard Business School.

Commenting on his new role he said: “GFG’s global growth has been truly impressive and I’m very excited by the prospect of taking the group’s vision and ground-breaking business model into North America, where there are huge growth opportunities in the metals, mining, energy and financial services sectors. Building upon initial investments in Georgetown and Tampa, I’m looking forward to leading the Group towards further interesting projects that will make a huge positive impact here.”

Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of the GFG Alliance said: “Grant has an excellent track record of achievement and we’re hugely encouraged to have secured someone of his calibre to head up our ambitious American investment programme. It’s a great pleasure to welcome him to the worldwide GFG family.”

The South Australian Chamber of Mines and Energy (SACOME) has today [8 June 2018] awarded an eight-year supply contract to renewable energy retailer SIMEC ZEN Energy, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, to significantly bring down the cost of electricity for their members.

• SIMEC ZEN Energy has been awarded SACOME Joint Purchasing Electricity Buyers’ Group contract
• Significant cost savings across the buyers’ group
• Supports new dispatchable renewable energy generation to replace the Northern Power Station

The contract represents a successful outcome for the bulk-buying consortium masterminded by SACOME for its members in 2016, in the face of soaring energy costs and supply reliability concerns in the state.

Sanjeev Gupta, Chairman of SIMEC ZEN Energy, said “this outcome demonstrates what can be achieved when businesses decide as a collective that the status quo is not acceptable.

“Ultimately what is needed to fix the energy market in this state is more competition in wholesale generation and retailing – this result delivers both.

“While delivering SACOME members with electricity at a price below what could be achieved through a standard market tender, this contract also allows SIMEC ZEN Energy to fast track plans to replace the capacity lost when the Northern Power Station closed two years ago.

“This capacity will be a mix of generation assets suited to the new energy landscape, such as the Cultana Solar Power Station and our other projects in the Upper Spencer Gulf.

“The contract also continues the recent successes of SIMEC ZEN Energy – adding to the South Australian Government awarding us its electricity supply contract in late 2017 – as we continue to look for other large energy users to add to our portfolio.” Mr Gupta said.

South Australia has the most volatile and expensive wholesale electricity market in Australia and is one of the most expensive electricity markets in the developed world. This agreement brings electricity prices down significantly for members of the SACOME group. This is a landmark deal – a first of its kind- and is expected to inspire a host of similar initiatives across the country.

The SACOME bulk buying consortium arose out of discussions amongst its members on how to respond to the doubling in electricity costs experienced after the closure of the Northern Power Station. This consortia approach made sense; by aggregating load, members improved their individual bargaining position. The platform provided an aggregated and definite load, enabling SIMEC ZEN to back this demand with its anticipated new renewable power generation, hence making it possible to offer lower pricing.
With electricity representing up to 40 per cent of input costs for members of the group, the redistribution of these savings will flow through to new investment opportunities for the South Australian economy.

SACOME CEO Rebecca Knol said, “this cross-sectoral collaboration has delivered affordable power to some of South Australia’s largest energy users and underpinned the development of new supply for the collective benefit of State.

“Following the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) green light in May 2017, SACOME’s flagship joint-purchasing electricity group banded together to leverage their strength in numbers and bring down electricity prices for their businesses.

“The group’s approach to this complex commercial negotiation in a fast-changing electricity environment has been inspirational. The outcome is a credit to the stamina and commitment of our participating members* who represent a diverse slice of South Australian business,” said Mrs Knol.

Speaking shortly after the announcement of the signing, Mr Gupta added:

“Although this initial contract may not seem overly significant in its own right, it is a hugely important step that marks the turning of the tide.

“It’s not only a disruption to the market by slashing prices and for the first time providing a long-term pricing mechanism to all sizes of buyers, it’s also proving that renewables are the future of energy in South Australia.

“It firmly places SIMEC ZEN as the new trailblazing retailer, bringing sustainable and competitive energy once again to South Australia. Such an energy environment will incubate new industries in South Australia, including GFG’s plans to set up a copper smelter in Whyalla.

“I would like to sincerely thank the ACCC’s Rod Sims for his efforts in this initiative. Through his work with SACOME, he’s demonstrated the vital role of the ACCC in promoting competitive disruption in the Australian market – it’s enabled new competitive forces to come into play and start the disruption of the exorbitantly-priced Australian energy market.

“My thanks also to Rebecca and her team at SACOME for their tireless work to bring this to fruition, while demonstrating the importance of their group to South Australian business, including even those outside of their traditional mining and energy portfolio.”

Britain has an unprecedented opportunity to save and grow its steel and engineering sectors by reinventing them as green, high-value industries, based on recycling and renewable energy, a gathering of senior business, political and academic representatives at Rotherham heard today (17th May).

A combination of cheap, clean power, a burgeoning supply of scrap steel and the UK’s world-leading expertise in metals technology, can put the country back at the forefront of a global industry it once dominated, delegates at the first GREENSTEEL Conference were told.

Jay Hambro, chief investment officer of the British-owned global energy, metals and engineering group, the GFG Alliance, said it was vital to grasp this opportunity now in order to revitalise UK manufacturing and rebalance the economy in a post-Brexit era.

“GREENSTEEL is the way of the future and it’s an opportunity we can’t afford to waste if we want to rebuild metals and engineering as profitable and sustainable sectors, supporting many thousands of skilled British jobs,” he added.

Liberty Speciality Steels at Rotherham – venue for today’s landmark event – has become a flagship for GREENSTEEL since Prince Charles reignited the plant’s large electric arc furnace in February, giving it the largest steel recycling capacity in the UK.

Mr Hambro led a broad-based panel of speakers which contained both government and opposition figures as well as industrialists and specialist academics in the field of sustainable manufacturing.

He explained how GFG Alliance companies, Liberty House and SIMEC, have taken a lead in developing plans to build 5m tonnes of GREENSTEEL production capacity within five years as well as 1GigaWatt of renewable power generation capacity for industry within two years.

This would, he said, feed competitively-priced and low-carbon British-made metals into home-based engineering and manufacturing operations that would capture more value and quality employment within the UK.

He urged other industrial businesses to embrace this challenge and called on Government to be more proactive in encouraging investment in renewable energy capacity that benefits the UK supply chain and drives down power prices for industrial users in a way that would completely transform Britain’s post-Brexit manufacturing base.

The high-level gathering at Rotherham was chaired by UK Steel Director Gareth Stace and was also addressed by Shadow Steel Minister, Gill Furniss MP, Rotherham MP, Sarah Champion, Niall McKenzie, Director of Infrastructure and Materials at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Ed Heath-Whyte, Environment and Energy Manager at Liberty Speciality Steels and Julian Allwood, Professor of Engineering and the Environment at the University of Cambridge.

Professor Allwood presented the findings of his research into the steel industry supply chain and how the UK metals sector can be made more sustainable. He highlighted the predicted growth in the supply of UK scrap steel from 10m to 20m tonnes a year and argued that the country could meet its future needs by recycling more scrap at home rather than exporting the vast bulk of it for melting abroad or making more steel through high-carbon methods, using coal and iron ore in blast furnaces.

He also argued that better design of metal-based products would result in less waste in the manufacturing process and therefore reduce the industry’s carbon footprint.

UK Government representative Niall McKenzie said the prospects for Britain’s steel industry were good with finished steel demand forecast to grow from 9.4m tonnes a year to 11m tonnes by 2030, representing a £3.8 billion per annum future opportunity for the UK industry. He called for more investment and innovation by the industry and welcomed Liberty Steel’s commitment to green production. “We need innovation and to apply different approaches. The Government welcomes more competition, so the more Liberty takes on this challenge to better,” he said.

Shadow Steel Minister, Gill Furniss, who is MP Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough said: “We need to ensure the steel sector innovates to find the most sustainable way forward. I am hugely impressed by the creative work happening here at Rotherham where Liberty has invested to triple the plant’s capacity to recycle scrap.”

Rotherham MP, Sarah Champion said the turn around being achieved at Liberty Speciality Steels in Rotherham and Stockbridge was: “testament to the hard work by the workers, the trade unions and Liberty itself.” She Added: “Britain can and should lead the way in steel production and will be at the heart of a real renaissance in the steel industry.”

The conference was a key milestone in the development of the GREENSTEEL Council, which was established by the GFG Alliance as an independent body just over a year ago to support the implementation of low-carbon solutions to the challenges facing steel and other UK metal production.

In addition to Professor Allwood, the Council includes former UK Business Minister, Anna Soubry MP, former Welsh Government Business Minister, Edwina Hart, chief executive of the Materials Processing Institute at Teesside, Chris McDonald and former managing director of EDF Energy, Martin Lawrence.

The meteoric rise of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance to global prominence was recognised last night (May 17th) in front of the world’s metals industry leaders by the award of a coveted international accolade.

GFG was declared winner of the prestigious ‘Rising Star Company’ title at the annual S&P Platts Global Metals Awards celebration dinner held at the Marriott in Grosvenor Square, London.

The event is regarded as the world’s showcase of excellence in an industry worth more than US$1.8 trillion a year, and winners were chosen from among nearly 100 finalists from all continents by an independent panel of experts representing all aspects of the sector internationally.

GFG’s success in the keenly-contested ‘Rising Star Company’ category follows Sanjeev Gupta’s CEO of the Year win in 2017 at the same event.

The ‘Rising Star’ award to GFG was made by judges based on Group’s ‘growth, innovation, operational excellence, scope and financial results.’

According to the official criteria, the category is reserved for companies that exhibit an entrepreneurial spirit in transforming markets and re-evaluating established traditions to move the industry forward. It also acknowledges ‘courage, superior execution, brilliant marketing and nimble organisation.”

Judges chose GFG as the standout business in light of its dramatic global growth over recent years, which has seen workforce numbers climb to more than 12,500, and its ground-breaking GREENSTEEL strategy for sustainable steel production burst onto the agenda in many countries including UK, Australia, USA and India. GFG was also nominated for a further six awards.

Accepting the award on behalf of the GFG Alliance Jay Hambro, who is the Group’s Chief Investment Officer and was himself nominated for CEO of the year for his role in running the Mining and Energy businesses of GFG said: “It is a delight and an honour to be recognized by your peers for this award. We have a strong strategic vision for growth based on our core GREENSTEEL plan for long term economic and environmental sustainability.”

The GREENSTEEL Council invites you to The GREENSTEEL Council’s Inaugural Conference held on 17th May at Liberty Steel, Rotherham.

The GREENSTEEL Council was formed last year to support the implementation of low carbon solutions to the challenges facing steel and other metal production in the UK.

The Conference will explore how to make the steel industry sustainable and a career of choice and the GREENSTEEL’s objectives for the UK which are to:

• Attack the growing mountain of exported scrap
• Invest in green energy in conjunction with industrial growth
• Invest in British engineering and rebuild downstream industries using UK steel
• Deliver domestic economic growth and power national industrial strategy through revitalisation of steel and manufacturing

Speakers on the day include:

• Gill Furniss MP, Shadow Steel Minister
• Sarah Champion MP, Rotherham MP
• Prof. Julian Allwood, Professor of Engineering and the Environment at the University of Cambridge
• Jay Hambro, Chief Investment Officer of GFG Alliance
• Ed Heath-Whyte, Environment and Energy Manager at Speciality Steels UK Department for Business, Energy, Innovation and Skills
• Niall Mackenzie, Director for Infrastructure and Materials, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Book your place now!

Register Now

Follow the GFG Alliance on Twitter and use hashtag #GREENSTEELConference to follow updates.

Find out more about our GREENSTEEL Strategy and the GREENSTEEL Council

---

 

Schedule

09.45 – Arrival – refreshments will be served
10.30 – Presentations
13.00 – Departure

Location

Liberty Steel Rotherham
Aldwarke Lane
Rotherham
S60 1DW
Directions

Travel Information

Car Parking: There is ample car parking space adjacent to the building.

Rotherham Central is the nearest train station to the venue and operates mainline services from the Midlands and London.

Suggested local taxi firms:

First Class Taxis – 01709 524444
Crystal Private Hire – 01709 850810
Skyline Taxis – 01709 525252

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and French President Emmanuel Macron today [2 May] witnessed the signing of landmark agreements between leading French and Australian businesses – NEOEN and GFG Alliance – designed to dramatically reduce energy costs to industry in Australia.

On the occasion of President Macron’s visit to Australia, leading French renewable energy producer, NEOEN, and British-Australian renewable energy enterprise, SIMEC ZEN Energy – part of Sanjeev Gupta’s global GFG Alliance – signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to develop, operate and supply renewable energy at a far lower cost than has been achieved before.

As a first step, NEOEN CEO, Xavier Barbaro, and GFG Alliance Executive Chairman, Sanjeev Gupta, signed a 15-year power purchase agreement for SIMEC ZEN Energy to take most of the output from NEOEN’s Numurkah Solar Farm in northwest Victoria. This 100 MW renewable energy project is owned and developed by NEOEN and already supported by a 38 MW Green Certificate Purchase agreement by the Victorian Government. Through its repeated support and innovative approach to renewable energy, the Victorian Government has enabled this project which will deliver even more benefits to Victoria.

“We believe renewable energy is a game-changer and both agreements reflect a shared commitment to deliver low-cost, sustainable energy solutions into the market,” Mr Barbaro said.

“The switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy is the revolution of this century, transforming our economies and our impact on the environment. Such major change demands sustainable, effective solutions.”

Mr Gupta said the purchase agreement would help to lower energy costs at GFG’s Laverton steel works in Victoria, placing the operations on the path to GFG’s well-known GREENSTEEL model. In addition, he said the MOU was an exciting opportunity for the companies to work together to find global renewable energy solutions of even greater scale.

“These agreements reflect GFG and NEOEN’s shared commitment to the goals of economic and environmental sustainability that are strongly advocated by President Macron and Prime Minister Turnbull,” Mr Gupta said.

“Renewable energy is at the heart of our GREENSTEEL and GREENALUMINIUM strategies, designed to make metal production and engineering competitive again in developed countries. We see Australia – with its incomparable energy resources – as the natural home for expansion of energy-intensive industry, with renewables to play an integral role.”

NEOEN and GFG are already major global producers of solar, wind and hydro energy, and large investors in energy storage through batteries and pumped hydro storage. In South Australia alone, NEOEN has taken significant steps to offer residents long-term, sustainable energy alternatives through the innovative Hornsdale Power Reserve, which is home to the biggest lithium-ion battery in the world; while SIMEC ZEN Energy has announced plans for a 120MW battery nearby at Port Augusta as part of a broader 1GW renewable energy and storage plan, adding to GFG’s ambitious renewable energy targets of numerous gigawatts globally.

International metals, industrials and energy group, the GFG Alliance, which has invested more than $2billion in global growth over the past three years, is creating a panel of law firms to aid its next phase of expansion.

The decision by London-headquartered GFG to appoint a panel with the required mix of M&A, litigation and employment law expertise follows the recent appointment of Allen & Overy-trained Simon Nasta as Global Group General Counsel of the 12,500-employee business, spanning 30 countries.

Led by global entrepreneur, Sanjeev Gupta, the GFG Alliance has been one of the world’s fastest-growing industrial enterprises since 2015, acquiring more than 30 steel, aluminium, engineering and energy assets and effecting remarkable turnarounds in previously struggling operations.

Its major concentration of activity is in the UK and Australia, where further acquisitions are planned in the short and medium term, and the group is also pushing strongly into the USA, France, India and emerging economies.

In addition to its energy and industrial activities, GFG has been building its business in the financial services sector with major investments in banking, insurance and financial technology.

Simon Nasta, who joined the burgeoning business in January from his previous role as General Counsel of the First Bank of Nigeria said: “GFG has reached a scale now that demands we develop a relationship with a number of top-quality law firms to ensure we can access cost-effectively the most talented players in the field, who can take us through the many complex transactions and operational issues we’ll inevitably face as our vigorous growth phase continues. We’re not yet sure how many firms we’ll need to appoint but, at present, we estimate it will be around four.”

Invitations to apply for places on the panel will be advertised in the coming weeks.