Andrew Yule and Company Limited is an Indian diversified manufacturing and services enterprise headquartered in Kolkata, West Bengal. Established in the late nineteenth century as a British managing agency, it later became a Government of India public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Heavy Industries. The company operates through three principal divisions covering tea, electrical engineering, and general engineering.
| Name | Andrew Yule and Company Limited |
|---|---|
| Type | Public sector undertaking |
| Founded | 1863 |
| Founders | Andrew Yule and George Yule |
| Headquarters | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Industry | Diversified: tea, electrical engineering, general engineering |
| Owner | Government of India |
| Administrative ministry | Ministry of Heavy Industries |
| Stock listing | BSE, NSE |
The firm was founded in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1863 by Andrew Yule, a Scottish merchant, and was joined shortly afterwards by his nephew George Yule. Operating in the tradition of the Calcutta managing agencies, it built a portfolio that at various points included tea gardens, jute mills, coal mines, cotton mills, railway companies, electricity supply undertakings, and insurance interests. By the early twentieth century it had emerged as one of the largest managing agencies in British India, second only to a small group of comparable Scottish-origin houses.
The tea division manages gardens located in Assam, West Bengal (Dooars) and other parts of eastern India, producing primarily orthodox and CTC black teas. The company markets selected garden teas under its own brands.
The electrical engineering division manufactures power transformers, distribution transformers, switchgear, and related equipment for utilities and industrial customers, with manufacturing facilities in West Bengal.
The general engineering division supplies industrial fans, air pollution control equipment, tea machinery, and turnkey project services for thermal and process industries.
The company has held interests in several subsidiaries and associate firms in tea and engineering, including Hooghly Printing Co. Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary engaged in commercial printing.
As one of the oldest continuously operating business houses in India, Andrew Yule and Company is of historical interest for its role in the colonial-era managing agency system, its long association with the tea industry of eastern India, and its later transition into a Central Public Sector Enterprise. Its restructuring is often cited as an example of revival of a loss-making PSU through statutory rehabilitation processes.