Wadia Group

Wadia Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate, founded in Surat, headquartered in Mumbai. It was founded by Lovji Nusserwanjee Wadia in 1736 and is the oldest company in India, with its subsidiary The Bombay Burmah Trading Corporation Limited, established in 1863, being the oldest publicly traded Indian company. Other notable companies of the group are Bombay Dyeing, a textile company established in 1879, and Britannia Industries, a food and beverage company established in 1918. Lovji Wadia secured contracts with the British East India Company to build ships and docks in Bombay in 1736. This, and subsequent efforts, would result in Bombay becoming a strategic port for the British colonial undertakings in Asia. The Bombay dry dock, the first dry dock in Asia, was built by Lovji and his brother Sorabji in 1750. Among the historical ships built by the Wadia Group are HMS Minden, HMS Cornwallis, and HMS Trincomalee.