The business was founded by Andrew Yule in 1863 and incorporated as a private company in 1919. During British Raj the company was a large conglomerate. The company had varied and diversified business interests ranging from jute, cotton, coal, tea, engineering, electrical, power, chemicals, insurance, railways, shipping, paper, printing apart from maintaining a zamindari and managing house of several companies in India. The company was managed by Andrew Yule and his brother George Yule and later by David Yule. The Bengal Coal Co was part of Andrew Yule group holding collieries in Bengal & Bihar. The company was turned into a public company in 1948, after India's independence from the British Empire. It became a central public sector enterprise in 1979, after the Indian government completed a series of equity share acquisitions. As of 2011, the shareholders are the Indian government, Financial Institutions, and the remainder publicly traded.
The electrical division produces power and distribution transformers, high voltage switching gear, low voltage control gear, flame proof switch gear, voltage regulators and rectifiers, plant communication, and fire alarm and detection systems. The switchgear and electrical systems group is located in Kolkata, while the transformer & switchgear unit is located in Chennai.
Tea Division
This division produces bulk tea. It has 5 locations in West Bengal: Mim Tea Estate at Darjeeling, Karbala, Banarhat, Choonabhutti and New Dooars Tea Estates at Dooars. Another 10 locations are in Assam: Khowang, Bhamun, Hingrijan, Basmatia, Desam, Tinkong, Rajgarh, Hoolungoorie, Murphulani and Bogijan Tea Estates.
The business development group produces CAD & GIS applications, digitization, archiving, vectorization, and scanning of drawings, among other services.
Associated companies
Tide Water Oil Co. (India) Ltd.
This division produces lubricants and greases under the Veedol brand. The Company currently owns 26.23% of Tide Water Oil Co. Ltd.
Descon Ltd.
Descon provided consultant services in the power and energy sector, engineering drawing, GIS, management consultancy, and software development. It was started its operation in the mid of 90's. Initially it was the stakeholder of DPSC or India Power. But after DPSC was taken over by SREI Group, Descon tied up with JSW Group. On 30 June 2014 Descon closed down its major operations as company was suffering from huge loss for last three years.
Webfil Ltd.
Webfil is a telecommunications provider, offering a digital micro radio telecommunication network, fibre optic communication systems, multiplexers and message switching systems, and telecommunication network services. Additionally it manufactures filaments for GLS lamps, and cathodes for fluorescent Lamps.
Yule Financing & Leasing Co.
This company provides loan syndication, capital restructuring, financial re-engineering, management of insurance for medium-sized capital business units, and corporate advisory services.
