The performance of his business has moved in tandem with his connections to the ruling party.
Pawan Ruia has finally done it, a beaming Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, then West Bengal chief minister, had said at the reopening of the 70-year-old Sahagunj factory owned by Dunlop in 2005. But with the Calcutta high court passing a winding-up order in 2013 and the Trinamool Congress-led state government passing a Bill to take over the company in 2016, the once-upon-a-time undisputed leader in the Indian tyre industry looks vastly undone. But that can hardly be a deterrent for Ruia, who has a penchant for making headlines one way or the other.
Ruia, a chartered accountant whose business ranged from sugar to textiles and heavy engineering to tyres, refused to comment on queries about his interest in Air India.
Dunlop & Jessop head for closure & new ventures abroad yet to inspire but tycoon says he's still going strong.
The directorate of revenue Intelligence has issued a show cause notice to Pawan Kumar Ruia, who had acquired public sector engineering giant Jessop & Co and ailing tyre company Dunlop India Ltd, for allegedly claiming false export benefits.
Noted industrialist Pawan K Ruia, who had bought public sector engineering giant Jessop through National Democratic Alliance's divestment scheme
Dunlop India of the Pawan Ruia group has submitted a Rs 600 crore (Rs 6 billion) draft rehabilitation scheme to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction for the revival of the ailing outfit.
Owned by Pawan Ruia, the tyre manufacturing company closed down the factory in 2009.
The high court in Kolkata has ordered winding up of the Pawan Ruia group's tyre maker, Dunlop India, directing the official liquidator to take possession of all the company's assets and books of records.
Industrialist Pawan Ruia's (think Dunlop and Jessop) arrest this month for cheating and criminal breach of trust marked a new low, but the tide had been turning against him for a while now. Ishita Ayan Dutt & Avishek Rakshit report.
The recession-hit company had earlier temporarily shut its plants at both Sahagunj, near Kolkata, and Ambattur, near Chennai. But with the rising demand in the the automobile sector, it was decided to resume production. According to Ruia, the Ambattur plant will resume operation from October 19.
The Ruia group, which had taken over ailing companies like Jessop and Dunlop India for turnaround, is also eyeing the sugar sector.
The Pawan Ruia group has finally come out with an open offer for Dunlop India and Falcon Tyres following its indirect acquisition of these two outfits from the Jumbo group in December 2005.
Banerjee, speaking at a rally at Sahaganj in Hooghly district, also said Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah are spreading lies and hatred throughout the country.
Getting the first tyres out from the Sahaganj plant will still require a lot of effort, but with the state government on its side, the hopes are high.
No tyres of any description have rolled out of its factories in Sahagunj (West Bengal) or Ambattur (Tamil Nadu) since 2011 and 2012, respectively.
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