Founded by two Scotsmen, Stephen George Balmer and Alexander Lawrie, in Kolkata, Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd. started its corporate journey as a Partnership Firm on 1st February 1867. Traversing the 152 years gone by, today Balmer Lawrie is a Miniratna - I Public Sector Enterprise under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Govt. of India, with a turnover of Rs. 1830 crores and a profit of Rs. 261 crores. Along with its five Joint Ventures and two subsidiaries in India and abroad, today it is a much-respected transnational diversified conglomerate with presence in both manufacturing and service sectors. Balmer Lawrie is a market leader in Steel Barrels, Industrial Greases & Specialty Lubricants, Corporate Travel and Logistics Services. It also has significant presence in most other businesses, it operates, viz, Leather Chemicals, Logistics Infrastructure etc. In its 151 years of existence, Balmer Lawrie has been successfully responding to the demands of an ever changing environment, leveraging every change as an opportunity to innovate and emerge a leader in industry.

Today Balmer Lawrie has six business units - Industrial Packaging, Greases & Lubricants, Leather Chemicals, Travel & Vacations, Logistics and Refinery & Oil Field Services with offices spread across the country and abroad.