About · Est. 1947

Industrial gas manufacturer with three works in India

KIGL began in 1947 as The Industrial Gases Limited, among the first industrial gas manufacturers in India. In 1988 the company was divided into several businesses, and The Kamrup Industrial Gases Limited was formed with works at Kolkata, Varanasi and Guwahati. Four generations of the founding family have run it.

Founded
1947
Years manufacturing
79
Generations
4
Works
3
Customers served
450+
K. L. Garg, in a Gandhi cap and dark bandhgala, seated in conversation with R. Venkataraman in a white kurta and dark spectacles
K. L. Garg with R. Venkataraman Then Minister for Industries, Madras State, and later President of India, 1987–92. Photographed at Madras between 1962 and 1965.
Album plate captioned The Industrial Gases Limited — Inauguration of New Plants and Welding School, 5 August 1956
Inauguration of new plants and the welding school 5 August 1956. The cylinders are stencilled “guaranteed to meet all recognised world specifications.”
Dignitaries beside an acetylene cylinder filling manifold in 1956, cylinders stencilled ACETYLENE
The acetylene filling manifold Inspected at the 1956 opening. The cylinders read ACETYLENE.

From the restored K. L. Garg album — 25 plates, identified against the album's captions and published portraits. The full history ›

Acetylene cylinders coupled to a filling manifold, photographed in 1956

“Still the same two things: make the gas properly, and build the equipment that makes it safe to use.”

The Kamrup Industrial Gases Limited · Manufacturing since 1947

Read further

The record, the commitments and the works

What the longevity actually buys you

What a 79-year-old gas manufacturer does differently

Longevity as a design constraint
Plants we built decades ago are still running, and we still make the spares. Equipment intended to last thirty years is built differently from equipment intended to win a tender.
79 years is a safety record
Acetylene and oxygen are unforgiving gases. A company that treats them casually does not reach its eighth decade.
Held to standards we helped write
When we cite IS 308 or IS 8471, that is not a marketing reference to somebody else's document. It is a rule we sat in the room for.

Where we manufacture

Three works: gas filling at Guwahati, equipment at Kolkata

  • Howrah

    West Bengal

    Head office. Manufacture of acetylene gas plants, flashback and flame arrestors, safety valves and industrial gas equipment.

  • Guwahati

    Assam

    Cylinder filling for oxygen, nitrogen, argon, acetylene and other gases.

    Fills: Oxygen · Nitrogen · Argon · Acetylene · Carbon dioxide

  • Varanasi

    Uttar Pradesh

    Industrial gas supply for Uttar Pradesh.

Addresses and direct numbers ›

Questions

About KIGL — frequently asked questions

Is KIGL related to The Industrial Gases Limited and IIGAS?

Yes. The Kamrup Industrial Gases Limited, International Industrial Gases Limited and The Industrial Gases Limited share one origin and remain related businesses. KIGL is the company formed when the original business was divided in 1988.

What happened in 1988?

The original business was divided into several companies. The Kamrup Industrial Gases Limited was formed with works at Kolkata, Varanasi and Guwahati, carrying forward the same engineering practice, the same standards work and the same equipment design lineage — acetylene gas plants, flashback arrestors and dissolved acetylene.

Why does a company founded in 1947 matter to a buyer today?

Two practical reasons. First, plants we built decades ago are still running, and we still make the spares — which tells you something about how long we expect equipment to last. Second, longevity in this industry is a safety record. Businesses handling acetylene and oxygen carelessly do not last seventy-nine years.

What is the company's role in Indian standards?

The group has contributed to the BIS and PESO committees that write the Indian standards for industrial gas cylinders, valves and acetylene generators, and was a founding member of the All India Gas Association. We are held to standards we helped shape.

Who runs the company now?

The fourth generation of the founding family, alongside the operating teams at each site. Standardisation and safety are led by Mithillessh Garg.

How big is KIGL?

KIGL fills cylinders at its own works in Guwahati, builds plant and safety equipment at Kolkata, and supplies through a network of agents across Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, Odisha and other states — serving 450+ customers, with 200+ KIGL-built plants still in service. Compressed and dissolved gases are manufactured by KIGL. Liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and helium are supplied from licensed producers. The distinction is stated because it affects lead time and supply security, and a purchaser is entitled to know it.

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