Time line
1945: Western India Vegetable Products Limited is created
1947: An oil mill and hydrogenated cooking medium plant set up
1966: Azim Premji takes over leadership of Wipro at age 21
1975: Wipro Fluid Power is set up to manufacture hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders
1977: Company is renamed to Wipro Products Limited
1980: Information technology services for domestic market started
1981: Hardware company is launched
1982: Company is renamed to Wipro Limited
1984: Software products subsidiary Wipro Systems Ltd. is established
1985: Toilet soaps manufacture begins
1988: Wipro BioMed is launched. It is a new business unit to market and service bio-analytical and diagnostic instruments
1989: Joint venture with GE for medical systems, Wipro GE Medical Systems Ltd
1990: Product software business discontinued; software services begin
1992: Lighting business and finance arm is established
1994: Merger of subsidiaries Wipro Technologies Ltd. and Wipro Systems Ltd. with Wipro Ltd.
1995: Received ISO 9001 quality certification
1997: Received CMM level 3 certification from the Software Engineerin Institute of India
1998: Wipro identity is relaunched with rainbow flower and positioning statement, "Applying Thought"
1998: Certified at CMMi level 5
1999: Brand makeover, with sunflower logo and the tag line "Applying Thought"
1999: Wipro Net is set up by restructuring Wipro Ltd.'s communication services business to address the Internet market
2000: Wipro Ltd.'s American depositary receipts are listed on New York Stock Exchange
2000: Six Sigma initiative begun
2001: Wipro receives a $70 million SI order, the largest ever till overtaken by TCS
2001: Awarded the PCMM level 5 certification
2001: Business Today rated it as India's most valuable company
2001: BusinessWeek ranked it among the top 100 best performing technology companies globally
2002: Acquires Raman Roy's Spectramind for US$ 175 million to get into BPO industry
2002: BusinessWeek ranked it among the top 10 software services companies
2004: Becomes 4th largest company in the world in terms of market capitalization in IT services
2005: Becomes a $2 billion company
2006: Becomes the world's largest R&D service provider.
2006: Acquires Saraware, a wireless R&D service provider from Finland
2006: Acquires Quantech, a mechanical engineering design provider
2006: Acquires Enabler, a leading retail solutions provider from Portugal
2006: Joint venture company WMNetServ with Motorola
2006: Net profit for July, August and September rises 48% to $152m (£81m)
2007: Revenues reach $3.5billion
2007: Becomes SOX Compliant.
2007: Wipro-Biomed Division sold to Ranbaxy Fine Chemicals
2007: Wipro opens new development center in Monterrey, Mexico
2007: Acquires U S based Infocrossing
