International trade was initiated by way of exchange of goods and commodities by a system of Barters. Post war period, as a result of industrial revolution, international trade grew and trading systems and procedures evolved and modern foreign exchange mechanism came in to place along with the banking system.

It was during this period that two brothers, who had started their business in Amsterdam and spread to different parts of the world, decided in the year 1950, to establish a company Friedlander Ores and Metals with three centers in Calcutta, Bombay and Delhi. Their activity included most industrial raw materials such as Ores, Metals, Minerals, Oil, Oil Products, besides it also included Fertilizers, soft commodities like Sugar, Coffee etc.

Philipp Brothers' growth was so rapid that they had offices in most major countries of the world and were one of the largest trading companies of their time. 

By the end of the fifties, due to operational problems and strict trade restrictions in India, they ran into difficulties. It was then decided, after obtaining proper counseling from Lawyers in India, that the trading interest of Philipp Brothers be managed by a properly organized Indian company. 

Thus Meteor came into existence in the year 1963, as Philipp Brothers representatives in India. It began operations by way of an Import and Export contract entered into between Philipp Brothers and Meteor. The activities of the company were well recognized by public sector undertakings such as MMTC, STC, MSTC, SAIL, IOC etc. One must mention that during this time India was passing through a major foreign exchange crisis. The efforts of Meteor/Philipp Brothers helped to generate trade even in such situations where even Government Companies were finding it difficult to generate the Foreign Exchange. To cite an example a major contract with MMTC to export minerals against the import of steel. During the initial period, almost 10 major Barter deals were performed and export of minerals took place to different parts of the world. 

Business grew to sizable volumes, extended to almost all commodities including Minerals, Metals, Scrap, Oil, Oil products Fertilizers, Coal, Coke, Sugar, Coffee, Soyabean meal and other animal feeds etc., we even exported human hair from Vizag to Japan. In short, Meteor earned for itself a name international trading in India.