The Hindu Business Line : Tata Ryerson plans to hike steel processing capacity

Plans ahead
An investment of Rs 151 crore has been earmarked on various facilities till 2008.
Rs 35 crore would be invested on the company's cold rolled processing facilities at Faridabad and Pune
Additional investment of Rs 11 crore would be spent on augmenting hot rolled processing capacities at Jamshedpur and Pune.

Kolkata , Aug. 9

Tata Ryerson Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture of Tata Steel and Ryerson Inc of the US, has firmed up plans to augment its steel processing and distribution capacity from around 1.5 million tonnes (mt) per annum at present to two mt per annum within the next two years.

Propelled by this, the company's turnover is expected to touch Rs 1,500 crore in 2007-08, Mr Sandipan Chakravortty, Managing Director of Tata Ryerson, told a news conference here on Wednesday. The company's projected turnover for the current fiscal has been pegged at Rs 1,000 crore, up from Rs 754 crore recorded in 2005-06.

Investments plans

Mr Chakravortty said the company's cold rolled (CR) and hot rolled (HR) processing facilities at Jamshedpur can together handle more than 1.5 mt of flat products a year. An investment of Rs 151 crore has been earmarked on various facilities till 2008.

About Rs 35 crore would be invested on the company's CR processing facilities at Faridabad and Pune even as an additional investment of Rs 11 crore would be spent on augmenting HR processing capacities at Jamshedpur and Pune. Besides, Rs 20 crore would be invested in a rebar processing facility dedicated to steel mills.

In addition, Rs 40 crore is being invested in stainless steel processing and distribution facilities at the company's Pune plant. "We are offering customised solutions for meeting the stainless steel requirements of our customers in sectors such as consumer durables, appliances, vessels and railways. Our vision is to have a 10 per cent share of our addressable market by 2010. This would generate a revenue of Rs 430 crore for the company," Mr Chakravortty said.

`ACE' plant

According to him, Tata Motors Ltd is setting up its `ACE' light commercial vehicle plant at Pantnagar in Uttaranchal. The company's supply chain requirement would be met through steel supplied by Tata Steel. On its part, Tata Ryerson is setting up a full-fledged service centre at Pantnagar at an estimated investment of Rs 45 crore.

"Of the Rs 151 crore that we had proposed to invest, around Rs 50 crore has already been tied up or invested. We need to raise the balance Rs 100 crore which we hope to do from internal accruals, promoters' contribution and debt from financial institutions," Mr Chakravortty said. He ruled out any plans for raising money from the capital market.