The Hindu Business Line : Uttam Galva plans steel plant in Maharashtra

Without divulging investment details, Mr Ankit Miglani, Director, said: “Detailed plans of the SEZ project are being crystallised. It may be a combination of our own unit and those invited to set up shop there.”

Uttam Galva has acquired 300 acres along the highway for setting up a steel and auto engineering SEZ on 250 acres and two separate SEZs on 25 acres each for IT and bio-technology.

The company has gone in for a Rs 800-crore expansion-cum-modernisation exercise at its existing plant to enhance production capacities by 2007-end.

Plans are on to double production capabilities to one million tonnes of cold rolled steel and 750,000 tonnes of galvanised steel.

The company has commissioned a reversible cold rolling line, which will enable manufacture of import substitute grade cold rolled sheets.

It has already invested Rs 640 crore in the ongoing expansion programme for making cold rolled and galvanised steel and intends to further invest Rs 100 crore in the service centre.

About 70 per cent of its production is exported to about 128 countries.

Uttam Galva is the largest exporter of galvanised steel used by the auto sector.

“We want to bring down galvanised steel exports to 50 per cent or even lower in five years. The way the auto sector demand is growing in India, I hope to achieve my target ahead of the deadline,” Mr Miglani said.

In the last two years, the company exported about two million tonnes of customised high-value steel.

Expecting a renewed uptrend in steel prices by October, Mr Miglani said: “Prices have crashed by $100 a tonne in June last year while this year it has dropped only $15. We expect the market to stabilise at this level and hit a new high by September-October.”

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