The Hindu Business Line : Jindal Stainless scouting for buys in Asia, Europe

Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) is scouting for cold-rolling mills in Asia and Europe and is likely to clinch deals in 3-6 months, a company official said today.

Enthused at having turned around the cold-rolling stainless steel (SS) mill in Indonesia within 18 months of acquiring it for $50 million from the Maspion Group, the Haryana-based company is now foraying into new territories.

JSL is busy opening offices in Turkey and South Korea and warehouses in Italy and eastern Europe for this purpose, Mr R.K. Goyal, Director (Commercial), told Business Line.

He added that the Group would soon start talking to a few companies, but refused to identify them.

JSL has already commissioned its 2,50,000-tonne ferro-alloy unit at Dubri in Orissa and is now setting up a 16 lakh-tonne greenfield SS unit there at an investment of Rs 12,000 crore; it is scheduled to go on stream by 2008.

Together with the Hissar facility's expanded capacity of 7.20 lakh tonnes, the company would emerge as the largest integrated SS producer in the world with a capacity of 23.20 lakh tonnes, he added.

Citing the Indonesian case, he said that the Jindals have increased its production from 50,000 tonnes at the time of acquisition to 60,000 tonnes now.

The turnover of JSL, part of the Rs 20,000-crore Jindal Group, is expected to increase from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,500 crore this fiscal, he added.

In Gujarat, Mr Goyal said, JSL's business is to the tune of Rs 500 crore. It is setting up a service centre in Vadodara district at an investment of about Rs 40 crore to provide customised products.

The company hopes to grow its business in the State by 20-30 per cent this year in view of setting up of refineries and other industries such as chemicals, plants and fabrication units.

Besides, the company is setting up similar service centres in Mumbai and Chennai and awaiting nod for its proposed SEZ in Orissa.

JSL is also foraying into products for the sugar sector by making its SS products sugar-friendly.

Mr Goyal said that the sugar industry usually consumes mild steel, which, due to its corrosion proneness, is not good for human health.

Even the USFDA has specified that a minimum of 16 per cent chromium is necessary in SS products to prevent corrosion.

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