Dr Vinod Nowal, Deputy Managing Director of JSW Steel, shares with BusinessLine the benefits accrued by the company during the Deming Prize certification process. The company has saved ₹2,000 per tonne raw material conversion cost as well. Excerpts:

While preparing for Deming Prize and later after getting it, how has it impacted company’s margins?

The Deming Prize has helped us improve and bring in more efficiency, better quality, performance and better working culture thereby improving conversion cost. When you say conversion cost, it is if you compare with last 3-5 years, there is definitely 20 per cent improvement in all respect which includes ₹2,000/tonne raw material conversion cost.

What has been the value-addition roadmap of the company?

We have today around 55 per cent products. We have a plan to continuously increase it every year by about 5 per cent. Value-added products means commercial grade steel for different sectors. Auto grade, special products for different usage, electrical steel, auto grade for cars. We also make pipes of all grades for oil and gas sector.

Could you share your company’s production roadmap?

The company’s overall production roadmap is to touch 45 million tonnes by 2030. This is to come from Vijaynagar plant. This is expected to be 13 million tonnes from the current 12 million tonnes by next year. And then, we plan to add capacities to make it 18 million tonnes by 2022. In our Dolvi (near Mumbai) plant, from 5 million tonnes it will be 10 million tonnes by 2020.

Then in Odisha, we are building a 12-million-tonne-per-annum steel plant which is expected to ready by 2030. Then at Salem, from current one million it will be two million by 2030.

How have you balanced domestic sales vs exports?

The company has presence in around 100 countries. At present, we are maintaining exports at 10 per cent. We export more only when it is favourable to us.

At times, we can export up to 25 per cent.

What is iron ore availability position in Karnataka?

After 2010, things are not smooth on the iron ore front. The Supreme Court has allowed only 35 million tonnes. Availability this year is 28 million and total requirement is 32 million.

JSW Steel alone needs 22 million and others mills need between 12 and 15 million tonnes. So, there is a shortage of 4 million tonnes of iron ore. To bridge that gap, we are managing through imports as well as domestic buying from Odisha.

Now, this closure of NMDC’s Donimalai Mines has further aggravated the crisis. By bringing ore from Odisha, one needs to spend more on transportation.

On top of it, there is a shortage of rakes. So, it is a tough-going at the moment.

Since there has been lots of concern on waste disposal and utilisation, how has JSW managed?

We have installed an efficient waste utilisation plan. That is, we burn the coal for making the steel. In this process, lot of gases are generated. Earlier, whatever gases got generated were discharged into atmosphere, but now we capture and use them for heating purpose and for generating power as well. And by doing this we don’t purchase any petroleum product. Our power requirement is 900 MW, but our generation is around 600 MW — mainly through gases.

Has the company benefited from R&D development?

JSW Steel has given more focus on R&D. We have also allotted resources with a focus to develop products for tomorrow. This is done with a focus that our customers should not depend on imports.

The company’s major focus is BHQ (banded hematite quartzite) and also there are two things — one is raw material side, how one can use different iron ores grades and — different types of coal to reduce our cost and also to lessen dependence on imports.

Second is whatever waste we generate, how to re-use and recycle it.

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