Mobility paves Samsung’s silver path
The Korean giant’s early bet on mobile phones helped it hit the $10-bn mark in India, but in its 25th year it ...
With the rapidly growing domestic auto industry turning out to be a lucrative market for steelmakers, state-owned company Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has come out with elaborate plans to make auto-grade steel.
Mr C S Verma, Chairman, SAIL told Business Line that as part of its close to Rs 70,000 crore modernisation programme, it is setting up a new Cold Rolling (CR) Mill with a 1.2 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) capacity. This mill will be built at its Bokaro plant and would primarily target auto and the white goods industry.
“We believe the steady growth of the auto sector is a key driver for steel demand going forward, particularly for CR products. SAIL’s major flat steel producing plant at Bokaro is expanding its volume while upgradation of technology is also being undertaken.
A new Cold Rolling Mill is being set up with coupled pickling and tandem mill, 100 per cent hydrogen annealing, electrolytic cleaning line, tension levelling and automatic packing stations, etc. Also, galvanising lines are being set up both for Hot Rolled (HR) and CR products. Provision has been made for supplying of HR pickled and oiled material. Necessary upstream projects like facilities for de-sulphurisation and upgradation of Hot Strip Mill is also on the anvil,” he said.
According to industry analysts, demand from the auto sector accounts for about 10 per cent of total steel supply by Indian producers. Most Indian automakers, however, import large quantities of auto-grade steel from companies in countries like Japan and Korea. In India, Essar Steel and Tata Steel are the biggest suppliers to the auto industry.
Other steelmakers have also announced fresh investments for producing auto-grade steel in India. Among them, Korean firm Posco has indicated an investment of $284 million for a 1.8 MTPA cold-rolled steel plant in Maharashtra. Japanese company Nippon Steel is also investing Rs 164 crore on an auto steel pipe plant in Rajasthan. Both these facilities will come on-stream by 2012.
SAIL’s R&D Centre has already developed grades required for chassis and under-the-bonnet components. Once the facilities for skin body sheets are available, SAIL is confident of developing materials for that too, said Mr Verma.
“We expect the new facilities will be able to supply to almost all requirements of auto grade steel that is hot rolled, cold rolled and galvanised, except for the skin components for which IF grade steel is required. However, in the second phase of expansion of the Bokaro Steel Plant, when the older SMS-I will make way for SMS-III, facilities will be added at the steel melting stage so that SAIL is in a position to meet the required steel grades of skin component also. In that phase of expansion, a colour coating line is also envisaged. With these facilities in place, SAIL will be able to cater to the requirements of chassis, under-the-bonnet components, and later to outer body sheets as well,” he said.
roudra.b@thehindu.co.in
The Korean giant’s early bet on mobile phones helped it hit the $10-bn mark in India, but in its 25th year it ...
Antrix should adopt a different tactic than merely fighting over jurisdiction: Experts
Invest in relationships, enterprise, behaviour, effort and learning
From different types of osmoses to new membranes, researchers have come up with ways of drawing water
Will a stock continue its current trend or will it reverse? We tell you how you can read chart patterns to ...
₹1483 • HDFC Bank S1S2R1R2COMMENT 1465145015001510 Fresh short positions can be initiated with stop-loss at ...
Bucking the overall market trend, the stock of Capri Global Capital Limited (CGCL) gained on Monday and ...
Most AMCs have been sending out cryptic e-mails. We tell you how to read between the lines
In these isolated times when people yearn for a slice of the familiar, amateur and professional chefs are ...
On the eve of his 86th birthday, a peek into an interview-based book that reveals the actor’s many moods, ...
Forget the tuna. The island nation will keep you full and happy with coconut, koftas and jasmine
This year, on Facebook, I saw that someone had posted a list of EASY RESOLUTIONS. I didn’t copy them down but ...
Digital is becoming dominant media, but are companies and their ad agencies transforming fast enough to make a ...
Slow Network, promoted by journalist-lyricist Neelesh Misra, pushes rural products and experiences
How marketers can use the traditional exchange of festive wishes meaningfully
For Fortune, a brand celebrating its 20th anniversary, it was a rude shock to become the butt of social media ...
Three years after its inception, compliance with GST procedures remains a headache for exporters, job workers ...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of companies are altering the prospects for wooden toys of ...
Aequs Aerospace to create space for large-scale manufacture of toys at Koppal
And it has every reason to smile. Covid-19 has triggered a consumer shift towards branded products as ...
Please Email the Editor