MS Agarwal Foundries, one of the leading suppliers of steel, is in the process of setting up a ₹1,200-crore backward integration project for sponge iron and a steel rolling mill at Madhavaram, Mantralayam, near Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh.

The company, which has a steel mill at Toopran near Hyderabad and another unit at Madhavaram, expects to commission both the backward integration plant and the new mill at Mantralayam by March 2022.

Sujay Kumar, President, Sales of MS Agarwal Foundries, told BusinessLine, “the new project is being funded through internal accruals and loans and will double the company’s manufacturing capacity for sponge iron and steel products. The capacity will go up to 0.55 million tonnes per annum from .22 MT per annum.

“We have established ourselves as a leading steel supplier in Hyderabad and other major cities in the South with the plant in Hyderabad over the past decades and are now looking to serve South India with the new plant, which is strategically located and well-connected to serve the region,” he said.

Seismic-resistance steel

Part of a diversified group with a turnover of over ₹2,100 crore, which has spinning mills, he expects the new steel unit to significantly boost its volumes and revenues. Both the steel units and the spinning business have turnover of ₹1,000-1,100 crore each, he explained.

“We source iron ore from NMDC and other raw materials and convert it into sponge iron which is then supplied to our mill at Toopran. With the new plants at Mantralayam, the sponge will also get used at the new steel rolling mill unit coming up there,” he said.

“Over the years, we have built a strong clientele, which includes some of the leading real estate builders. We have supplied to Hyderabad and Bangalore international airports, Hyderabad metro rail project, Gangavaram and Krishnapatnam ports,” he said.

“Drawing from our experience over the years, we have developed various grades of steel suitable for different applications through in-house R&D teams. Recently, we also launched MS Life 600+, seismic-resistance steel, manufactured at Toopran unit. This combines high-strength steel, is ductile and safe,” he said.

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