SAIL to focus on value products to suit the market: Chairman

SAIL CMD PK Singh

MAHARATNA PSU steel major SAIL plans to come up with a range of quality products in the market and wants to focus on value addition along with volume growth, its chairman P K Singh said. Thanks to competition in the market, Singh said value addition to products and processes along with tailoring the quality as per market needs will prove to be a game changer for SAIL. The steel giant is looking...
forward to offer an array of differentiated and quality products in market while focusing on both value and volume, a company statement quoted him as saying in his address to about 600 employees at Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) in West Bengal.
He added that 1 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) capacity Medium Structural Mill (MSM) installed at DSP is capable of producing world-class structural steel products which have a high demand for various ongoing and upcoming infra and construction projects in India. Singh also said that with Railways' switchover to LHB coaches in next few years, wheels for new LHB railway coaches are in advanced stages of validation at DSP and the metallurgical testing of the wheels has already been completed.
The MSM is producing parallel flange beams, joists, channels and angles, which are primarily used by infrastructure and construction segments and considering the pick-up in infrastructure projects, metro connectivity, accelerated construction activities, Singh said.
"These products are all expected to translate into increased demand for such value added structurals.The company is also tapping world market for exporting its products where there is a demand for these," he added.
The Durgapur plant, he said, is designed to produce 7.5 lakh tonnes of semis, where in association with R&D and Centre for Engineering and Technology (CET) will tap the huge market for special grade semis by targeting to produce 90 per cent semis as special steel grades and tie up for value added products of special steel. SAIL top management has been visiting company units and offices across the country as it aims at clearly conveying its top priorities and identifying main issues at plant level. The chairman had earlier visited SAIL's Bokaro Steel Plant where he held a group interaction with a cross section of more than 600 plant employees. Director (Technical) Raman and Director (Commercial) Soma Mondal also attended the event.
The PSU is likely to post net loss at Rs 515 crore in the quarter ended September 2017, mainly driven by higher sales and operating profit. The PSU's operating profit is likely to increase by 360 percent at Rs 570 crore, according to average of estimates of analysts polled by a news channel.
Sales of the steel maker is expected to go up 23 percent at Rs 13890 crore. Margins are likely to increase to 4.1 percent.