Directory of Electrical Steel Users in India

'Directory of Electrical Steel Users in India' is one of the top sources of information available on electrical steel users in India. It is one of the most comprehensive and accurate directory of electrical steel users in India.

Published in May 2008, 'Directory of Electrical Steel Users in India' has been comprehensively researched and prepared, to bring you a fully up to date guide to Indian users of electrical steel. This report will be extremely useful to businesses that deal specifically with companies in the electrical steel segment.

This report will enable you to profile electrical steel users in India, build new business prospects, generate new customers, discover who your competitors are and make vital contacts. You would save the time, money and effort of doing your own research. This directory has been especially compiled to assist with market research, strategic planning, as well as contacting prospective clients or suppliers.

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Content
This report covers name and product details of 340 of Indian electrical users in Alphabetical order. Look at the information you'll get in the 'Directory of Electrical Steel Users in India'

• Company name -340 entries
• Address-340 entries
• Phone number-338 entries
• Fax number -317 entries
• Email -300 entries

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Total no of pages – 190
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Essar Steel withdraws bid for Esmark Inc

Essar Steel Holdings Limited announced that it has informed the board of directors of Esmark Incorporated that it is withdrawing its offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of Esmark at USD 19 per share. On the invitation of Esmark and their financial advisor UBS, Essar participated in a bidding process for the acquisition of Esmark.

After following all legal procedures and a transparent bid process set by the Esmark board of directors and UBS, Essar entered into a memorandum of agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Esmark for a cash purchase price of USD 17 per share, which it subsequently increased to USD 19 per share. Essar also extended a USD 110 million loan to Esmark, which helped Esmark address a potential default.

The release said that “Essar has been in discussion with the United Steelworkers Union throughout the process. During the process Essar learned of a supposed understanding between the USW and OAO Severstal, a Russian Steel concern. Essar has been at a disadvantage in not knowing the terms of the USW’s agreement with Severstal. Essar continued to reach out to the USW offering to assume the basic labor agreement and immediately commence negotiations on renewal of that agreement. The USW has continued its support of Severstal and further, this week has assigned its right to bid to Severstal as well.”

It added that “It may be noted that, on June 22nd 2008, an arbitrator determined that the memorandum of agreement entered into by the company violated Esmark’s basic labor agreement with the USW and should be set aside. Essar is disappointed with this decision and believes it is contrary to legal opinions it received on the validity and enforceability of the memorandum of agreement provided by both Esmark and Essar’s legal counsel. Given the USW’s continued strong support of Severstal and along with Essar’s belief that its USD 19 bid reflects a full and fair value for Esmark, Essar, based on the recent developments, has determined to withdraw from the bidding process. This is also in keeping with Essar’s principled and disciplined approach toward any acquisition.”

Mr Shashi Ruia chairman of Essar Global said that "Essar’s vision is to be a major steel producer integrated from mining to finished products with a global footprint. Essar will continue to focus on the North America market and remains committed to increase its capacity to about 25 million tonnes globally by 2012. This will be achieved both through building Greenfield projects as well as Brownfield development of world class low cost assets. Having acquired Algoma and Minnesota Steel last year, Essar will continue to pursue M&A transactions internationally and will look at opportunities consistent with its vision."

Pencil ingot prices surge by 7.6% in last 10 days in Mumbai

Mumbai market has seen a big jump in the prices of pencil ingot in last 10 days, after a spurt today

Pencil ingot

Price is in INR per tonne
Price is inclusive of ED and VAT
FOT Mumbai

On the other hand, melting scrap has not increased in similar proportion
Melting scrap
80:20

Price is in INR per tonne
Price is inclusive of ED and VAT
FOT Mumbai

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Update on SAIL RSP meet on refractory operation

Mr BN Singh MD of Steel Authority of India Limited’s Rourkela Steel Plant, while addressing technocrats in the 52nd refractory operating committee meeting said that "Shun conventional thinking and look for path breaking technologies to keep pace with the massive strides taken in the field of steel making."

While discussing the present trends in the global steel industry, Mr Singh said that "Factors like availability or cost of raw materials are not controllable. But aspects like improving operational practices, techno economics and yield, are very much in our hands. While the operations' personnel should aim towards adopting the best practices, the onus of developing advanced and custom made refractory material is on the refractory engineers."

Emphasizing the need for more serious research in the field, he called upon the refractory experts to focus on developing truly neutral refractory, which will remain unaffected by operational chemistry and help in lowering the cost of production.

Mr NP Singh ED works of RSP highlighted the changing technologies of refractory making and the new varieties of raw material being used. He stressed on reuse and recycling of refractory waste in order to produce greener steel.

The theme of the meeting was concast refractories including tundish management and refractories for reheating furnace. About 50 delegates from various units of SAIL as well as RINL, Visakhapatnam, JVSL, Bellary and Ispat Industries participated in the meeting.

Slowdown in automobile industry to end in 3 months - SIAM

According to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, a slowdown in the automobile industry is set to reverse by the year end. It said that the slowdown, which is cyclical in nature and occurs after every 7 years, should come to an end in the next 3 months.

Mr Sugato Sen director of SIAM said that "We have witnessed a dip in growth of vehicle sales lately, which should be attributed to the cyclical change that occurs after approximately 7 years. The slowdown may be sustained in the next 2 to 3 months, but should ease off in the later periods, when the festive season starts. We will see a robust growth in the coming year."

The growth in demand for cars, commercial vehicles and two wheelers has dipped significantly in the last financial year compared with that in the previous year, owing to factors like spiraling raw material prices, drying up of credit and peaking interest rates.

According to the data provided by SIAM for the last 17 years, the industry has shown a similar drop once in 1992-93 and then again in 2000-01, both occurring within a gap of 7 year between them.

Various top automobile companies, including Maruti Suzuki, TATA Motors, Hyundai, Bajaj Auto, Hero Honda, among others, are members of SIAM.

Small steel producers facing problems in getting raw material

Mr Anupam Shah, newly elected president of the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce, said that secondary steel producers are having problems in getting iron ore from National Mineral Development Corporation and coal from Coal India Limited.

He added that as a result, the small steel producers have to purchase low quality iron ore from the open market. Since they do not have any captive coal or iron mine, they are finding it difficult to face competition from the larger steel producers.

Tension grips Kalinga Nagar over boundary wall construction of TATA Steel

Kalinga Times reported that tension gripped Kalinga Nagar steel hub after contractors and their supporters, who had gone to the trouble torn area to restart construction of the boundary wall of a project of TATA Steel, were chased away by the people from the villages of Khadihatia and Gadhapur, allegedly supporters of Visthapan Virodhi Janmanch.

TATA Steel had handed over the boundary wall construction work to eight local villagers, supposedly pro TATA people to carry on construction work of 100 meters each. When the contractor and their supporters were about to start the construction of the boundary wall at the site, hundreds of people from Khadihatia and Gadhapur, armed with lethal weapons rushed to the site, chased them away and set their motorcycles on fire. However, no one was injured in the incident. No complaint was filed with the local police till evening.

The irate mob also set afire 8 motorcycles by which the contractors and their supporters had come to the area. Four platoons of police have been deployed at the site following the incident.

Indian Railways to hike freight charges by 5% to 7%

BL reported that, in what could add further fuel to the inflationary fire, Indian Railways is hiking freight charges for ores and minerals, petro products, coke and coal, fertilizers, food grains and a host of other commodities by 5% to 7%.

The rate hike, to be effective from July 1st 2008, will be on account of a special supplementary charge that Indian Railways has decided to levy for the first time under its dynamic pricing policy apart from the busy season, busy route, congestion and similar surcharges it has been imposing in recent years through circulars issued outside of the rail budget announcements.

Some of the key commodities that have been spared the new charge include iron ore, steel and cement. Coal and coke, which account for almost 40% share of railways goods traffic, will attract a 5% charge. Ores and minerals such as bauxite, calcite, limestone and petroleum and lubricant products will attract a 7% supplementary charge.

Moreover, Indian Railways has decided to levy a 7% charge on all commodities that are charged in class 120 and below like fertilizers, food grains, flour and pulses, oilcakes and oilseeds, leather, rubber, plastic, machinery and machine tools and salt.

Tebma Shipyards to set up two shipyards

BL reported that Chennai based Tebma Shipyards Limited is planning to set up 2 shipyards, one on the Eastern coast and the other on the Western and is now in the process of acquiring lands, up to 500 acres in each location.

Mr PK Balan chairman of Tebma Shipyards said that the total outlay for the 2 projects is estimated at about INR 1,000 crore and the funds would be managed through a combination of internal accruals, equity and debt. He added that these new shipyards will make the turnover grow by 12 folds to about INR 5,000 crore by 2015. He added that "Tebma has been growing at almost 100% CAGR for the last 5 years."

Mr Balan said that construction of 2 projects will commence early 2009 and will be operational in 30 months. However, shipbuilding activity would commence within a year, to help the company meet the demand from overseas customers. Each shipyard will have up to 30 bays, which will transform into manufacturing about 60 more vessels a year.

Tebma Shipyards, in which ICICI Bank holds 53% stake, is also looking at acquiring shipyards in Asian countries since it is not able to meet the demand, especially from European countries. It is in talks with couple of companies in the ASEAN region.

Tebma designs and builds dredgers, tugs, floating cranes, off shore vessels, multi purpose vessels and anchor handling vessels. Moving up in the value chain it plans to make combo vessels, which will have several functions integrated into one, enabling customers to optimize cost.

Ms Kiran Bedi emphasize on training on SAIL MTI foundation day

The Telegraph reported that former IPS officer Ms Kiran Bedi has advocated induction training for every position, transparency in functioning and proper communication between the top brass and the lower rung officials for successfully running big organizations.

Delivering the keynote address at the Centre for Development for Iron & Steel auditorium on the occasion of the 46th Foundation Day of Management Training Institute SAIL, Ms Bedi unveiled a comprehensive training list.

She said that the training module for SAIL executives should include how retiring employees can shoulder the burden of executing the steel major’s corporate social responsibility.

She said that "SAIL should find work for its retired and retiring employees. An active retired workforce would mean direct reduction of medical costs on them. They should be trained to cook, which could be active support for the families concerned."

She also said that SAIL should ensure implementing its corporate social responsibility through its retired workforce. For existing employees, Ms Bedi said that induction training should be compulsory for every position. Even in case of promotions, the selected incumbent should be trained for the job before he begins to work.

Track domestic steel pricing trends in India

A steel user, however big or small, is always concerned about steel buying as it is normally a big ticket item, but there is no bench mark available to steel buyers to compare their transaction prices, which in a big way decided their bottom line. Lastly, steel has been very volatile in last 6 months and has effected many users in a very severe way making it all the more important to track the prices and trends.

www.steelprices-india.com is a new portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in China on a regular basis 5 days a week. In addition, FOB levels for commonly exported steel products from two of the major exporting nation Ukraine & Russia and China are also available on daily basis to give a sense of alternates.

This would assist persons, including steel makers, traders, users and others, who are connected with industry in some way to asses the steel pricing trends and utilize in their day to day working to take considered decisions.

Benchmark products at select locations cover the entire basket of garden variety of steel products including input material for steel making and processing.

All these features are accessible only to registered user who is provided with a login id and password after payment is received. To know more about the service, please logon to the web site and click on “Features”, “Subscription” and if you like the service on “Registration”.

www.steelprices-india.com is developed and run by none other that www.steelguru.com, which has become the largest English based steel portal in the world, with more than 1 million page hits per month in just 3 years of operations.

UP approves 4000MW Lalitpur power plant with NTPC

Projects Today reported that Uttar Pradesh government has approved National Thermal Power Corporation's 4,000 MW ultra mega thermal power plant at Lalitpur in the Bundelkhand region on June 25th 2008.

The report added that the power plant will be constructed on a 30:70 partnership in which, 30% will be the state share and the rest 70% will go to the public sector enterprise.

Ramsarup Industries 2007-08 PAT up by 36% YoY

Kolkata based steel wire producer Ramsarup Industries has recorded a profit after tax of INR 16.25 crore in January to March 2008 quarter up by 44% YoY. Net sale for the quarter increased by 20% YoY to INR 419.63 crore.

For the year ended March 31st 2008, it registered a profit after tax of INR 59.62 crore up by 36% YoY. Net income was recorded at INR 1,581 crore up by 21% YoY while exports increased by 34% YoY to INR 95.73 crore.

Cairn India to invest USD 2 billion in oil fields and pipeline

BS reported that Cairn India will invest INR 8,400 crore to develop oil fields and build a pipeline over the next 18 months.

Mr Bill Gammell chairman of Cairn India said that it will set aside INR 3,570 crore this year for developing oil fields in Rajasthan. He added that "Once the oil starts to flow from Rajasthan, it will have the potential to account for 20% of India's oil production in the next decade."

Cairn India is expected to start production at its Mangala oil field in Rajasthan by the second half of 2009. Output from the Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields is scheduled to begin in 2010. The three Rajasthan fields, which have proven oil reserves, are expected to produce 175,000 barrels of oil per day.

Cairn India is also preparing a revised field development plan for Managala. The plan will also include Cairn's proposal to begin field trails for enhanced oil recovery to add a further resource potential of over 300 million barrels.

Mr Gammell said that "On March 31st 2008, it raised its estimate for probable reserves at the Mangala, Bhagyam and Aishwariya fields by 9% to 685 million barrels."

Cairn India expects an operating cash flow of INR 12,600 crore a year at a crude price of USD 100 a barrel. It started construction of a 600 kilometers long heated oil pipeline to transport the crude oil from its fields in Barmer in Rajasthan to Salaya in Gujarat.

GMR buys 50% stake in InterGen NV for USD 1.1 billion

It is reported that, in the largest acquisition of a global energy utility by an Indian company, GMR Infrastructure has bought 50% in the Netherlands based power generation company InterGen NV for USD 1.1 billion.

Mr Ashutosh Agarwala CFO of GMR said that "We will fund the acquisition through a special purpose vehicle which will get a bridge loan of USD 1.1 billion with 2 year maturity from a consortium of 5 Indian banks."

He added that the acquisition will help GMR get access to the super critical technology of InterGen's Australian operations and will help it qualify for the ultra mega power projects coming up in India.

30 billion FDI likely in real estate in 10 years - ASSOCHAM

According to projections made by Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry of India, the foreign direct investment component in the domestic real estate market is likely to be USD 30 billion as against its total size of USD 102 billion in next 10 years as the real estate sector growth will pick up by more than 30%.

ASSOCHAM report added that at present, the domestic real estate market is expected to be of USD 15 billion in which the foreign direct investment contributions is estimated around USD 6 billion. The bank credit to this sector in 2006-07 has been estimated around INR 300,000 crore which will multiple substantially in the coming years in view of the growth that the sector has been registering.

Mr Sajjan Jindal president of ASSOCHAM said that currently the foreign developers can undertake construction activities on a minimum space of 50,000 square feet as a result of which Indian real estate sector could achieve FDI’s component around USD 6 billion.

He added that "The ceiling of 50,000 square feet would be lifted by the government as it is under constant pressure for increased FDI’s which as per ASSOCHAM estimate will increase to 200,000 square feet in next 10 years in a gradual manner and result for much higher foreign capital absorptions."

Mr Baalu reviews performance of Tuticorin Port Trust

BL reported that Mr Thiru TR Baalu union minister of shipping, road transport & highways has reviewed the performance of Tuticorin Port Trust.

The record traffic of 21.48 million tonnes in the year 2007-08 with the cargo growth rate of 19.33% YoY was highlighted at the meeting along with the projection of cargo till 2020. It was observed that Tuticorin Port has performed satisfactorily in terms of indicators such as average pre berthing detention, average turnaround time, average ship birthday output including financial performance with the profit before tax of INR 115.67 crore.

For capacity augmentation, Tuticorin Port has taken up various infrastructural development projects under the National Maritime Development Program. Two projects namely conversion of the 8th berth as container berth and North Cargo berth II as multi cargo berth would be developed under public private partnership within 2009-10.

Out of 24 NMDP projects, 4 projects have already been completed in 2007-08 and 6 are nearing completion, 3 are under tendering process and the remaining 11 are in the pipeline including DPR preparation.

In the first phase of NMDP, a sum of INR 1050 crore would be utilized for infrastructural development with the focus on dredging the dock basin and channel to cater 12.8 meters draft vessels. In the second phase of NMDP, a mega project outer harbor development would be taken up at the cost of INR 4350 crore for developing 9 multipurpose berths with the draft of 14.5 meters. This project is scheduled to be completed by the end of 11th five year plan.

For future projects such as Port based SEZ, dedicated freight corridor between Tuticorin and Nagpur and the port estate expansion by acquiring adjoining port areas, Mr Baalu asked the ministry officials to provide necessary support after TPT takes up the matter with the concerned agencies for earlier implementation. He said that all measures should be taken for strengthening the technical set up of Port in view of the major development projects in NMDP and also for strengthening the Human Resources.

RIL to supply KG gas first to fertilizer plants

It is reported that empowered group of ministers has asked the Reliance Industries to supply natural gas from its eastern offshore Krishna Godavari field first to urea plants, LPG plants and existing power plants, once it commences production.

The production of natural gas from RIL's KG D6 field is expected to commence from September 2008 and will initially be about 25 million standard cubic meters a day. It is further expected that the production will gradually increase to 40 million standard cubic meters a day by March 2009.

A maximum quantity of 3 million standard cubic meters a day will be supplied to existing gas based LPG plants and up to 18 million standard cubic meters a day natural gas, being the partial requirement of gas based power plants lying idle or under utilized and likely to be commissioned during 2008-09, and liquid fuel plants, which are now running on liquid fuel and could switch over to natural gas, will be supplied to power plants.

The EGoM also decided that a maximum quantity of 5 million standard cubic meters a day will be made available to city gas distribution projects for supply of piped natural gas to households and compressed natural gas in transport sector. Any additional gas available beyond the specified categories will be supplied to existing gas based power plants, as their requirement is more than 18 million standard cubic meters a day.

EMCO bags INR 325 crore substation order from MSETCL

It is reported that EMCO Limited has bagged a contract worth INR 325 crore on turnkey basis from Maharashtra State Electricity Transmission Company Limited for the establishment of 220 kV gas insulated substation at Bhandup in Mumbai.

This is the second project that EMCO has received in last 6 months from MSETCL, earlier project being worth INR 325 crore for commissioning of three 400 kV conventional substation.

Nagarjuna Construction bags 3 major contracts

Nagarjuna Construction Company has bagged 3 orders totaling to INR 333 crore. The details of the projects are

1. INR 159 crore contract from water supply & drainage department of Pimpri Chinchwad Corporation for direct pipeline for supply of water from Pawana dam to the water treatment plant at NIGDI at Pune. The project is to be executed within 24 months.

2. INR 94 crore contract from Bangalore Development Authority for construction of grade separators along outer ring road. The project is to be executed within 18 months.

3. INR 80 crore contract from Bangalore Development Authority for construction of outer ring road with approaches to road under bridge between Mysore road and Magadi Road. The project is to be executed within 18 months.

ONGC Q4 fiscal profit dips by 2% YoY

Indian public sector petroleum company, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd reported a drop in standalone net profit for the quarter ended March 31st 2008, due to higher subsidy burden.

ONGC’s net profit fell by 2% YoY to INR 2,627 crore during January to March 2008 quarter. Net sales rose by 26% YoY to INR 15,626 crore from INR 12,397 crore. ONGC's depreciation cost also rose by 34% YoY to INR 3,844.48 crore from INR 2,863.73 crore. Its net profit for the full year ended March 31st 2008 rose by 7% YoY to INR 16,702 crore from INR 15,643 crore.

Details of fourth quarter ended March 31st 2008

In INR crore

Mr RS Sharma CMD of ONGC said that "The higher subsidy payout was the major reason why net profit fell during the quarter despite a 66% plus rise in crude oil prices during the quarter as against the quarter last year."

Mr DK Sarraf finance director of ONGC said that "Our gains from higher crude oil prices were limited as we sold our oil at half the price." He added that even as the higher projected subsidy burden would continue to be a worry, it would not have to provide for higher wages in the current financial year.

Road transport ministry considering new road safety program

Mr Thiru TR Baalu union minister of shipping, road transport & highways said that Bharat Stage IV emission norms for 4 wheeled vehicles are proposed to be extended to eleven identified mega cities and Bharat Stage III emission norms throughout India from April 1st 2010. He added that department of road transport & highways is in the process of notifying the rules very soon.

Stating that the expansion in road network, motorization and urbanization in India has been accompanied by a rise in road accidents, Mr Baalu informed that during the year 2006, there were around 460,000 road accidents which killed 1,05,749 people and injured close to 500,000 persons in India. These numbers translate into one road accident every minute and one road accident death every 5 minutes for India.

Mr Baalu said that Sundar Committee’s proposal for earmarking of minimum 1% of total proceeds of cess on diesel and petrol for road safety fund is at advanced stage of approval. Similarly, the Committee’s proposal for creation of an apex body, the National Road Safety & Traffic management board at national level is also being processed at the highest level.

He further added that the committee to look into the matter of promotion of road safety in educational institutions through road safety clubs has given its report and a scheme costing INR 120 crore during the 11th Plan period has been formulated and sent to the Planning Commission for their approval.

Balmer Lawrie 2007-08 net profit up by 24% YoY

Balmer Lawrie & Company Limited has registered a net profit of INR 20.75 crore for January to March 2008 up by 45% YoY. Net sales for the period stood at INR 409.89 crore up by 19.34% YoY.

The industrial packaging segment clocked a 32.86% YoY rise in net sales for the quarter to INR 76.30 crore while its profits dipped from INR 5.63 crore to INR 4.27 crore on account of steep rise in steel prices. Balmer Lawrie buys around 60,000 tonnes of steel every year.

Net profit for the year ending March 31st 20008 was up nearly by 24% YoY to INR 86.93 crore from INR 8.82 crore in the previous fiscal. Net sale for the entire year was INR 1467.33 crore up by 13.62% YoY.

Jain Group plans mega power project in Orissa

Projects Today reported that Kolkata based Jain Group of Industries is likely to sign a MoU with the Orissa government in July 2008 for a 1,000 MW power project.

Mr Mannoj Kumar Jain group CMD of Jain Group of Industries said that it will be part of the group's ambition of achieving 5,000 MW of power capacity over the next 5 years.

The Orissa power plant will be the third coal based mega project planned by the group, following two 1,000 MW projects in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh for which MoUs have already been signed.

Jain Group has already begun land acquisition for the Chhattisgarh project. Around 50 acres have been acquired so far and agreements have been reached for another 300 acres. The INR 5,000 crore project, being implemented by group company Jain Energy Limited, is shaping up at Balpur in Jangir Champa district. JEL has already made functional a site office in Champa and a project coordination office in the capital city of Raipur.

For the Madhya Pradesh project, land acquisition is likely to begin over the next 6 months. Construction work on both the projects is scheduled to begin in 2009, with completion targeted for 2012.

Patel Engineering sees order book growing by 20% to 25%

Patel Engineering Company has announced its 2007-08 fiscal results. Its 2007-08 consolidated net sales were recorded at INR 1,859.6 crore. Net profit was at INR 151.9 crore and its consolidated net profit was recorded at INR 50.48 crore.

Mr Rupen Patel MD of Patel Engineering said that its turnover is at about 44% and profitability is around 33%. He expects their current growth and margins to be maintained with their strategy of shifting into markets where margins will be higher.

Mr Patel said that its order book stands at about INR 6,000 crore with 59% of it coming in from hydro, which is its core competency. He sees the order book to continue to grow by at least 20% to 25% in the coming year.

Profine may ink JV with Kamdhenu for PVD unit in India

PTI reported that Germany's PVC producer Profine GmbH is in talks with Kamdhenu Ispat Limited for setting up an INR 100 crore manufacturing unit in India for its popular Kommerling brand.

Industry sources said that the proposed JV unit would have an annual production capacity of 1,200 tonnes. There would be altogether 18 machines in the unit, each with a monthly production capacity of 3 tonne.

While Kamdhenu Ispat is in favor of a 50:50 equity partnership with the German company in the proposed project, Profine is believed to have primarily sought the Indian steel player's marketing support for its products.

Mr Sunil Agarwal director of Kamdhenu Ispat said that "Things are in initial stages and so we would not like to comment."

While the German player is believed to be unwilling to share its brand name with Kamdhenu, the Indian firm is said to be rigid on incorporating the same.

TATA Steel plans pooling of raw materials

ET reported that TATA Steel is planning to form an international company for consolidating its raw material assets that are spread across the world and which could eventually be used to raise funds for future acquisitions.

Mr Koushik Chatterjee group CFO of TATA Steel said that "We will reorganise our group structure to unlock shareholder value over the next 6 to 12 months for growth in raw material assets and new market strategies. We are looking at an overseas group structure below TATA Steel to create the appetite for acquisitions. Since it would require capital, we are looking at various options."

Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel said that "Ownership of raw materials and a continuous improvement in production has been the key to TATA Steel’s profitability. In fact we have believed in owning raw materials for the past 100 years."

TATA Steel plans to increase its domestic production to 10 million metric tonnes by 2011, from the current 7 million tonnes. It is planning to spend about INR 3,000 crore to build a new 1.5 million tonne cold rolling mill in Jamshedpur. It owns raw material assets such as coal and limestone mines through joint ventures or completely, with the assets spread across countries such as Australia, Oman and Mozambique.

Government cannot ask major steel producers to hold prices – Mr Paswan

Mr Ram Vilas Paswan union steel minister said that the government cannot intervene again and ask major steel producers to hold prices for another few months at a time when global prices are hardening. He added that "Government cannot intervene every time as steel rates are governed by international prices."

Mr Paswan said that prices of iron ore and coking coal, the two main raw materials for steel making, have significantly shot up in the global market in over the last one year adding to cost of production of domestic steel players. The government would not like the steel industry to close down for lack of profit, but would certainly monitor if prices have been upped in proportion to the increase in cost of raw materials. He added that "The government has no problem as long as steel producers raised prices in proportion to hike in input costs."

It may be noted that, in May 2008, leading steel makers had reduced prices of flat products by INR 4,000 per tonne and that of rebars and structural steel by INR 2,000 per tonne, endorsing government's concern that steel prices were exerting inflationary pressures on economy. The producers had also promised the government to hold their price line for 3 months till July 2008. However, with raw materials prices shooting up, the steel players have already hinted that the rates may go up from August 2008.

Works halt at NINL due to strike by contractual workers

SNS reported that production in Nilachal Ispat Nigam Limited in Kalinga Nagar industrial complex has come to a grinding halt for the last 2 days following a cease work agitation by the contractual workers demanding revision of wages and permanent status of their jobs.

Official source said that nearly 1600 contractual workers under the banner of Neelachal Contractual Sangha are on a dharna before the entrance and exit gates of the plant demanding to fulfillment their 22 point charter of demands. It added that blast furnace of NINL had been shut down following the agitation by the contractual workers, mostly of blast furnace unit of the plant who apparently operate the furnace.

Mr Pratap Kumar Panda leader of Neelachal Contractual Sangha said that "We are compelled to go for a strike as the management refused to hike the minimum wage for contractual laborers. Hence we demand abolition of contractual job system and introduction of equal work, equal pay principle to all."

The agitating workers alleged that they were being paid only INR 82 as daily wages while their counterparts as regular workers get INR 272 per day for the same work. This apart, the contractual workers’ demands include minimum wage of INR 300 for them, permanency of their jobs, night shift allowance, weekly overtime allowance, inclusion in ESI scheme, heat allowance, safety measure, permanent gate pass and provident fund facility.

Mr Bijay Kumar Panda MD of NINL said that "Blast furnaces of the plant have been shut down following agitation of the contractual workers. We had a meeting to resolve the issue yesterday but it yielded no result. We have instructed the contractors under whom the agitating workers are working to have a negotiation with them. I hope the problems will be resolved amicably."

NINL sources said that nearly 1600 contractual workers were engaged in raw materials handing division, supply unit, coal handling and blast furnace site of the plant. Since these units were vital, absence of contractual workers hampered production thus the company incurred a loss of about INR 18 crore in two days of their agitation.

POSCO war zone – PPSS claims recovery of arms from school

SNS reported that lawlessness reigned supreme in Govindpur village as anti POSCO activists have confined two persons and claimed recovery of huge cache of weapons and bombs from Govindpur school premises.

The POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samity activists claimed to have made a break through to the assault and murder of Mr Dula Mandal. They alleged that "We confronted a pro project activist Mr Narottam Mohanty, confined and interrogated him."

Some of the anti POSCO activists then assaulted schoolteacher Mr Jadumani Das to ascertain as to who had attacked Mr Mandal. Basing on the information provided by Mr Mohanty and Mr Das, they raided the school premises and claimed to have recovered six boxes containing country bombs, 75 swords and other weapons.

It may be noted that Mr Mandal and other anti POSCO activists had clashed near the Govindpur primary schools premises on June 20th 2008. Bombs were hurled and Mr Dula Mandal died in the attack.

The PPSS which is observing a Black Week since June 22nd 2008 had alleged that it was a pre planned attack by goons who had been hiding at the school. The counter version was that a pro project faction was holding a meeting at the school when their rivals started pelting stones leading to the violence.

Police had arrested 22 people in this connection with the clash even as PPSS activists aggressively held a meeting attended by CPI leader Mr AB Bardhan and leaders of all Opposition political parties. The arrests and police action had irked pro project activists who said that strangely the administration was behaving like stooges of the PPSS.

In a related development at Bhubaneswar, the Kujang district Bar members have petitioned the state human rights commission seeking its intervention as human rights of people living in the proposed POSCO project site villages have been violated. Innumerable instances of violation of human rights take place in the area almost on a daily basis and this has been happening since last two years.

ArcelorMittal set to roll Jharkhand steel plant in 5 years

The Telegraph reported that the proposed Jharkhand plant of ArcelorMittal at Torpa Kamdara will start steel production in 5 years. The plant will have an initial capacity of 6 million tonnes and will be doubled later as the company gets leases for more iron ore.

ArcelorMittal’s investment is one of the largest in the state. It will be the first Greenfield plant of the company after several decades. Work on the project report and the mining project has started and will be completed shortly.

ArcelorMittal’s plans for a steel plant at Keonjhar in Orissa will be in two phases of 6 million tonnes each. It is still to get an iron ore concession in the state. It has received provisional approval from the Orissa government to acquire 7,500 acres of land at Keonjhar. Some 6,000 acres will be used for the steel plant, 1,000 acres for a 1,500 MW power plant and the rest for a township. It is expecting mining concessions in nearby areas, which will help to create synergies.

Ankua, which borders Chiria, is believed to have ore as rich in iron content as Chiria, attracting India’s top steel makers. Located in Singhbhum district, both Chiria and Ankua have iron ore at shallow levels, with iron contents of over 62%.

Jharkhand is looking for alternatives to Chiria for ArcelorMittal. This follows its attempt to cancel part of Steel Authority of India Limited’s leases at Chiria and give some of them to ArcelorMittal getting caught in a legal jam.

Jharia Action Plan gets state cabinet nod

Ranchi Express reported that state cabinet has cleared the Jharia Action Plant for rehabilitation & resettlement of about 60,000 families likely to face eviction from 67 fire affected places there. Altogether 44155 houses of BCCL, 29,444 authorized displaced families would be evacuated from subsidence and fire zones of Jharia.

The action plan approved by the cabinet which would be sent to the union government offers 100 square meter carpet area free of cost of the resettlement to the ADF and monetary compensation at par with market value for the land and building. For the UDF, it offers 40 square meter carpet area dwelling in a multistoried building and a minimum of 250 days minimum wages per year for two years. However, they would not be entitled for compensation. The government of India would bear the rehab and resettlement cost.

The cabinet also approved Aam Adami Bima Yojna under which household head of the rural landless family would be insured for an annual premium of INR 200. The dependents of the insured family head would get INR 30,000 on his natural, death and INR 75,000 on his accidental death. The policy would cover headmen of rural landless household in age group 18 to 59 years.

The state and union government would share 50% each of the cost component involved LIC. The state government has set a target of 312,000 families to cover under the scheme in the countryside.

CCEA approves financial restructuring of Bharat Wagon

Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for financial restructuring of Bharat Wagon & Engineering Company Limited as per following

1. Department of heavy industry will provide INR 26.83 crore non plan fund for discharging employee related dues upto March 31st 2008 and outside liabilities and subsequent reduction of equity by INR 26.83 crore against accumulated losses. This figure may undergo minor change by updating liability up to date of transfer of BWEL to ministry of railways.

2. To convert plan and non plan loan of GOI/BBUNL amounting to INR 79.81 crore as on March 31st 2008 into equity and subsequently reduce the equity by INR 79.81 crore with a corresponding reduction in accumulated losses.

3. To waive normal and penal interest of INR 45.95 crore as on March 31st 2007 on government of India loans and further no interest would be levied beyond the cut off date of March 31st 2007 till the date of approval.

4. To allow reduction of existing equity capital of INR 9.50 crore with a corresponding reduction in accumulated losses.

5. Ministry of railways will initially provide plan equity of INR 6.83 crore and plan loan of INR 6.83 crore for capital investment.

6. Ministry of railways will engage the existing employees or to provide non plan loan of INR 10.00 crore for meeting expenses towards VRS of 200 employees.

7. To convert plan loan of INR 6.83 crore towards capital expenditure into Equity and subsequent reduction of equity of INR 6.83 crore with corresponding reduction in accumulated losses.

8. Ministry of railways to assist the BWEL to raise working capital of INR 5 crore.

9. Ministry of railways to allow moratorium of repayment of loan and interest holiday for 5 years.

10. After takeover the Ministry of railways will be empowered to appoint chairman, MD and fill other board level posts.

11. Exemption from the rule of immediate absorption for Group “A” and Group “B” officers and technical Group “C” employees for filling up of vacant posts in BWEL on deputation basis for a period of 5 years after take over by Ministry of railways will be permitted.

Mr TR Baalu reviews performance of JNPT

Mr Thiru TR Baalu union minister for shipping, road transport & highways has reviewed the performance of Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.

In 2007-08 fiscal, JNPT handled traffic of 4.06 million TEUs, registering 23% YoY increase over the previous year. This is also 13% more than the target set by the ministry of shipping.

A number of capacity augmentation projects are in the offing including 330M extension to berth north side of the Port at an estimated cost of INR 600 crore for which global bids have already been invited. The procedural work to launch the much awaited fourth container terminal and marine chemical terminal, at an estimated cost of INR 4100 crore is already on. This is likely to add the capacity of 30 million tonnes for container & 8.80 million tonnes for liquid.

BHEL bags INR 506 crore contract from ONGC

FE reported that Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited has secured a contract worth INR 506 crore from Oil & Natural Gas Corporation for refurbishment and up gradation of 12 onshore drilling rigs as well as supply of new rig equipment. These rigs were procured by ONGC in the seventies and eighties. Of these 12 rigs, 9 were supplied by BHEL while the rest were supplied by American companies.

The scope of work under this contract involves non destructive testing, repair and replacement of structural members of mast and substructure, overhauling of rotating and hoisting equipment, revamping electrical systems and site erection and commissioning of these equipment.
The mechanical works for the above contract will be done by BHEL's Hyderabad plant, while the electrical jobs will be undertaken by the company's Bhopal plant.

Indian to invest INR 800 crore in 3 national waterways

Projects Today reported that Indian government plans an investment of INR 800 crore on public private partnership basis to develop 3 national waterways on Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and on the west coast.

The first waterway is planned on the Ganga Bhagirathi Hooghly rivers from Allahabad to Haldia over a distance of 1,620 kilometers. The second national waterway is planned on the Brahmaputra from Dubri to Sadiya over a stretch of 891 kilometers. The third national waterway is planned to connect Kottapuram Kollam sector on the west coast with the Champkara and Udyogmandal canals over a 205 kilometers distance.

The three waterways are expected to be fully functional by March 2010 and will be used for export of fly ash to Bangladesh and transport of coal, gypsum, clinker and cement within the country.

To kick off the development, Inland Waterways Authority of India has formed JVs with SKS Logistics and Vivada Inland Waterways. It has signed 2 JVs with SKS Logistics. One for construction of 6 inland barrages of 2,000 DWT each between Kolkata and Pandu and the other for construction of eight inland barrages of 2000 DWT between Kolkata and Mongla in Bangladesh.

IWAI will be holding a minority stake of 30% and the balance 70% being held by the JV partner. Under the second JV, an investment of INR 44 crore is being made and the shareholding pattern is the same as in the first. The third JV is with Vivada Inland Waterways for construction of two inland barrages of 1,500 DWT each between Kolkata and Dubri.

IWAI has also signed a MoU with ICM for setting up and operation of three floating jetties in West Bengal. Besides, IWAI is developing a project with NTPC on PPP basis for transportation of 1 million tonnes per annum of imported coal from Haldia port to Farakka for use by Farakka power plant.

HCCL bags LoI from Lanco for Teesta project

BL reported that Hindustan Construction Company Limited has received a letter of intent from Lanco Infratech Limited for execution of all civil works of power house, surge shafts, pressure shafts, switchyard and tail race tunnels near Subin Khore for the Teesta hydroelectric project stage VI in Sikkim.

The value of the contract is INR 303.03 crore.

Lanco Group to foray into wind energy business

BL reported that Lanco Group has firmed up its plans to foray into wind energy with an initial investment of nearly INR 500 crore. It is planning to set up a wind turbine manufacturing unit in Puducherry and has also set its eyes to establish wind farms in India, the US and Europe.

Mr L Madhusudhana Rao chairman of Lanco Group said that the technology aspects would be worked out in technical collaboration from German companies. The group is targeting a commercial launch of wind energy by September 2009. He added that "Our target is to establish a total of 1,000 MW installed capacity.

The group is also exploring options in solar and nuclear energy fields. It has a presence in the hydro power sector, in which it is implementing 5 projects with capacity of 742 MW, two of them have been registered as clean development mechanism projects with the Geneva based United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

These two projects will generate an additional 35,000 certified emission reductions an annum, taking the total Group CER tally to 110,000. The two projects namely 5 MW Baner III and 5 MW Iku II on the Beas River are the first hydro projects of Lanco to be registered as CDM projects and are expected to be commissioned this year.

It has a vision of establishing 15,000 MW of operating assets in power, constructing 100 million square feet of real estate, emerging among the top 5 companies in infrastructure and top 10 among construction companies.

Essar Power to set up 1200 MW power plant in Vadinar

BS reported that Essar Power is setting up a 1,200 MW co generation power plant at an investment of INR 4,800 crore at Vadinar in Gujarat. It is planning to expand the refining capacity of the refinery to 34 million tonnes per annum from the current 10.5 million tonnes per annum.

Mr Arun K Srivastava MD of Essar Power said that "The order for equipments has already been placed and the work has started. The new power plant will have both coal-based boiler and gas turbine for power generation. Coal for the plant will be imported, which will also cater to the needs of the company's other upcoming project in Gujarat."

Essar Power signed a power purchase agreement with Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam and is in the process of setting up a 1,200 MW coal based power plant close to Vadinar at Salaya. The Salaya plant is expected to be commissioned by 2012. The Vadinar plant will be completed in two phases. In the first phase, a 330 MW plant will be commissioned by September 2009. While in the second phase, a 900 MW plant will be commissioned by December 2010.

TATA Steel announces 2007-08 fiscal results

TATA Steel Limited has announced the following audited results for the year ended March 31st 2008

TATA Steel has posted a net profit of INR 46870.30 million for the year ended March 31st 2008 up by 11% YoY as compared to INR 42221.50 million for the year ended March 31st 2007. Total income has increased from INR 179847.60 million for the year ended March 31st 2007 to INR 200282.80 million for the year ended March 31st 2008, registering a growth of 11.3% YoY.

The consolidated results are as follows
TATA Steel has posted a profit after minority interest & share of profits of associates of INR 123499.80 million for the year ended March 31st 2008 up by 195.6% YoY as compared to INR 41772.70 million for the year ended March 31st 2007. Total income has increased from INR 256504.50 million for the year ended March 31st 2007 to INR 1321100.90 million for the year ended March 31st 2008, registering a growth of 415% YoY.

Addressing the media, Mr B Muthuraman MD of TATA Steel said that the TATA Steel group vision was to set a global benchmark in value creation and to increase the return on capital invested to 30% by 2012. He added that "Our aspiration in due course is to become a 50 million tonne plus steel company. Our bearings and tubular divisions are working on products for the TATA Nano."

Three workers injured in SAIL BSL blast

IANS reported that three workers were injured in a factory blast in Steel Authority of India Limited’s Bokaro Steel Plant in Jharkhand. The blast took place in the furnace of the Steel Melting Shop of the steel plant.

According to officials, the three employees have received 60% burn injuries. The injured employees are being treated at Bokaro General Hospital, where their condition was said to be critical.

Employees of the steel plant are blaming the BSL management for the incident, saying poor maintenance caused the blast.

Meanwhile, BSL sources said that the production has been stopped and it will take at least 40 hours to repair the blast furnace.

Plate cutting from ship breaking up by 7.5% in 10 days

Alang
Plate cutting
1”

Price in INR per tonne
Inclusive of ED and VAT
Delivery - FOT

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Rebar prices increase by 3.9% in last 10 days in Chennai

Chennai
TMT
Fe 415

Price in INR per tonne
Inclusive of ED and VAT
Delivery - FOT

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Pencil ingot prices on fire in Kolkata region

Kolkata
Pencil Ingot

Price in INR per tonne
Inclusive of ED and VAT
Delivery - FOT

The movement of prices has been as under

This spurt in prices is attributed to coal and power shortages,

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Rebar prices in ER surge by 7% in one week

Kolkata
TMT
12mm
Fe 415

Price in INR per tonne
Inclusive of ED and VAT
Delivery - FOT

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

HR and CR prices increase by 15% in Pune in last 10 days

Pune

Price in INR per tonne
Exclusive of ED and VAT
Delivery - FOT

It is learnt that traders and stockiest are in buying mode to build stocks as the market news indicate that HR prices will go up by INR 5000 per tonne on July 1st 2008

These materials are mainly used by auto component makers

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Scrap and pencil ingot prices surge in Mandi in last 7 days

Mandi Govindgarh

Price in INR per tonne
Inclusive of ED and VAT
Delivery - FOT

(Sourced from www.steelprices-india.com)

Global hot band prices witness mixed trends

The SteelBenchmarker reported that the US hot rolled band spot price for June 23rd 2008 price rose 1.8% to USD 1,187 per tonne, FOB the mill for the sixteenth consecutive rise totaling USD 610, World export HRB price rose 2.0% to USD 1,097 per tonne, FOB the port of export for the fourteenth consecutive rise totaling USD 516, Chinese HRB EXW price slipped 0.3% to USD 717 per tonne, after five consecutive rises and the Western European HRB price rose 0.3% to USD 1,156 per tonne, ex works for the tenth consecutive time totaling USD 443.

USA
USD 1,187 per tonne EXW
Up by USD 21 per tonne from USD 1,166 two weeks ago
Up by USD 627 per tonne from the recent low of USD 560 on August 13th 2007
Up by USD 557 per tonne from the recent high of USD 630 on April 9th 2007

China
USD 717 per tonne EXW
Down by USD 2 per tonne from USD 719 two weeks ago
Up by USD 247 per tonne from the recent low of USD 470 on October 22nd 2007
Up by USD 230 per tonne from the previous high of USD 487 on September 10th 2007

Western Europe
USD 1,156 per tonne EXW
Up by USD 4 per tonne from USD 1,152 two weeks ago
Up by USD 493 per tonne from the recent low of USD 663 on July 23rd 2007
Up by USD 460 per tonne from the recent high of USD 696 on June 11th 2007

World Export Price
USD 1,097 per tonne FOB the port of export
Up by USD 21 per tonne versus USD 1,076 two weeks ago
Up by USD 547 per tonne from the recent low of USD 550 on July 23rd 2007
Up by USD 501 per tonne from the recent high of USD 596 on March 26th 2007

Global DRI production in May 2008 up by 7.6% YoY

International Iron and Steel Institute have released the production figures for direct reduced iron for the month of May 2008. The global production of DRI in May 2008 was 5.078 million tonne up by 7.68% YoY.

India retained the top slot with 1.650 million tonne production.

In million tonnes
Source – IISI

Steel prices to raise sharply - Credit Suisse

According to Credit Suisse Group steel will extend gains from records this year as supply trails even slowing demand growth, hurting consumers such as automakers and luring investors to the shares of European makers of the metal.

Mr Michael Shillaker a London based analyst said that “The lack of response on the supply side to booming global prices is in our view a clear indication that the world is not capable this time around of responding. He said that a steel shortage could take years to resolve as prices get stronger and stronger.''

He also said that “Even if trend real demand growth is slowing, supply has already slowed at a faster rate, adding that the shares of European steelmakers may be major beneficiaries.”

He added that “Steel equities maybe at close to all-time highs in the US, but in Europe the equity market response to a booming steel market has been muted.''

Credit Suisse maintains its overweight'' recommendation on the industry.

BlueScope increases prices by 35% on higher costs - Paper

The Australian citing a BlueScope spokeswoman reported that BlueScope Steel Ltd has increased prices for some of its products by 35% as input costs rise.

The newspaper said that BlueScope told customers in recent months it would increase prices for products because of the higher cost of iron ore and coking coal.

The newspaper added that BlueScope buys most of its iron ore from BHP Billiton Ltd and price negotiations have not been completed.

Bekaert to close Belgian plant in reorganization drive

Belgian steel cord and wire manufacturer Bekaert planned to close a plant in Belgium and transfer production from another as part of a reorganization of its steel cord operations there. Bekaert said that the move reflected the steady transfer of production activities by tyre manufacturers from western to central Europe and their search for local suppliers.

Bekaert, whose products are used to reinforce tyres and concrete said that its plant in the eastern town of Lanklaar supplying semi finished products for central Europe would close. It said that production at another plant in the western town of Waregem would transfer elsewhere in Belgium.

The Lanklaar closure would affect 136 jobs, Waregem's 150 workers would be found jobs elsewhere.

Bekaert said that "As a result of this reorganization Bekaert's Belgian steel cord activities would be largely concentrated in Aalter, this plant continuing to specialize even more in the production and development of advanced steel cord

Siemens to supply new steel mill for POSCO Gwangyang Works

Siemens VAI Metals Technologies received an order from the Korean steel producer POSCO for the installation of a new green field steel mill at its production site at Gwangyang in Korea. The project scope includes engineering and the supply of key components, systems and technological packages for an LD converter, RH degassing plant and slab caster.

The project will be implemented in consortium with POSC E&C and POSCON and the first slab is scheduled to be cast on the new caster in May 2010, which will be rolled to plates in a new plate mill also under construction. A total of 3.2 million tonnes of slabs, comprising low, medium and high carbon steel grades as well as alloyed steel grades, will be rolled to high quality plates for use in shipbuilding, boiler and pressure vessels and pipe production.

Siemens Metals Technologies will provide engineering and key equipment for a 250 ton LD converter and offgas system, an RH degassing plant and a 2 strand slab caster with a nominal casting capacity of 3.2 million tonnes of slabs per year. The converter supply includes the maintenance free VAI Con Link suspension system, converter tilting unit with drive, an oxygen valve stand for the LD lances and slag stoppers for minimized slag carry over during tapping.

Siemens said that the dry type converter offgas treatment system will be designed to cool and dedust up to 200,000 m3 of offgas per hour in accordance with the strict Korean environmental standards. It includes an evaporation cooler, a Siemens four-field, round type ESP, induced draught fan, a gas switchover station for directing the treated converter offgas either to the flare or to intermediate storage in a gasholder for subsequent heating applications or for the generation of electricity. A feature of the offgas treatment plant is the installation of a plate-type cooling system which ensures a high cooling efficiency during peak converter-offgas emissions.

The 250 tonne Ruhrstahl Heraeus degassing plant will reduce the hydrogen and nitrogen gas content of the liquid steel to acceptable values as required for the production of high-quality plates.

The 2 strand slab caster with a casting-bow radius of 9.5 meters will be capable of casting slabs with thicknesses of 250 and 300 millimeters and in widths ranging from 1,400 to 2,400 millimeters. The caster will be equipped with a wide array of technological packages. This includes DynaFlex for the online flexible adjustment of the mold-oscillation parameters, SmartMold with its cassette type mold design that allows the copper plates to be quickly exchanged and LevCon 2 for improved automatic mold level control. Dynamic mold-width adjustment will be possible with DynaWidth.

Furthermore, a SmartBender will be installed as the first segment in the strand support system to enable fast slab thickness changes to be carried out. Advanced caster segments of the type SmartSegment will enable the online and fully automatic adjustment of the slab thicknesses. DynaGap SoftReduction technology will allow the strand taper in the area of final solidification to be dynamically adjusted for improved internal strand quality. The Level 2 Dynacs secondary cooling system featuring dynamic strand cooling management ensures ideal cooling conditions according to the respective steel grade.

Argentina's president inaugurates Tenaris University Campus

It is reported that Ms Cristina Fernández de Kirchner president of Argentina, cut the ceremonial ribbon at the inauguration of the Tenaris University campus on June 23rd 2008.

The Tenaris University campus, which represents an investment of USD 17 million, consists of a 4,000 square meter building with an auditorium, classrooms, offices and libraries. It also includes a 4,500 square meter residential hall that can host up to 100 employees who come to Campana, Argentina to take part in Tenaris University global events. It will also be home to Tenaris University's five schools: Finance & Administration, Commercial, Managerial, Industrial and Information Technology.

Mr Fernández de Kirchner minister of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation said that “What we are inaugurating today is something more than just a university. It is a bet on knowledge as a key for business development.”

Mr Paolo Rocca CEO of Tenaris said that “Our commitment to internal training has grown over time, accompanying our expansion worldwide. Education has become a strategic factor for global integration, the creation of a common identity, the alignment of internal knowledge and values.”

Rebar price keeps steady in Mexico

Rebar price in Mexico remained stable since mid May despite the rumors about price hike. Currently, rebar price is around USD 1,206 to USD 1,245 per tonne including freight cost, but excluding VAT.

The current inventories are still at high level due to the demand decrease. Accordingly, most customers expect that the price is unlikely to increase further. It’s said that some mills offer rebar at USD 1,167 per tonne locally, which almost double that of last December.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Acindar exports hurt by farm strike - Reuters

Bloomberg reported that Argentine steelmaker Acindar Industria Argentina de Aceros SA, a unit of ArcelorMittal, has lost export opportunities this year because of a farm strike in the country and rising energy and labor costs.

Reuters quoted Mr Arturo Acevedo chairman of Acindar as saying that Acindar lost opportunities to export 100,000 tonnes of steel because of a lingering farmer strike, reduced supplies of natural gas and increased labor costs.

Acepar to supply billets to Acerin

BNamericas reported that Paraguayan steelmaker Acepar has signed a letter of intent with local company Acerin to supply billets that will help the latter resume rebar production.

A spokesperson from Paraguay's industry and trade ministry told BNamericas that "The agreement will allow Acerin to get the raw materials it needs for its process.”

The spokesperson said that Acerin supplies 30% of the domestic construction market. He added that the agreement was signed days after Acepar promised to supply the billets to Acerin, which is suffering a supply shortage.

Mr Hugo González a representative of Paraguayan workers cooperative Cootrapar said that in May the rebar shortage was because Acepar does not prioritize the local market, a charge Acepar denied.

Vietnam billet imports in 5 months jump by 23.6% YoY

According to the General Statistics Office, Vietnam's billet imports reached 1,778 million tonnes in the January to May 2008 period up by 23.6% YoY.

The General Statistics Office said that imports of billet from China jumped by 150% to some 450,000 tonnes since the beginning of the year. However there were around 300,000 tonnes of steel being hold up at some ports.

Track domestic steel prices in important and emerging markets

A steel user, however big or small, is always concerned about steel buying as it is normally a big ticket item, but there is no bench mark available to steel buyers to compare their transaction prices, which in a big way decided their bottom line. Lastly, steel has been very volatile in last 6 months and has effected many users in a very severe way making it all the more important to track the prices and trends.

In order to provide such information 3 web sites have been launched
1. www.steelprices-india.com
2. www.steelprices-china.com
3. www.steelprices-middleeast.com
These portals provide domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in India, China and Middle East on a regular basis 5 days a week. Benchmark products at select locations cover the entire basket of garden variety of steel products including input material for steel making and processing.

In addition, FOB levels for commonly exported steel products from two of the major exporting nation Ukraine & Russia and China are also available to give a sense of alternates.

The prices are displayed on daily, weekly and monthly basis. They also have search facilities to access old data from the archives. Graphical representation of trends and comparison of price movement 2 or more products is also available. A calculator to convert domestic prices into comparative CNF and vice versa is also provided, which takes into account all duties and expenses. In addition, you can monitor currency exchange rates, metal prices, BDI for the day as well as access their archives for past data. Other features include converters for weight, length etc, glossary and advanced search functions. The benchmark product price information is supplemented by global pricing news.

This would assist persons, including steel makers, traders, users and others, who are connected with industry in some way to asses the steel pricing trends and utilize in their day to day working to take considered decisions.

All these features are accessible only to registered user who is provided with a login id and password after payment is received. To know more about the service, please logon to the web site and click on “Features”, “Subscription” and if you like the service on “Registration”.

These portals are developed and run by none other that www.steelguru.com, which has become the largest English based steel portal in the world, with more than 1 million page hits per month in just 3 years of operations.

Worthington Q4 sales up by 10%YoY

Worthington Industries, Inc announced the results for the three and twelve month periods ended May 31st 2008. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, net sales were a record USD 868.9 million up by 10% YoY as compared to USD 786.6 million last year.

Fourth quarter and year end highlights

1. The Pressure Cylinders segment set a new quarterly record for net sales and units shipped and an annual record for net sales.

2. The Metal Framing segment returned to operating profitability for the quarter.

3. Equity income from nine unconsolidated joint ventures totaled USD 21.9 million for the quarter and USD 67.5 million for the year. Worthington Armstrong Venture had record sales and earnings for the quarter and the year.

3. Cash dividends received from unconsolidated joint ventures totaled USD 16.5 million for the quarter and USD 58.9 million for the year. WAVE contributed USD 14.0 million and USD 54.0 million of the cash dividends received for those periods.

4. Cash provided by operating activities was USD 180.5 million for fiscal 2008 compared to USD 180.4 million for fiscal 2007, while capital expenditures were USD 47.5 million and USD 57.7 million for the same periods.

5. During the fourth quarter, USD 13.5 million was paid to shareholders in a regular quarterly dividend. For the year, dividends paid to shareholders totaled USD 55.6 million. At year end, the dividend yielded a 3.4% annualized return.

6. During fiscal 2008, the company repurchased 6.5 million common shares, reducing total outstanding shares to 79.3 million at year end. Currently 9.1 million shares remain authorized for repurchase.

Mr John P. McConnell chairman & CEO said that “We are pleased with our excellent fourth quarter results and the year over year performance of our business segments, particularly the return to profitability in the fourth quarter for metal framing and the continued strong results from pressure cylinders. We also had record results from our joint venture Worthington Armstrong and also a very good quarter from Serviacero Worthington.”

He added that “Across the company, we have been focused on cutting costs, expanding our market reach through new products and services, and steering through a volatile and demanding steel pricing environment. We believe these efforts are helping us transform and strengthen the businesses, but we are aware of the uncertainty in some of our key markets and the potential for volatility in steel pricing throughout fiscal 2009.”

South Korea to hike power prices in H2 of 2008 - Report

A South Korea local news agency quoted Seoul's energy minister as saying that South Korea is likely to hike electricity fares in the latter half of the year.

The Yonhap News Agency quoted Mr Lee Youn ho minister of knowledge economy as saying that "Inflation was too high in the first half of the year, but there are moves to adjust power and electricity costs in the second half.”

He added that "Businesses should plan their budgets for next year with consideration that their electricity costs will be higher.”

Mr Lee comments came after the government said earlier this month that state run energy firms including Korea Electric Power Corp need to refrain from raising tariffs to help consumers and businesses to cope with surging energy costs. South Korea has kept electricity rates unchanged since a 2.1% increase in early 2007, as inflation accelerated to a seven-year high in May.

Last month, KEPCO said fuel costs would rise KRW 2 trillion (USD 1.93 billion) this year from 2007 due to higher oil and coal prices. The utility reported an operating loss of 219 billion won in the first quarter this year due to soaring raw material costs.

Rautaruukki announces subscription of shares with warrants

Rautaruukki announced that between April 15th and June 5th 2008, a total of 5,550 shares were subscribed with the warrants based on the 2003 bond loan with warrants. The share capital has been increased by 9,435.00 euros accordingly. The increase in share capital has been registered in the Trade Register on 26 June 2008.

The new shares will provide shareholder's rights starting from the date of registration June 26th 2008. It is estimated that the shares will be subject to public trading, together with the existing Rautaruukki shares on the OMX Nordic Exchange Helsinki as of the following day.

After the increase, the share capital of Rautaruukki will be EUR 238,366,057.60 and the total number of shares 140,215,328. This number includes the shares held by the company.

The next increase in share capital based on the 2003 bond loan with warrants will take place in September 2008, when the new shares subscribed by September 11th 2008 will be registered.

Korean shipyards win combined USD 2.3 billion orders

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co and two other South Korean shipyards said that they have received orders valued at a combined KRW 2.4 trillion (USD 2.32 billion) to build 17 ships.

Hyundai Heavy Industries won an order from a European shipping company to build 13 container vessels worth KRW 1.22 trillion. The company said that it expects to receive a record USD 16.7 billion of shipbuilding orders for the six months until June. It is expecting to win orders valued at USD 29.4 billion this year.

Meanwhile, Samsung Heavy Industries Co in a regulatory filing said that it has won a contract from a US company to build a drill ship for KRW 701.8 billion.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co also said that it has received an order from Europe to build three tanker ships for KRW 481 billion.

Monthly steel fact sheet for US import in May 2008

The preliminary data released show that overall steel imports in May 2008 decreased by 17.71% MoM from April 2008.

The change in May’s total amount of steel imports was due to a general decrease in most goods, such as reinforcing bars down by 68%, wire rods down by 55% and blooms, billets and slabs down by 40%. Galvanized hot dipped sheets and strip increased significantly with an 89% growth.

Stainless imports decreased only slightly down by 0.53% resulting from mixed increases and decreases in individual stainless products. May 2008 imports of steel mill products were down 25% as compared to May 2007.

Preliminary Census Steel Import Statistic Comparisons

In tons

(Sourced from SIMA)

Tung Ho Steel sets price hike on H beam

It is reported that Taiwan’s Tung Ho Steel has raised its H beam prices again for July 2008, although both Taiwan domestic and import scrap prices dropped by about TWD 1,300 to TWD 1,400 per tonne. Tung Ho Steel is adding its H beam price by TWD 1,000 per tonne due to a strong global demand.

The report added that another major H beam producer, Dragon Steel said they are going to release its July price soon and basically their price will be also increased.

It said that H beam prices are expected to past TWD 40,000 per tonne if demand remains strong.

(Sourced from YIEH.com)

Cleveland announces private placement of USD 325 million of senior notes

Cleveland Cliffs Inc announced that effective from June 26th 2008, it has closed on two tranches of senior notes totaling USD 325 million.

The privately placed offering consisted of USD 270 million 6.31% Five Year Senior Notes due June 15th 2013 and USD 55 million 6.59% Seven Year Senior Notes due June 15th 2015. Interest will be paid on the notes for both tranches on December 15th and June 15th until their respective maturities. Interest and principal amounts are guaranteed on a senior basis by certain domestic subsidiaries of the Company. The Company will use the proceeds to repay senior unsecured indebtedness and for general corporate purposes, which may include acquisitions.

Ms Laurie Brlas executive vice president & CFO of Cliffs said that “The placements enhance Cliffs’ financial flexibility and will allow us to quickly act on opportunities to grow our business as they arise.”

Perwaja to raise USD 54 million from IPO - Business Times

The Business Times reported that a Malaysian steelmaker controlled by Kinsteel Bhd Perwaja Steel Sdn is planning to raise MYR 175 million (USD 54 million) from an initial public offering in September.

The newspaper citing Mr Pheng Yin Huah MD of Kinsteel as saying that Kinsteel's minority shareholders will get to buy Perwaja's shares at a 23% discount from the unit's IPO price of MYR 2.90 apiece.

ArcelorMittal increase HR prices for Europe to EUR 770 per tonne

ArcelorMittal announced that it has adjusted its prices for flat carbon products in Europe for new bookings with delivery scheduled for September 2008. The new base price level for Hot Rolled Coil will be EUR 770 per tonne. Cold rolled and coated flat product prices will be adjusted in price accordingly.

Mr Olli-Matti Saksi VP Sales and Marketing of ArcelorMittal Flat Carbon Europe said: "This further adjustment is a direct result of a robust demand throughout most of Europe as well as on the global market. We expect that the tight global supply situation and ongoing cost increases will result in continued upward pressure on steel prices in forthcoming quarters.”

The release added that “ArcelorMittal is aiming to finalize prices for contracts to be delivered in October by mid July.”

ArcelorMittal, Hunan Valin Group and Hunan Valin Steel launch new auto steel JV

ArcelorMittal, Hunan Valin Group and Hunan Valin Steel Co announced a new development in their cooperation with the launch of Valin ArcelorMittal Automotive Steel, an industrial and commercial automotive joint venture that will have an annual production capacity of 1.2 million tonnes of flat carbon steel, mainly for automotive applications. Products will include cold rolled steel, galvannealed steel and pure zinc galvanized steel. The setup of this new joint venture is still subject to regulatory approval.

Hunan Valin Steel Co., Ltd will own 34% in the new joint venture, and ArcelorMittal and Hunan Valin Group will each have a 33% equity share.

The new activity will be located in Hunan Province next to Hunan Valin Steel Co’s subsidiary, Lianyuan Steel, which will supply hot rolled coil to the new joint venture.

Mr LN Mittal chairman & CEO of ArcelorMittal said “We have been working closely together with Hunan Valin Steel Co for three years now and the cooperation is going very well. We are making a lot of progress and the signing of these joint venture contracts is only further proof of this. This automotive joint venture is part of our global and China strategy, aiming to better serve both our global as well as domestic automotive clients by offering high value added products with the support of ArcelorMittal technology.”

Mr. Li Xiaowei Chairman of Hunan Valin Group said that “Hunan Valin’s long term development and future really depends on the technological platform jointly set up with ArcelorMittal. Valin is structurally transforming its product portfolio and targeting high added-value products, allowing us to differentiate ourselves from our competitors and to accelerate the transformation of Hunan province.”

Valin Group is a large sized enterprise set up by three steelmakers in Hunan province in 1997 Xiangtan Iron & Steel, Lianyuan Iron & Steel, and Hengyang Steel Tube, currently with 57,000 employees including 12,000 technical staff. Valin Group now has over 10 subsidiaries under direct or indirect control, including Xiangtan Iron & Steel, Lianyuan Iron & Steel, Hengyang Steel Tube, Nanfang Building Materials etc, with a stable operating and governance system based upon sound capitals and assets. In 2007, Valin Group witnessed sales revenue CNY 50.3 billion up by 38% YoY.

Hunan Valin Steel Co Ltd is a public company listed in China’s Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 1999. Valin Steel mainly produces cold and hot rolled super thin coils, heavy plates, seamless pipes with a wide range of diameters, fine wire rods etc. In 2007, Valin Steel produced 11.12 million tonnes of steel products, with total assets, turnover and profit amounting to CNY 48.4 billion, CNY 43.8 billion and CNY 234,000 respectively. It is now China’s 10th largest steel company.

ArcelorMittal Galati orders new drives for plate mill

The Siemens Industry Solutions Division has received an order to supply a new main drive for the finishing stand of ArcelorMittal Galati's plate mill at Galati in Romania. . The project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2010.

The modernization of the finishing stand is intended to increase the productivity and availability of the rolling mill and lower the maintenance costs

For modernization of the finishing stand, Siemens is supplying a twin main drive with cylindrical-rotor synchronous motors fed by cycloconverters. The twin drive has a total rated output of 13 megawatts at 44 revolutions per minute. Simatic TDC is used for closed-loop control tasks. Power equipment such as 110 kV switchgear and converter transformers round off the scope of supply. Siemens is also responsible for installing and commissioning all the systems and components.

Installation of the new main drive represents a further step in the modernization of the Galati plate mill. In October 2007 Siemens VAI won an order to equip the finishing stand with hydraulic cylinders and a hydraulic automatic gauge control package as well as to implement a new process automation system for the entire plate mill area. The solution is based on the Siroll PM platform specially designed for plate mills. The core technological components of the mechanical equipment will be manufactured at the Siemens VAI location in Montbrison, France. This project, which also includes installation supervision and commissioning as well as customer training, is due for completion by the end of 2009.

Israel lifts customs duties on steel imports

Israel has eliminated import duties on steel products to stabilize market price and meet rising demand. Steel prices have been surging by 60% since early 2008 and such measure could save it ILS 5 billion.

It is good news for Chinese exporters since they could export more steel to Middle East area in face of growing anti dumping and anti subsidy claim by the EU and USA.

Customs statistics show that trade frictions between China and its trading partners are on the rise and the total anti dumping and anti subsidy investigations against China reached 17 in Q1 and the relevant amount is USD 1.91 billion. So it is wise to deliver more cargoes to Middle East so as to avoid such frictions.

The total Chinese steel export volume to Israel for January to May 2008 period is 78,000 tonnes and the value is USD 74 million.

Trade conflicts with western countries have getting severe and it has already led to less export to these destinations. More steel have been flowing into South East Asia and Middle East area. Export tonnages to USA in 2007 are 4.14 million tonnes, a sharp decrease of 1.3 million tonnes from that for 2006. While exports to South East jumped by 4 million tonnes to 11.02 million tonnes.

Rebar mill becomes operational at Al Yamamah

Danieli reported that, in mid March 2008, the first bars were successfully rolled on the new high speed merchant bar mill, marking Al Yamamah Company for reinforcing steel bars' entry into the market of steel bar producers in Saudi Arbia.

Smaller bar sizes are produced on two strands at very high speed, fully exploiting the mill's capacity for the entire product range over 110 tonnes per hour with 10mm bars.

The 500,000 tonnes per year rolling mill is designed to produce 8mm to 36mm diameter water quenched and self tempered deformed bars, delivered to the cooling bed at speeds of up to 35 meters per second through the Double Twin Channel system. The plant is arranged as a 16 stand continuous mill plus two 6 pass high speed twist-free finishing blocks, fed by two strand slit rolled stock coming from the upstream intermediate mill.

Danieli Automation has supplied electricals and a fully integrated automation and process control system. The 115 tonnes per hour walking hearth reheating furnace was supplied by Danieli Centro Combustion. The water treatment plant was also included in Danieli's direct scope of supply.

Pakistan Steel achieves record sale in 2007-08 fiscal

Business Recorder reported that Pakistan Steel achieved a record sale of PKR 39 billion during the fiscal 2007-08.

A spokesman of Pakistan Steel said that the previous record of the sale of products was set with PKR 36 billion in the fiscal 2006-07 and the Mills had also earned a profit to the tune of PKR 4.2 billion. The spokesman also pointed out that there has been no increase in rate of products of Pakistan Steel for the past two months.

Now with just 5 days before the conclusion of the fiscal 2007-08, Pakistan Steel has broken the previous years' record by achieving a sale of its products worth PKR 39 billion.

Khuzestan Steel to increases production

It is reported that some 593,000 tonnes of various kinds of steel were produced in the March 20th 2008 to June 20th 2008 period in Khuzestan Steel Company.

Mr Najmolsadat MD of Khuzestan Steel Company said that various kinds of steel ingot, bloom, billet and slabs were among the products of the company. He added that over 44,000 tonnes of various kinds of steel to the value of USD 34,730,000 were exported during the same period.

Mr Najmolsadat said that Khuzestan Steel Company is ranking second in the production of steel in Iran. He said that “With the implementation of development projects such as the Zamzam project, production of wide steel sheets and the second phase of the steel development project, its production capacity would increase to 3,200,000 tonnes.”

Egyptian steel tycoon responds to accusations of monopoly

Daily Star Egypt reported that steel tycoon Mr Ahmed Ezz has been in the media spotlight this past week as he confronted rumors and accusations of monopolizing the local steel market.

Mr Ezz spoke to several media outlets over the past few days, finally answering a barrage of questions in interviews with Dream TV’s nightly talk show “Al Ashera Masaan” as well as Al Masry Al Youm and Rose Al Youssef daily newspapers.

Mr Ezz explained his company’s exorbitant profit margins by saying that in 2006, it consolidated the steel operations of Ezz Group under Ezz Steel’s more unified structure under which the company is now operating. This meant that the financial performance of the businesses were consolidated, which accounts for the increase in profits and sales figures.

Defending his business operations, Mr Ezz said that people in Egypt often confuse a company that holds a large share of the market with one that actually employs monopolistic business practices. He added that "I am sure that my companies don’t practice any kind of monopolization. Our share of the market has decreased from 72% to around 56% because about 10 new companies have entered the field adding two tonnes of steel to the local market."

CMD of Al Ezz Industries, which, through its 4 steel facilities, holds more than 60% of the market share, Mr Ezz is also the chairman of the planning and budget committee at the People’s Assembly as a member of the ruling National Democratic Party.

(Sourced from The Daily Star Egypt)

Track domestic steel pricing trends in Middle East

A steel user, however big or small, is always concerned about steel buying as it is normally a big ticket item, but there is no bench mark available to steel buyers to compare their transaction prices, which in a big way decided their bottom line. Lastly, steel has been very volatile in last 6 months and has effected many users in a very severe way making it all the more important to track the prices and trends.

www.steelprices-middleeast.com is a new portal that provides domestic pricing information for benchmark steel products in each category at select location in China on a regular basis 5 days a week. In addition, FOB levels for commonly exported steel products from two of the major exporting nation Ukraine & Russia and China are also available on daily basis to give a sense of alternates.

This would assist persons, including steel makers, traders, users and others, who are connected with industry in some way to asses the steel pricing trends and utilize in their day to day working to take considered decisions.

Benchmark products at select locations cover the entire basket of garden variety of steel products including input material for steel making and processing.

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DP World launches port management operation system

In line with the policy of continuous upgrading of services, DP World UAE Region has officially launched the first phase of its new port management operation system 'Promis,' which will gradually replace the existing systems applied in all departments and sections of the company.

The new system has been fully put into application in the Marine Operations Department at Jebel Ali Port, where it proved its efficiency in connecting the various departments through an integrated control and co ordination centre. This enables the efficient management of all operations to cope up with the needs of the rapidly growing marine industry sectors in the country, including shipping, export and import, most of which are carried out through Jebel Ali Port.

Mr Mohammed Al Muallem senior VP & MD of DP World UAE Region said that "The implementation of 'Promis' is part of our constant efforts to make use of the most modern technology at DP World. Following the success of 'Promis' in the Marine Operations Department, we will seek in its second phase to connect all DP World departments at Jebel Ali Port to one central network in order to achieve total and efficient co-ordination of operations. This is the first step in making the implementation of this highly efficient technology possible at all DP World terminals around the world."

An extensive study was conducted by a specialized team of experts from the Marine Operations Department to upgrade the operations system to meet the mounting needs of customers and requirements for upgrading marine services and use it to perfection in order to streamline the operation processes that control the entry and exit movements at the port.

The system is responsible for coordinating the inbound and outbound movements of vessels. 'Promis' also serves customers, providing them with up to the minute information. Since this fully automated system is linked to Dubai Trade portal, which enables online transactions with DP World UAE Region, customers can now access several services online, such as booking, obtaining invoices and tracking the location of their vessels.

The launch of first phase of 'Promis' comes at a time when DP World UAE Region is engaged in the continuous task of upgrading all its services at Jebel Ali Port which is managed by the most modern systems and technologies at par with the world's leading ports.

Plans for Dynamic Tower in in Dubai

Gulf News reported that the world's first revolving, pre fabricated tower is to be built in Dubai by Italian architect Mr David Fisher with a development value of about USD 3 billion. The 80 storey Dynamic Tower will be 420 meters tall and located on Shaikh Zayed Road.

The Dynamic Tower offers infinite design possibilities, as each floor rotates independently to create a building that constantly changes shape, resulting in a unique and ever evolving architectural structure. Between each rotating floor will be horizontal wind turbines so that the tower will be able to generate enough energy to power five other towers of similar size. As the tower will be pre fabricated with the parts being made in Italy, the amount of time spent on construction is greatly reduced.

Mr Fisher said that "The tools used today in real estate are so primitive. From 1889, steel was used to construct the Eiffel tower and then reinforced concrete was used in 1905. We are still building similar to how the Egyptians built the Pyramids."

He added that there would be a central core in the tower for lifts. There will even be lifts especially for cars, so it will be possible to drive to apartments.

Mr Fisher estimated that it will only take around 20 months to complete the Dubai Dynamic Tower. The second Dynamic Tower will be built in Moscow, with completion scheduled for 2010.

Qatar plans multi