The Hindu : Business : Tata BlueScope Steel to invest Rs. 1,200 cr.

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 24, 2005

Business

Business

Tata BlueScope Steel to invest Rs. 1,200 cr.

Staff Correspondent

To manufacture flat products; each partner to invest Rs. 600 cr.

Network of sales offices across the SAARC region Jamshedpur facility to be ready by mid-2008 Building solution facilities in Pune, Sriperumbudur (Chennai) and Bhiwadi (Rajasthan)

MUMBAI: Tata Steel and BlueScope Steel on Wednesday officially established their 50:50 joint venture, Tata BlueScope Steel Ltd., here. The joint venture will encompass manufacture and supply of flat steel products like zincalume and colorbond coated steels and a range of Butler and Lysaght metal building solutions.

The joint venture company will invest Rs. 1,200 crore (Australian $365 million) on four manufacturing locations in India and set up a network of sales offices across the SAARC region. Each partner will invest Rs. 600 crore and for the Tatas, the investment will be in a 1:1 debt equity ratio.

Chetan Tolia will be the Managing Director of the new joint venture business. He was Chief, Strategy and Planning at Tata Steel.

Addressing the media here, Mr. Tolia said, "the joint venture will deliver steel-based building solutions to the construction industry.''

The boards of both companies have decided to construct a metallic coating and painting facility at Jamshedpur, adjacent to Tata Steel's existing works. The new facility will have a metallic coating capacity of 2.50 lakh tonnes and a paint line capacity of 1.50 lakh tonnes annually. The capital cost of the project will be around A$ 265 million (Rs. 900 crore). The facility will be ready by mid-2008.

Of the 2.50 lakh tonnes, 1.50 lakh tonnes will be for colour coated steel and the balance for zincalume. The products would be sold to other roll-formers in the country and also used by the company's building solutions facilities.

The company is also setting up building solutions facilities at three locations — Pune, Sriperumbudur near Chennai and Bhiwadi in Rajasthan. These facilities will be commissioned in the second quarter of 2006 and entail an investment of A$ 100 million (Rs. 300 crore).

B. Muthuraman, Managing Director, Tata Steel, said the joint venture was looking at achieving a turnover of around Rs. 1,000 crore by 2010. "When we are able to fully use the capacity of the facilities shortly thereafter, the turnover will stabilise at around Rs. 2,000 crore.''

The figure includes the turnover from prospective exports to SAARC countries and selective exports beyond SAARC.

Eyes plant in South Africa

PTI reports:

Tata Steel has set its sight on South Africa based Highveld Steel. It is in talks with Anglo American, which owns 79 per cent stake in Highveld Steel.

"This is in the process and we are evaluating it,'' Mr. Muthuraman said confirming the development on the sidelines of the formal announcement of the company's joint venture with BlueScope Steel.

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