| Representatives of small and medium steel-producing units in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Himachal Pradesh got together at CII, Chandigarh, to participate in ‘Steel Mart-2006’ today.
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| A large number of small and medium units in the region are engaged in steel production of various types (mini electric arc furnaces, induction furnaces, steel forging units and steel re-rolling mills). Most units, operating on traditional lines, are losing out on market share gradually.
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| Realising the need of the hour, CII organised a platform for SMEs where steel majors across north India are participating to discuss the possibilities of modernisation of the SMEs in the region.
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| Talking to Business Standard, Ratan Jindal, vice-chairman and managing director of Jindal Stainless Ltd said this region has been the hub ofsteel production after partition. In the past few years it lost its edge as enterprenuers did not upgrade their facilities.
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| “They need to focus on cost cutting and modernise the production”, said Jinda, adding, “and we organised this event to enlighten them about ways and means to improve quality to compete in domestic and international market”.
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| He said the pattern of demand for steel had undergone a change and there was a huge demand for steel in architecture, innovative crockery and interior decoration. If small and medium enterprenuers moulded their products according to the need of consumers, they could retain high profit margins, he said.
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| He added that banks were quite liberal in offernig financial help for such projects, so there should be no hesitation on part of the enterprenuer in investing for modrenisation of their units. “Steel is the future and the future is steel,” said Hayana Chief Minister BS Hooda, who was the chief guest for the inaugural session of the steel mart. He said the government wase eager to support the development of industry in the state.
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| A S Feroz, chief economist, Economic Research Unit, Ministry of Steel, Government of India said small and medium companies played a vital role by providing value added steel in the market. and the state governments can suppliment their effort by providing them land and other facilities.
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| Rohit Sehgal, Partner, Accenture said, "The Indian steel industry can look forward to a bright future for many reasons. India's GDP growth projection over the medium term is estimated at 7%. There are a number of new pipeline projects and over 7800 km of new pipeline is expected to be laid over the next 5-7 years. There is a demand surge in the automobile sector with production of cars growing by 14.5%, commercial vehicles by 3.8% and two-wheelers by 13.4%.
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| Construction investments are also likely to go up by 9% because of increasing thrust on roads, water supply, sanitation, hydel power projects and irrigation. The domestic consumption of steel in India is still among the lowest and will undoubtedly increase. At the same time, new markets in Africa, Middle East and Pakistan offer opportunities in steel as well as iron ore exports".
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| Most of the enterprenuers from Punjab had a consensus that obsolete technology used in their units was the reason behind their laggard performance. |
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