Rourkela Steel Plant To Focus On Cost Cut
The Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) will focus on reduction in cost of production, full capacity utilisation of modernised units and improvements in preventive maintenance, and technological discipline as part of its effort to cope with the present steel scenario.
"The future of RSP lies in internal actions," according to Sanak Mishra, chief executive at Rourkela Steel Plant.
RSP has been seriously affected by the slowdown in the flat steel consuming sectors coupled with growth in domestic capacity.
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Trade barriers put up by the US, Canada and the European Union have also affected the offtake and prices of flat steel products. Because of poor market realisations, RSP's profitability has been eroded in spite of a growth of 2.4 per cent in the production of salable steel in the first half of the current financial year.
In 2000-2001 RSP reduced losses to Rs 445 crore from a massive loss of Rs 704 crore in the previous fiscal.
In the face of the difficult market situation an area of special focus has been value-addition. RSP is continuously trying to introduce new grades and ranges of products to meet the varied demands of its customers.
Recently, it has successfully rolled API 5L X 60 grade plates. A Rs 75 crore annual market for such plates exists in India today primarily in the oil and gas transportation sector.
RSP is also manufacturing BSK-46 grade plates, which is a micro-alloyed high strength steel with minimum yield strength of 460 Mpa. This grade is suitable for the manufacture of long and cross members of chassis for heavy vehicles.
For use in manufacture long and cross members of chassis of lighter vehicles, RSP has developed SAPH-45. These products have been well appreciated by the auto sector. RSP has been a big name in the filed of pipelines. Now it is supplying the higher API (American Petroleum Institute) grade pipes to the oil transportation sector.