SAIL in pact with Swiss firm for high-end steel items

State-owned Steel Authority of India (SAIL) today joined hands with Switzerland-based CBMM Technology Suisse for research and development of high-end steel items used in the transportation of oil and natural gas, a key component in the steel-maker's ongoing Rs 70,000 crore modernisation programme.

As part of the company's strategy to expand its footing in the specialised steel products space, the research and development wing of the steel-maker will work with the foreign agency for the next two years to develop new items.

"SAIL today signed a collaborative agreement with CBMM (Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineracao of Brazil) Technology Suisse SA, based in Geneva, Switzerland," the company said in a statement here.

"The agreement, signed between A S Mathur, Executive Director in-charge of SAIL's Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel (RDCIS), and Marcos Stuart, Director-Technology, CBMM Technology Suisse SA, envisages development of high strength steel of API X-80 grade for line pipe application by SAIL at its steel plants in Bhilai and Bokaro," it added.

The steel grades which SAIL seeks to develop have a huge market in India, with annual demand estimated at 1 million tonnes over the next few years. SAIL said it expects to begin production of such high-grade items within a year.

Demand for API X-80 grade steel, with superior high strength qualities, is likely to increase sharply going ahead as well.

SAIL's research wing, RDCIS, has been working with the steel-maker's five flagship steel plants for developing technologies to produce high-end products.

"RDCIS had initiated and successfully completed collaborative programmes with CBMM for development of API X-60 & 70 grade steel plates and HR coils at the Bhilai and Bokaro Steel Plants, respectively," the statement added.

The international demand for API grades of steel is projected at 8 MT per annum, offering a large untapped market for Indian steel producers, it added.