SAIL's value added steel production up 4% in FY13

State-owned SAIL today said its production of value added steel rose 4% to over 5 million tonne (MT) in 2012-13 fiscal as it added several new products in its portfolio.

The company had produced 4.83 million tonne value added steel - especially designed products for specific end-use - in 2011-12.

"FY 2012-13 closed on a good end for SAIL as the company registered 4% growth in the production of value added steel over the last fiscal. SAIL remained at the forefront... by producing over 5 million tonne of these special steel products," the company said in a statement.

It further said that its energy consumption grew by 3% last fiscal, while its blast furnace productivity was up 5%.

It, however, did not disclose the production figures for hot metal, crude steel and saleable steel.

SAIL said its Bhilai steel plant developed special soft iron magnetic plates last year for the prestigious India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) project of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

The INO project is considered to be one of the biggest experimental nuclear physics projects undertaken in the country and SAIL has proposed to supply 50,000 tonne of soft iron plate for the project.

Besides, its Bokaro and Salem steel plants started certain grades of hot rolled coils (HR-coils) production which are tailor-made for wagons of Indian Railways, while the Bhilai and Rourkela plants developed a new grade plates which finds application in pressure vessels.