Tisco to expand sheets business

The product was developed with Zinc-Alumine technology from Bluescope Steel and will be imported in the beginning.

Tata Bluescope planned to start its own production by end of 2009, informed sources in the Tata Steel.

Test marketing of the product in unbranded form was on at 10 locations and demand was high, claimed officials.

The product, in red, silver, blue, green and other colours, could be manufactured at the Tata Bluescope facility at Jamshedpur.

The new brand will be sold through Tata Shaktee outlets across India. Tata Shaktee, the flagship brand of Tata Steel in the galvanised corrugated(GC) sheets category, had 3500 dedicated dealer outlets.

Of these, around 260 were shortlisted to become retail identity shops.

More than 80 per cent of the Tata Shaktee brand sold in rural areas, and it enjoyed a 30 per cent market share in the galvanised sheets category.

This apart, Tata Steel looked at taking its revenue from Tata Shaktee to Rs 1200 crore by 2011, said a official of Tata Steel.

It recently expanded its GC sheets range, offering a 8-9 per cent cost advantage to consumers.

Tata Steel would add another 100 retail identity stores this year as well as forging tie-ups with brands like Tata Structura offering brand synergy.