SAIL eyes R&D for new products

Public sector firm Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has put in place plans to market additional volumes of steel that will be rolled out of its newly integrated steel plants this year onwards.

" The fact that the products will be made using cutting- edge technology and under strict quality control is an obvious advantage," said SAIL chairman C. S. Verma.

SAIL, as an established player, has gone in for a strategy of continuously developing new products to gain a competitive edge over new entrants.

These value-added steel products are used as an input for manufacturing automobiles, consumer durables, defence and railway equipment, and carry a higher profit margin. Modern earthquake and fire- resistant buildings also use various grades of high- value steel.

The share of these value- added products has been increasing in the SAIL product mix over the years. For instance, in 2013- 14, value-added steel production registered a growth of 6 per cent, with 5.4 million tonnes special quality steel produced in the fiscal - up from 5.09 million tonnes in 2012- 13.

On the customer service front, Verma said, systems are being introduced to offer seamless connectivity through appropriate IT tools for major customers.

Warehouses are being readied to provide just- in- time deliveries in required lots to the customers. Optimum mix of rail- road logistics is being internalised to ensure that the materials reach all locations as per requirements, he added.

SAIL's specialised Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel ( RDCIS) is playing a key role in this competitive strategy of developing new products. RDCIS is manned by as many as 207 research executives, six pilot or simulation facilities and 15 major laboratories.

Verma elaborates, " SAIL products cater to the requirements of almost all major sectors of the economy. In the near term, emphasis of the government on development of infrastructure, golden quadrilateral for railways, roads and manufacturing will give a big boost to the Indian economy in general and the steel industry in particular.''

To meet the requirements of these sectors, SAIL has made a conscious effort to give R& D a major thrust through a master plan. " Our aim is to gradually increase spends on R& D as a percentage of gross sales. In a mature industry like ours, product development is key to sustainable competitive advantage," Verma added.

SAIL has a wide product portfolio.

It is being enriched further under the current modernisation and expansion projects with new products like universal sections of up to 750 mm size, long rails of 130 mm size and head hardened rails for high speed tracks.

Extremely high strength API grades - API X100, Cold Rolled Grain oriented ( CRGO) electrical steels and various high strength steels - are obtained from thermo- mechanical rolling and controlled cooling especially for applications in the nuclear industry and super- critical power plants.

In association with Mail Today Bureau