STEEL MINISTER ASKS SALEM STEEL PLANT TO INCREASE CAPACITY UTILIZATION
The Minister of Steel, Shri B.K. Tripathy, urged
the Management of Salem Steel Plant to increase its capacity utilisation
to 100 per cent and to raise its production and sale. Visiting
the Salem Steel Plant at Salem today, Shri Tripathy said that
Salem Steel Plant of Tamil Nadu has made pioneering contribution
in promoting stainless steel usage in the country. Salem Steel
has found application in bus bodies, roofing of rail platforms
and other architectural applications in India and abroad. The
Minister hailed its techno-economic parameters which are of international
standard.
The Minister pointed out that the Plant, both
in physical and financial terms, has not been doing well and the
sales have fallen from a high of Rs. 670 crores in 1997-98 to
Rs. 339 crores in 2001-02. The gross margin is negative. Losses
run upto Rs. 150 crores. Capacity utilization last year was a
mere 36%.
The Minister stressed on widening the product
mix in terms of quality, newer applications of stainless steel
and flexibility to cater to different market segments for survival
of the plant. Provision of a captive facility to produce stainless
steel slabs of the required quality at a controlled cost would
be essential for the long-term viability of the Plant, he said.
With this idea, the formation of a joint venture company around
the facilities of Salem Steel Plant was approved by the Government,
since further investment in Salem would not be possible for SAIL.
In the afternoon, the Minister along with the
SAIL Chairman, Shri Arvind Pande visited the Viswesvaraya Iron
and Steel Plant, Bhadravati and expressed concern over the financial
health of the Plant. He asked the officials and employees to work
hard and to compete in the national and global market. He emphasised
the need for continuous technological upgradation and commercial
acumen for long term viability of the Plant.
