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SAIL Steps up Availability of Steel in Domestic Market
07/10/2008 - Steel Authority of India Limited reports that it achieved its best-ever first-quarter (April to June 2008) performance in many areas while maintaining its focus on production to meet the growing demand for steel in the domestic market.
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) reports that it achieved best-ever first-quarter (April to June 2008) performance in many areas while maintaining its thrust on production to meet the growing demand for steel in the domestic market.
In the month of June 2008, SAIL's domestic sales stood at 1.11 million tonnes, an increase of 36% as compared to June 2007. Total sales during the first quarter increased to 2.65 million tonnes.
With a continued focus on maximizing the production of special steel and value-added items, SAIL produced a million tonnes of such products during the first quarter, the company’s highest volume ever for any quarter. This included 1.93 lakh tonnes of 90-UTS rails for the Indian Railways, the highest-ever in any first quarter.
Further improvement in key techno-economic parameters also continued with energy consumption at 6.88 giga calories per tonne of crude steel, and a reduction in coke rate, among other parameters. Production through the energy-efficient continuous casting route exceeded 2 million tonnes, which is the highest-ever quarterly performance, with 121% of capacity utilization. Converter lining life also touched a new peak of around 7500 blows at the Bhilai Steel Plant, which compare to a previous company record of 6316 blows.
Sales of TMT bars and hot rolled coils were 74% and 20% higher, respectively, in June 2008 as compared to June 2007. The company also registered highest-ever first-quarter sales of special quality steels with an overall growth of 49%. Prestigious orders from the Indian Navy were booked for DMR-249 grade A/B plates during the period.
Implementation of SAIL's modernization and expansion program has commenced for major parts of the IISCO Steel Plant, Salem Steel Plant, and BSL's new cold rolling mill.
Capital projects completed during the first quarter include installation of a hot metal desulphurization unit and coke oven gas holder at the Rourkela Steel Plant, 50-MW power facilities for the oxygen plant at Bokaro Steel Plant, and coal dust injection in Blast Furnace No. 3 at the Durgapur Steel Plant.
