Iron & Steel Review November 2011 Issue

Highlights of the Issue

Indian Scenario of flat and Long Products Steel

VIEWPOINT

Steel demand growth slowing down
We all know that iron ore and coking coal are the two essential elements to produce steel. It the steady rise in iron ore and coking coal prices wasn't enough, the growth of steel demand is showing signs of slowdown as well.

SPECIAL FEATURE

Indian Scenario of Flat and Long Products Steel
Steel is fundamental for the growth of the nation. Over the past few years, consumption has been primarily driven by the continuous increase in infrastructure related investment, leading to higher demand for steel. However, presently India's per capita consumption is around 52 kg per capita compared to 427 kg for China and a global average of approx. 203 kg [1]. This reflects a huge potential for increasing steel consumption in India in various segments like defence, railways, transportation, construction, automobiles, agriculture, heavy engineering, power and energy, etc, essential for development of the nation.

TOPICS & TRENDS

• Worldsteel announces WS 46 in India

  In the light of the emerging importance of India and the country being the next growth area of the steel industry, the governing body of the Worldsteel Association representing 170 producers and accounting for 85% of world steel production, has decided to hold World Steel 46 in India from 8th to 12th October 2012.

• SAIL Chairman presents 'Excellence in sustainability reporting' Steelie award of World Steel Association

  Shri C.S. Verma, Chairman, Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) presented the World Steel Association's 2011 Steelie award for 'Excellence in Sustainability Reporting' to M/s Rautaruukki of Finland on 13th October 2011 at Paris.

• NMDC's Spectacular 2nd quarter performance

  The un-audited financial results of the 2nd quarter of 2011-12 approved by the Board of Directors of the company in its meeting held on 31.10.2011 reveal remarkable improvement in performance of the company.

• SAIL wins Dainik Bhaskar India Pride Gold Award

  Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) won the coveted Gold Award at the 'Dainik Bhaskar India Pride Awards for Excellence in PSUs' in New Delhi on October 21.

• TRL Krosaki bags CAPEXIL Top Export Award for 2010-11

  TRL Krosaki Refractories Limited (TRL Krosaki) has bagged the coveted 'CAPEXIL - Top Export Award' for its excellent export performance in the 'Ceramics & Allied Products including Refractories' category for the year 2010-11. This is the first time that company has received the 'Top Export Award' from CAPEXIL, though it had received “Special Export Award” continuously for the last twelve years.

• SAIL in talks with Railways for new projects in West Bengal

  Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) Chairman Shri C. S. Verma said that the public sector unit had commenced work in new areas with the Railways and at least four projects were being contemplated in West Bengal.

• SAIL H1 sales turnover rises 10% to Rs. 23878 crore

  Despite challenging market conditions prevailing during most of the current financial year, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) recorded a sales turnover of Rs. 23877.78 crore during April-September (H1), as compared to Rs. 21,628 crore in the corresponding period last year (CPLY), registering an increase of 10.4% y-o-y.

• NMDC observed Vigilance Awareness Week 2011

  In NMDC, the Valedictory function of the Vigilance Awareness Week 2011 celebrations concluded with a grand success. The programme was attended by Shri N. Vittal, Former Central Vigilance Commissioner as Chief Guest, Shri Rana Som, CMD, NMDC along with Directors and Smt. Usha Chandrasekhar, CVO, NMDC.

• Steel Secretary's vision for NMDC's growth

  Shri P.K. Misra, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India, visited NMDC and had brief discussions with Shri Rana Som, CMD and Functional Directors about the progress of the company.

• IFGL Refractories Q2 with topline growth, excellent operating margins

  The Board of Directors of IFGL Refractories Ltd. (the company) has approved following un-audited financial results for three/six months ended on 30th September, 2011.

AKERS SPECIAL

A world-leading roll manufacturer with quality as its core focus
With its roots in the world-famous rich Swedish traditions of mining, Åkers, which began operations as early as 1580 and started to manufacture rolls in the early 1800s, is not simply the oldest manufacturer of rolls in the world, it is also the world leader when it comes to manufacturing rolls for the global steel and aluminium industry.

Akers Technical Seminar 2011, Mumbai
Åkers Group, world leading manufacturer of rolls for Rolling Mills with manufacturing units in six countries, conducted a Technical Seminar on Sept. 7, 2011 at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai with an active participation from Arcum Engineering, our partners in India. Åkers has a wide manufacturing range and can manufacture rolls for most applications in hot and cold mills.

Manufacturer and Updated Grades for Forged Work and Intermediate Rolls in Cold Rolling applications
Most of the work rolls and intermediate rolls used for cold rolling are manufactured as forged steel. With this technology, it is possible to obtain rolls which have a fine microstructure, low inclusion content, excellent compactness as well as good mechanical properties. These characteristics are essential to withstand the rolling stresses whilst still guaranteeing a perfect surface condition of the rolled strip.

STEEL INTERNATIONAL

Siemens increases productivity of EAF of Çolakoglu by 12pct
At the beginning of August 2011, the Turkish steel producer Çolakoglu Metalurji A.S. gave Siemens VAI Metals Technologies the final acceptance certificate for the modernization of electric arc furnace no. 1 in the Gebze Plant, just four days after the first heat.

Siemens introduces new quickexchange pinch-roll cassette for hotstrip mill downcoilers
Siemens VAI Metals Technologies now offers hot-strip mill operators a new method for changing the pinch rolls in downcoilers.

Siemens continuous casting line for ultra-thick slabs goes into operation at voestalpine Stahl
The first two ladle heats were successfully cast on September, 20 in the new CC7 continuous casting line of voestalpine Stahl GmbH. The casting line delivered by Siemens VAI is designed to produce slabs with thicknesses of up to 355 millimeters at widths of up to 2200 millimeters.

September 2011 world steel output report
According to worldsteel's most recent production report, crude steel production for the 64 countries was 124 million metric tonnes (mmt) in September 2011, about 9.7 per cent higher than September 2010.

Shanxi Zhongyang upgrades with 3 Siemens mini finishing mills
Chinese steel producer Shanxi Zhongyang Iron and Steel Company Ltd. (ZISCO) contracted with Siemens VAI Metals Technologies to add a high-speed mini finishing mill to each of its three rod mills. The new mills will be located in a suburb of Zhongyang County, Shanxi Province, China. These will almost double the mills’ production speed. Commissioning is expected in late 2012.

Outotec signs agreement with TISCO joint venture in China
Finnish mining and metal manufacturing equipment provider Outotec has agreed with Shanxi Taigang Wanbang Furnace Charge Co. Ltd., a joint venture between Shanxi Jinzhong Industrial Trading Co. Ltd. and the world's largest stainless steel producer, Taiyuan Iron and Steel Co. Ltd. (referred to as TISCO), on the design and delivery of a new ferrochrome plant based on Outotec's proprietary technology to Jinzhong, China.

PT. Gunung orders slab caster from SMS Siemag
PT. Gunung, Indonesia, has awarded SMS Siemag, Germany, an order for the supply of a single-strand slab caster for operation at its Bekasi works in the Indonesian province of West Java.

FOCUS

CII organised a Conference on Enchanting Consumption of Steel in Rural India
The confernce in Lucknow on 21st October 2011 was attended by notable dignitaries including Mr. C.S. Verma, Chairman-CII National Commitee on Steel and Chairman- SAIL.

FACE TO FACE

Akers : Pacing forward as an efficient and advanced cast and forged rolls
Mr. Santosh Mahanti : How do you see your business prospects in India when the market is growing and major investments are taking place in the steel sector?

COMPANY NEWS

3tn: Successful start of Release 2.0 of TWMS/metals
The latest software release, Release 2.0, of 3tn's Technical Warehouse Management System TWMS/metals is becoming increasingly established in the steel industry.

Stollberg introduces MouldScreen and new Flux Feeder
With MouldScreen, the Continuous Casting Fluxes Division of the S&B Group is introducing a software programme for modelling the properties of the flux film in the continuous casting mould. The software identifies and visualizes critical conditions in the mould that may lead to cracking, breakouts and other quality problems and enables countermeasures to be taken at an early stage.

MIDDLE EAST STEEL

Steel Resolve
Qatar's booming construction industry is voracious for basic building materials. Qatar Steel is determined to keep up with rising demand in the run towards the 2022 FIFA World Cup through its expansion program.

SERT TECHNOLOGY

Tailoring the improvement of automatic mould level control to the specific need of each caster : review of several return of experience with advanced sensing and flow control techniques
The 2009 crisis period has created a new situation where existing steel capacity exceeds significantly the demand and reduces the need for large capacity investment projects. Therefore, upgrade projects showing a significant potential of improvement are boosted. Among upgrade projects, improving the global performance of automatic mould level control remains of high interest for most plants operating continuous casting machines and aiming for good quality steel. With more than 40 years of expertise developed in mould level control, SERT has become a key actor that offers various upgrade possibilities, tailored to the customer needs.

MINERAL MARKETING

Iron Ore e-Auction: Cloud over Indian Steel Industry - A Frost & Sullivan Perspective
The iron ore e-auction in Karnataka is expected to bring down the profitability of steel/sponge iron companies in Karnataka & nearby locations. Iron ore procurement through e-auction is resulting in under utilization of their installed capacities; as e-auction does not guarantees iron ore quality & quantity procured. This scenario is expected to have a negative impact on the total finished steel output in the medium term.

MINERAL PROCESSING

Ferro-Niobium Market Trend and Alloying Techniques
Niobium does not occur in nature as a pure metal and is largely found in carbonatite deposits. The world’s largest carbonatite deposit with exceptionally large reserves of rich niobium (pyrochlore) ore is located in the Araxá district of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This deposit is managed and operated by Companhia Brasileira de Metalurgia e Mineração (CBMM) and contains an average of 2.5% niobium-pentoxide (Nb2O5). The ore body itself is circular in shape; approximately 4.5 km in diameter and one of the characteristic features of the mine is a wide weathered mantle, 1.8 km in diameter, which is highly mineralised.

STEEL TECHNOLOGY

Section mills: solutions for achieving market leadership in cost and quality
By considering the total world Apparent Steel Use (ASU) for Sections and Rails market consumption, it is evident that the geographical distribution in terms of kTonnes/year is not balanced.

50-mps in cooling bed to enhance profitability in rebar production
One of the main goals in modern bar mills is to obtain a high-production rate for the smaller bar and rebar size range that, depending on the market demand, normally has the major share in the product mix of the rolling mill plant. Reaching this goal means exploiting fully of the reheating furnace capacity also for the smaller round bar sizes, resulting in a very balanced production of the mill and enhancing the very best potentiality.

REFRACTORY

Selection of refractories for high efficiency "DRI" process
DRI/sponge iron is being produced in increased quantities in numerous countries around the world. The largest producer of DRI is India and maintained the position of global leader by producing 20.7 million tonnnes DRI in 2009 and 20.6 million tonnes in 2010, down a mere 0.5% as compared to 2009. According to some sources, the production of DRI in India till October 2011 stood approximately 20.4 million tonnes.

RAW MATERIAL

Global Raw MAterial Industry for Iron and Steelmaking: hoping to witness a fresh beginning
The global raw material industry for the fabrication of iron and steel is passing through a rough path. Not only raw materials such as iron ore, metallurgical coal and ferrous scrap came under pressure, the industry witnessed a 16 per cent price dip in iron ore in October 2011.