ISR INFOMEDIA PVT LTD - Publishing industrial magazines like iron & steel, metals, minerals, casting

HOME		CONTACTS		SEARCH

TO MANAGE YOUR TOMORROW ... READ TODAY

IRON & STEEL REVIEW

May 2009

Looking Back

Imposition of higher duty on flat products on the anvil in India
Indian government is considering levying a safeguard duty of 25% on key steel products imported from some of the countries to protect the domestic industry against damages from cheap arrivals. Media report cited an official as saying that the Directorate General of Safeguards has recommended to the Commerce Ministry for imposition of the duty on imports of flat steel items like hot rolled coils, sheets and strips shipped below USD 600 per tonne to India. The official further added that recommendations are made on the basis of its initial findings that increased imports has caused serious injury to the domestic steel industry.

Iron ore exports from India down by 50 pc in April
India’s ore exports have come down by over 50 per cent this month against the year-ago period and the trend of decline is likely to continue for another 4-5 months due to host of reasons, state-run MMTC, one of the exporters, has said. “The exports of ore have declined substantially by about 50 per cent during April compared to the same month last year,” MMTC Chairman Sanjiv Batra said, adding that, “the trend is likely to continue for another 4-5 months due to declining prices, lower demand and effective global competition.”
JSW Steel’s FY10 sales rises 60 pc
JSW Steel expects sales to rise up to 60 percent in volume terms in FY10 and plans to invest 30 billion rupees to expand capacity and develop coal mines, its managing director said. The company expects a 7-8 percent on year rise in steel demand in India this year, Sajjan Jindal told reporters on the sidelines of a business conference. The profits of Indian steel firms, including JSW Steel, took a hit in the third-quarter of the fiscal year 2008/09 on lower sales.

VIEWPOINT
Looking Back
My association with R. K. Markan, CMD of H&K India goes back some 20 years. I vividly recall our first meeting at an industrial exhibition for the steel industry held at the SAIL premises in Ranchi. I came across the stall of H&K, a name I had never heard before. Curious, I went in to be greeted by Markan who painstakingly explained the formation of a Joint Venture Company he had with Hoestemberghe & Kluetsch Gmbh, Germany for the sole aim of bringing into the country ‘meaningful and relevant technology’ for rolling mills. I had heard such statements before but somehow I felt this was different. H&K India, I was told, would be a small engineering company, would have a staff of only 20 or at most 25, it would have no manufacturing facility but would outsource all its equipment manufacture at selected workshops approved by the German collaborator so that the engineers are focused only on engineering and technology. Such a business model was a first for India. Frankly, doubts of its success existed.

COMPANY PROFILE
ZKL Bearing (India) exhibiting care & concern for customers
ZKL Bearings (India) Pvt is determined to deliver best quality and extra value to exceed customer expectations. ZKL is a living embodiment of the principles of modern Quality Management, which is to listen to the customers, enrich its offering to the tune of customer requirements.
ZKL has always exhibited its care and concern for customers by developing a range of value-added products, accessories/tools and instruments that ensure higher efficiency and longer life for bearings.
One such development has been ZKL Grease. It has lithium based non-toxic lubricants which exhibit good anti-rust properties and temperature tolerance of-30°c +10°c. ZKL spot the customers, application need and provides the best bearing solution for it.

FACE TO FACE
There is no doubt in my mind that Quenching and Self Tempering (QST) is here to stay
Iron & Steel Review recently sent an e-mailed questionnaire to the H&K India CMD R. K. Markan, who has been in association with the journal through think & thin for the last more than two decades. Markan has in his reply reiterated his views about the industry at present with a keen observation of the future. His rich experience has been aptly reflected in all the answers and he also showed his confidence on the journal for which the entire ISR team feels gratitude. Here is the excepts of his interview.

Today, most of builders are switching over to use of THERMEX 500 Grade bars against Fe 415 used earlier
After placing the order for Thermex System on H&K India we received all the machinery in time. Mr. R. K. Markan (CMD), Mr. R. S. Chavan (CEO & ED) and other H & K Team members provided us excellent service for commencement and production of THERMEX rebars as per global standards. They took personal interest in our mill and trained our workers & technical staff in a very good manner, said the satisfied Dargars of Metro Ispat, while talking to our editor Santosh Mahanti in a recent interview

We were the first amongst global companies to commission our plant in time
Yes, I am very happy and proud that we were the first in introducing modern mill equipment in Indian rolling mills. Today, I learn that many modern mills are coming up in India. That was our main goal when we started H&K India, said Wolfgang KLUETSCH, Germany to Santosh Mahanti, editor

I prefer H&K India due to its less operative expenses of the Thermex System
Thermex Systems of H&K India was adopted primarily due to the hard labour & initiatives to reach it to the steel parley in India by R. K. Markan, said Shyam Sunder Beriwala, Chairman, Shyam Steel Industries to our editor Santosh Mahanti

H&K India & HSE jointly developed technologically & commercially viable conditions specially suited for the small rolling mills
I am very happy & a bit proud about being in association with such a good management team of H&K India, said Franz TAMM, Director, HSE Germany to Santosh Mahanti, Editor, ISR

There is no doubt in my mind that Quenching and Self Tempering (QST) is here to stay
Iron & Steel Review recently sent an e-mailed questionnaire to the H&K India CMD R. K. Markan, who has been in association with the journal through think & thin for the last more than two decades. Markan has in his reply reiterated his views about the industry at present with a keen observation of the future. His rich experience has been aptly reflected in all the answers and he also showed his confidence on the journal for which the entire ISR team feels gratitude. Here is the excepts of his interview.

SPECIAL FEATURE
H&K India THE JOURNEY PAST, THE JOURNEY AHEAD By R. K. Markan, CMD, H&K India
This Edison quote sums up the journey of H&K Rolling Mill Engineers Pvt. Ltd. (H&K India) as we enter our 25th year. I must first confess that I have been truly blessed by God throughout my professional career that began in 1962. Looking back it is clear that every step appears to have been pre-ordained. It is clear that His Hand was guiding me and H&K India formation was part of those plans. From the start in 1962 and during the subsequent years, I am surprised how seemingly un-surmountable obstacles were overcome and ‘doors opened’ at appropriate times. I and all of us at H&K India are grateful and have not forgotten His blessings during this long journey.

FOCUS
India’s steel imports escalates 40%, specialized steel swings up by 3.5%
Recession in the Indian steel industry has spread its shadow not only over the entire industry, but the economy as a whole. Whether the recession period is over or about to be over within a short while is a million dollar question at present. At the time when the steel and the other related sectors across the world, along with India, are groping in the darkness of economic slowdown, the recent reports of 40% increase in imports of finished steel in India despite the imposition of 5% additional duty on certain steel products, according to the experts, was a clear indication of steel demand getting stronger, followed by a rejuvenation of infrastructure and construction sector after a prolonged period of serious setbacks.

Construction activity boosts steel consumption
The path to economic development of a developing country is very much linked to the development of its infrastructure. Any developing nation needs to attract capital to ensure economic growth and to attract such capital, the basic infrastructure framework has to strong enough. Construction builds this framework.

Boosted by SEBI’s nod Bhushan Steel looks forward for massive expansion
Amidst the ugly recession, where all the major domestic steel players have mellowed down on the implementation of their projects as well as gone for sizeable production cuts, Bhushan Steel, a leading steel producer, specializing in cold rolled steel is on cloud nine with the reports of SEBI giving clearance to the company’s open offer to acquire additional stakes of Orissa Sponge and it is all geared up to make its mark through its chains of investment throughout the length and breadth of the nation, latest being the setting up of a 1.2mt steel plant in Orissa.

STEEL TECHNOLOGY
Clean and efficient – optimization of EAF dedusting systems
Most of the EAF dedusting systems installed worldwide have been designed and built with the mere intention to comply with certain environmental regulations and limiting values for a determined process and production capacity – and this usually works as long as those variables are fix. But reality shows that – ever since the recent financial crisis – steel producers are perpetually forced to adapt their steelmaking process in order to meet the requirements of the market and properly react to its fluctuations (e.g. by flexible use of input materials). Many installed dedusting systems cannot live up to this challenge. Badische Stahl-Engineering GmbH (BSE) optimizes dedusting systems to meet various process requirements and thus increase the overall productivity and cost efficiency – along with the strict compliance with all environmental standards and local legislations. This paper further describes the basic considerations to be taken and the BSE approach to deal with these challenges, emphasizing it by examples of our latest projects world wide.

Modernization and upgrading of existing plants – a decisive factor in the fields of hot strip mills
A new hot-strip mill has a lifetime of several decades. During this time the hot strip mill must be able to meet the market demands for a wide range of steel grades especially for high-strength steel and advanced steel grades with superior strip quality. Additional important factors in the hot-strip rolling are high yield as well as mill availability and production throughput. Modernization of the existing equipment is often the only effective way to deep achieving the market requirements and the competitive level of conversion cost during the lifecycle of the mill.
Recent innovations in high speed rod and bar mills
Recent innovations in equipment and processing technology for long product rolling mills has made possible significant improvements in mill productivity, utilization, size control and thermomechanical processing capability. Through the combination of new technology in high speed rod mills, such as the Modular Non-Twist Mill and the Reducing/Sizing Mill, along with new generations of other mill components, these improvements can be achieved in a wide variety of rolling mill configurations. Development of improved equipment for high speed production of larger diameter long products has also led to significant productivity and processing improvements and bar and combination mills.
Appeal to All those Flaring BFG!
Though coal costs are rising still use of Producer gas as Industrial fuel is becoming very popular in coal belt of INDIA. There many plants in INDIA where they have small and Medium Blast furnaces and their power plant projects have not come up to use BFG as fuels and hence they are Flaring the gas.

STEEL INTERNATIONAL
TSI iron ore price to be used by Singapore Exchange
Singapore Exchange announced today that it is launching the world’s first clearing facility for OTC iron ore swaps and will use The Steel Index (TSI) iron ore reference prices for settlement.
For the first time, the iron ore sector and financial community will have the opportunity to trade Over-the-Counter (OTC) iron ore financial products without bilateral counter-party credit risk. The contract will use TSI’s 62% Fe reference price for fines delivered to China for settlement and be cleared through the Singapore Exchange’s AsiaClear platform. Clearing will begin on 27 April 2009.
Tenova LOI Italimpianti to supply large pit-type furnace for another Alstom facility
LOI Thermprocess, a Tenova LOI Italimpianti company, is to supply a large pit-type furnace for the stress relieving of turbine shafts for installation at the ALSTOM plant in Birr, Switzerland. This is the second contract for a heat treatment furnace of this type to be awarded to LOI within the past six months. Another pit-type furnace is to be supplied to ALSTOM's US plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

A short, sharp slowdown in China, with demand rebounding over the course of 2009
A decision by ArcelorMittal to pursue temporary production cutbacks, slashing European output by more than half from the end of April according to a union source, dramatises the extraordinary ride and role of steel in the last few years. In just months the global industry has gone from a boom driven largely by China, emerging markets and a property extravaganza in the Middle East to a narrow line between excess capacity and the costs of waiting for recovery.

STEEL PLANT
Automatic Heating Control System at Coke Oven Battery # 1 at Durgapur Steel Plant
Heating regulation of a battery is one of the decisive parameters in metallurgical coke production. It has a direct influence on the uniformity of the coke's mechanical properties, the thermal efficiency of the ovens, oven productivity and battery life. Traditionally, heating regulation has been based on the measurement of the temperature of the bottom of the flue by means of an optical pyrometer. However, this process is tedious, empirical and not very accurate. Above all, it provides no indication of the state of progress of coking, nor of the temperature distribution in the ovens. In view of the inevitable inaccuracies and limited information content of these traditional methods, a state-of-the-art heating control system based on both feed forward and feedback control was developed and implemented. The system is under regular use in COB #1 of Durgapur Steel Plant since February' 2006.

REFRACTORY
Development of improved quality spinel castable For steel ladle bottom
Monolithic lining in steel ladles is gradually gaining its pace, replacing conventional brick lining. Brick lining bottom is labor intensive, which is gradually becoming a major cost bearing factor in developed countries, also it has a shortcomings of opening joints during operation. On the contrary, monolithic bottom is easy to install and requires less time. The recent development with more efficient particle packing and lower requirement have given a way to achieve improved green density and strength without sacrificing the castable workability. As the density increases, the possibility of reduction of spalling resistance increases. So, introduction of spinnel came into picture with an aim to reduce structural spalling which suppresses the slag penetration to the cast bodies. The grain size distribution of the spinnel particles is playing a major role in determining the spalling resistance as well as erosion and corrosion resistance. The present paper describes the development of such high corrosion and high spalling resistance spinnel castable, which has been produced in commercial scale in our plant in China and has been sent for field application to a plant in USA for use in their 220 Ton ladle bottom and has given encouraging life.

PRESS RELEASE
India infratech 2009
Construction & Business Records, in association with H&K India and TRMA, held an international seminar, “India Infratech 2009” on 11 April, 2009 at Mumbai. The theme of the seminar was ‘Mass Rapid Transport Systems” (MRTS). The seminar drew huge response from participants. Over 230 delegates from India, Germany, France, Malaysia, and Japan attended the conference.

STEEL MARKET
Speed of collapse in steel demand throughout the world surprised producers, consumers, distributors & analysts
Purchasing activity in Turkey remains extremely low. Most long and flat product producers conceded further reductions. Trading conditions in the UAE continue to be tough. Dubai-based dealers were able to raise some product prices this month but the market is no nearer recovery. Some producers in the Russian Federation and the Ukraine raised their quotations. Buyers in both countries were unimpressed owing to low purchasing activity. Not all the gains have been maintained. Cheaper semi-finished products are likely to bring about pressure for lower prices.

Read More...

Home

Current Issue

Editorial Planner