TUBE & PIPE FAIR
Evolved Platform
Plugging More Industry Gaps
12
The vision for this note was clear; I wanted to talk one-on-one with the readers about all that Tube & Pipe India has to offer. I wanted to share our efforts in bringing forward this edition, the concurrent events of the industry, and a small, profound piece of personal opinion. There are various ways to achieve our targets, and mine was to ensure a connection with my readers.
The success of the first edition of Tube & Pipe Fair, held in New Delhi last year substantiated all our in-depth observations. It proved to be the motivation behind our plan to diversify our footprint: launching the second edition of the fair in Hyderabad. It must be acknowledged that we were anxious and at the same time full of conviction. Some would call it a ‘audacious move’. But the southern chapter, in fact, surprised us by exceeding our expectations by delivering a resounding success.
This should, however, be seen as a reflection of the state of our industry. Over the years most companies have grown; more new players have entered with innovative strategies; product diversification continues to be the major priority; more manufacturing units are equipped with state-of-the-art technologies; and, most importantly, all are up for a long and prospective stay.
The three-day fair, with a significant footfall, also revealed the underlying reality that the industry is becoming increasingly organized. Companies also see major as well as fresh investments as their priority so that they can fulfill the diverse market demands coming from several sectors, ranging from aviation to oil and gas. This has ultimately propelled the industry to a trajectory where it intersects with other sectors. This could be the need to source specific raw materials for product innovation or advanced technology installations to increase manufacturing efficiency. The confluence has created a conducive atmosphere for several multinational players who have observed and realized the growth prospects the industry offers as well as the distinct outputs their offerings could generate. Interestingly, some of them were surprised and at the same time excited to have witnessed that such an exclusive fair of such a scale exists in India.
Furthermore, in our in-depth interactions, exhibitors, buyers and visitors alike expressed their robust optimism and their collective hope to see a much larger format of the fair. This also allowed us a peek into a myriad of concerns most businesses have been experiencing, apart from the rosy side of the picture. The chief among them being the ongoing geo-political crisis, which will prevail and has already cast a long shadow, and the rising imports from countries such as Vietnam and China. For foreign companies, the new Make In India guidelines seem to perplex them, as many of them can’t commit the investment or are in the transitional stage. Despite these, the consolation, however, is that the government has been supportive and there is a level playing field, and it can be hoped that the concerns will be addressed. Besides, there can never be a perfect or one-size-fits-all solution.
Taking all factors into consideration, it’s fair to assume that the prospects definitely far outweigh the challenges, and the market will continue to evolve as the industry expands, becomes more organized and more players enter the field. So with certainty and, of course, optimism, we can state that the next edition of the fair, next year at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan will be much bigger.
Priyank Jain, CEO Tulip 3P Media Private Limited
www.tubepipeindia.com
With significant footfall, the southern chapter of the fair has emerged as the largest convergence of the tube and pipe industry in South Asia. The three-day event witnessed a rich display of latest product ranges, several state-of-the-art technologies and various new solutions, presenting a true reflection of the state of the industry.
Exceeding our expectations, the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair, 2024, held at Hyderabad’s HITEX Exhibition Centre from August 5-7, has taken the game to another level. With hundred plus brands, seventy exhibitors and a significant footfall, the southern chapter of the fair has emerged as the largest convergence of the tube and pipe industry in South Asia. The three-day event witnessed a rich display of numerous latest product ranges, several stateof-the-art technologies and various new solutions. The convergence is a true reflection of the state of the industry, where many have grown big, new players have joined the game, remarkable technologies have been introduced and many are planning significant investments and footprint expansion.
According to Mr. Priyank Jain, CEO, Tulip 3P Media, “The success of Tube & Pipe Fair, 2024 in The City of Pearls is the success story of the entire industry. We knew from the success of the first edition, which was held in Delhi, that there was enormous potential in the industry; it just needed to be unlocked. Our decision to take the gathering to Hyderabad was motivated by the urge to serve the industry better, and we will continue to do so. What’s unique this time is the increased participation of advanced technology suppliers and players from allied industries. This also highlights an ecosystem where domestic players find themselves competing with foreign peers.” Mention may be made that Tulip 3P Media is the organizer of Tube & Pipe Fair and Cable & Wire Fair as well as the publisher of three niche publications, Tube & Pipe India, Paper Mart and Wire & Cable India.
“We are quite satisfied with the fair; we met a lot of friends and gained some new contacts through this fair,” said Mr. Darius Geldner, Managing Director, Mahler GmbH. The Germany-based company is a renowned name in the furnace sector. “It seems to be a very successful exhibition for us and it was the right decision and choice for us to participate in the Tube & Pipe FairHyderabad. This was the first time that we participated in this fair, and it turned out to be fruitful for us. The fair has been organized really well.”
The company is a familiar name in the Indian market, has a strong client base and is aiming to expand its footprint.
Another exhibitor with a similar objective is Istanbul-based Tekmak, a machinery manufacturer, with more than 20 lines already installed in different parts of India. We are participating in the Tube & Pipe Fair - Hyderabad for the first time, shared Mr. Ilker Uzer, the company’s Export Manager. Speaking to us on the first day of the event, he said, “we hope to keep our presence in the exhibition and we hope for the best for a better business relationship in India.”
Among the exhibitors who had experienced the first edition of the fair is Parth Equipments, a manufacturer of tube mills and allied machinery. Exporting since 1993, it supplies machinery to clients in the Middle East, Indonesia, South-East Asia, East Africa, South Africa, South America, North America, and East Europe. According to Mr. Parth Shah, its Executive Director, “We have been associated with the Tube & Pipe Fair for a couple of years. This is the second edition that we have participated in.” He maintained that ‘it turned out to be good’ and received good inquiries and is looking forward to having good conversions. We look forward to your future exhibitions as well, Mr. Shah added.
For Ratnadeep Metal and Tubes, a manufacturer of stainless, seamless and welded steel tubes and pipes, it was their first time. “We are participating in this Tube & Pipe Fair for the first time and it has been a fruitful participation for us. We look forward to participating in future exhibitions with Tulip 3P Media,” Mr. Jaimik Sanghvi, its Director shared.
Interestingly, Xiris Automation’s presence at the fair shows how much the industry has transformed in tech engagement, which will continue to do so. It provides inspection systems for welded tubes. Its systems are used in post-weld or pre-weld, and they provide insight into the process of welded tubes. The company offers cameras that are available for use in other welding processes. Mr. David Garrard, its Director - APAC, who represented the company at the fair said, “We have been working with Tulip 3P Media for a number of shows now, and it has always been effective for us. It has been a really good investment and turns into good ROI in the best cases- about the event.”
We are participating in the Tube & Pipe Fair for the second time, shared Mr. Rohit Pareek, Head – Strategy and Business Development at Satyam Iron & Steel Company. “It has been a great show. The hospitality of the Tube & Pipe Fair team has exceeded
our expectations. The fair has a very positive ambiance and it has been a pleasure for us to be here.” Based out of Kolkata, the company has a fully integrated plant manufacturing pipes of diameter 0.75 inch to 3 inch.
Sharing his view, Mr. Ashish Aggarwal, ED- Steel Division at Surya Roshni stated that, “The experience ‘here at the exhibition has been good’. There are lots of tube manufacturers present in the exhibition, he said, and it has given ‘us a very good networking opportunity within the community’.” He, however, expressed his hope to see more technology providers included in the future ‘so that we, as a manufacturer, can see what is new in the market, and it can help us to improve our technology as well’. Exporting to over 50 countries, the 50-year-old pipe manufacturer has the largest range for producing from ½ inch to 140 inch pipes. It also has the largest range of galvanizing products in the country ranging from ½ inch to 30 inch.
For Venus Pipes & Tubes, it was their first experience as an exhibitor. “Experience has been good. The promoters are very cordial. The cooperation from the management side was really good. Everyone is very cooperative. Our experience from the exhibition was very good. We are satisfied with the response and we are looking forward to the next exhibition in Delhi,” said Mr. KS Sinha, its Executive Director. The company, with a tonnage capacity of 3000 tons a month, makes seamless and welded pipes and tubes, and runs a plant in Kutch.
“Our commitment to the industry
is that we will continue to push ourselves to take the fair to the next level which will be the third edition in Delhi. Increased participation of several global companies is a good development, and with this success I’m confident that the number will only rise. Our objective is to create a rich ecosystem where anyone can find anybody they are looking for for more value-addition,” Mr. Jain stressed. Exhibitors and visitors alike shared their wish to participate in the next edition of Tube & Pipe Fair which will be held concurrently with Cable & Wire Fair, 2025 at Delhi’s Pragati Maidan from November 4 to 6, 2025.
Apart from the elaborate displays, the bustles, busy exchanges, prospective inquiries and deals made, the fair also offered the opportunity to speak to the movers and shakers of the industry who offered great insights into the current state of the industry as well as its future.
On how the industry has evolved in the past decades, Mr. Ravindra Gupta, Vice-President, Utkarsh India Limited, who has been in the industry for decades, recalled how it was like in the 80s. “When we started, there were very few companies in India. There was little demand for the products and the price was also low. The industry has changed drastically in the last 40 years. With more and more companies coming up, there is an increased demand, which leads to higher production. All players are optimistic right now. We are expecting robust demand for all products in the coming years.”
On the state of the industry, Mr. Sinha said that with big players joining the business, the Indian tube and pipe industry is poised for robust growth in all segments. There is healthy competition, as all companies are upgrading themselves and working in different segments, he stressed. “Indian companies are now ready to compete with foreign-made products, which shows our level of competency and high spirits. In the next five years, there will be a big boom in the Indian pipe industry. The future looks bright and promising.” In such a landscape to stay ahead of the curve, the company, he claimed, focuses on innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction. “We ensure timely delivery of all our products, which results in high customer retention. Almost everyone who has done business with us in the last five years has given us repeated orders.” The company will soon be launching new products in pipe fittings, and is installing a pipe fitting plant worth INR 125 crore, which will come up in the next 4-5 months.
Mr. Shah shared a similar observation on the transformation of the industry. “I’ve been in the tube and pipe Industry for almost 20 years. The industry has completely changed in the past two decades. The quality which was acceptable some 10-15 years ago, is not acceptable now. People are now looking for high-quality products, which is a good thing. This has resulted in better recognition of our products, especially in foreign markets,” he elaborated. When he joined the industry, there were 10-15 manufacturers, but the number has
now gone up to 25-30 companies.
According to him, the Indian tube and pipe products are sold more in the European and American market today than 10 years back, and players have understood the need to supply quality goods. Quality has always been its advantage, he asserted. “We fall in that category, where customers come up with specific requirements related to quality and tolerance.” He, however, lamented the fact that some domestic players in certain sectors are ‘not ready to pay more for high quality’. “To manufacture better quality products in the same price range as low-quality products is indeed challenging, but we have managed to satisfy all our customers.”
In such a market condition, players are eyeing more. We are coming up with an INR 1,000 crore investment
plan to upgrade the quality of our pipes and give better service to our customers, said Mr. Pareek. In the next three years, the company plans to double its production capacity and increase market presence across the country. “Our current manufacturing capacity is 15,000 to 20,000 tonne pipes. We are planning to double this capacity in the next three years. We are also planning to capture 70-80 percent of the industry, at least in the five states we currently operate in,” he added. The company is also planning to enter the southern market. “Major tube and pipe markets in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai are currently governed by local players. We are confident of making ripples in the southern part of the country, on the basis of our high-quality products, core values, and strong dealer & distributor network,” he elucidated.
distributors. If we fail to develop their faith in us, we will not be able to survive. The company does not just sell them a product, it wins their confidence.”
The success of Tube & Pipe Fair, 2024 in The City of Pearls is the success story of the entire industry. We knew from the success of the first edition, held in Delhi, that there was enormous potential in the industry that need to be unlocked.
Despite the bright prospects and the tremendous transformation the industry has gone through, to overlook challenges would be to paint a half-complete picture. The major challenge from the initial days has been to maintain the quality of the material, said Mr. Pareek. He claimed the company, under the guidance of its Director, Mr. Rahul Agarwal, had overcome it. The result is: “We produce the best quality billets, iron ore and sponge. We even take care of the straight portion of pipe, to optimize its quality.” Another challenge he highlighted is the fluctuation of rates. “Since the secondary markets are highly volatile, it is also a big challenge to maintain robust relations with dealers and
We grapple with challenges such as low-quality raw material and rising competition, Mr. Gupta observed. “We use the best raw material available in the market. There are some companies, which use sub-standard raw material. It leads to deterioration of quality. In the GI pipes segment, we face competition. We see competition as an opportunity, as it gives rise to a new path. We try our best to adapt ourselves.” On regulations, he said that the Government should impose duties on the import of pipes from China and other countries. “People are looking for quality. Imposing duty on import of pipes from China and other countries will encourage Indian manufacturers.”
If the government chooses to impose a duty on the import of pipes from China and other countries, it would prove beneficial for Indian manufacturers and give a boost to home-grown products, Mr. Sinha shared.
Underscoring the evolving nature of the fair since its inception or how more dimensions have come into play in the picture, Mr. Jain claimed that the next edition will definitely plug more gaps in the industry. “In addition to showcasing products and technologies, the show will eventually become the global knowledge hub, or the Davos of the industry.”
The Indian tube and pipe industry has shown huge potential in the past few years, registering growth in double digits.
India’s current production capacity is 135 million TPA and our government plans to take this to 300 million TPA by 2030.
India is shifting from cement buildings to steel due to its faster construction, better quality control, and cost efficiency.
CEO & Director, Jindal Industries Private Limited Hissar
Jindal Industries Private Limited Hissar is a leading manufacturer of high-quality MS black and galvanized pipes/tubes, hollow sections, powder-coated pipes, line pipes and API pipes in India. We participated in the Tube & Pipe FairHyderabad and received an amazing response from the industry. The event provided an excellent platform for us to increase brand awareness, connect with existing and potential clients, and capitalize on the growing demand for its products. Tube & Pipe Fair has attracted a quality crowd in Hyderabad and we are able to meet our existing customers and forge new connections which we are hoping to be fruitful in the future.
Surya Roshni is a 50 years old pipe manufacturer and we have the largest range for producing from ½ inch to 140 inch pipes. Also, we have the largest range of galvanizing products in the country ranging from ½ inch to 30 inch. We are exporting to over 50 countries and we are known for quality. The experience here at the exhibition has been good. There are lots of tube manufacturers present in the exhibition. So it has given us a very good networking opportunity within the community. What I would look forward to in future is to include more technology providers so that we as a manufacturer can see what is new in the market and it can help us to improve our technology as well.
Director,
MKK Metal Sections Private Limited
The response we received was truly amazing, exceeding our expectations in every way. One of the highlights was the chance to meet so many people from our industry. We connected with dealers, traders, and manufacturers who will be invaluable to our business moving forward. These new relationships are sure to open up exciting opportunities for all of us. And it really showed how important and growing our industry is. The team at MKK Metal Sections is grateful for the chance to have been part of this significant event. We look forward to participating in future editions and hope to continue building strong relationships within the industry. Our experience has reinforced our commitment to excellence and collaboration in the metal sections field.
Mr. Hitesh Agarwal Director, MPL Group
It's the second day and still buzzing with a lot of energy. The industry, everyone is very upbeat about the future of what India holds for the world. And I am glad to see all my peers from the industry growing year over year. And it has really inspired me also and our organization in general, overall, to keep up with everybody and keep continuing to do what we have been doing and grow further.
Mr. Vikas Goyal CEO & Managing Director, Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited
Sambhv Steel is India’s first backward integrated pipe manufacturing plant. Our best performer is the narrow-width HR coil. We are rising as a big brand. Participating in this exhibition has been a huge opportunity for us. All the suppliers, traders and manufacturers are present under one roof which gives an excellent opportunity for networking. This fair helps us to increase the awareness of our brand and also helps us gain know-how of the industry. I am thankful to the Tube & Pipe Fair team for organizing this exhibition and giving us the opportunity to participate in the exhibition.
Mr. Utkarsh Bansal Director, Utkarsh India Limited
We are very happy to be here at Tube & Pipe Fair - Hyderabad. Utkarsh India is a 40 years old company into manufacturing of MS & GI pipes. We have been able to become a leading player in this field in the eastern region and aim to become a leader in the other regions as well. We are thankful to Tube & Pipe Fair for giving us a platform to increase our reach to the southern region of India. We hope to keep the association strong with them.
Mr. Darius Geldner Managing Director, Mahler GmbH
We are quite satisfied with the fair. We met a lot of friends and gained some new contacts through this fair. It seems to be a very successful exhibition for us and it was the right decision and choice for us to participate in Tube & Pipe Fair- Hyderabad. This was the first time that we participated in this fair and it turned out to be fruitful for us. The fair has been organized really well.
Head – Strategy and Business Development, Satyam Iron & Steel Company Private Limited
Based out of Kolkata, we have a fully integrated plant manufacturing pipes of diameter 0.75 inch to 3 inch. We are participating in the Tube & Pipe Fair for the second time. It has been a great show. The hospitality of the Tube & Pipe Fair team has exceeded our expectations. The fair has a very positive ambiance and it has been a pleasure for us to be here.
Executive Director, Venus Pipes & Tubes Limited
We are the manufacturer of stainless steel pipes & tubes. We make seamless and welded pipes & tubes. We have a plant in Kutch. Our range in welded pipes is upto 20 inches in 312 class 1. In 358 class 1 we manufacture upto 58 inches. Seamless pipes- we make upto 8 inches. Our tonnage capacity is 3000 tons a month. We have participated for the first time in this exhibition. Experience has been good. The promoters are very cordial. The cooperation from the management side was really good. Everyone is very cooperative. Our experience from the exhibition was very good. We are satisfied with the response and we are looking forward to the next exhibition in Delhi.
We are a brand under RR Ispat which is a unit of GPIL, part of Hira Group. We have been in the steel business for over 40 years and in the pipe business since 2018 and we are looking forward to being a bigger name in the pipe industry. We had an amazing experience at the Tube & Pipe Fair. It was our first expo experience and we are looking forward to more such experiences with Tube & Pipe Fair especially in Delhi. Through the fair, we hope to create a bigger mark in the industry.
Mr. Pawan Singh
Ms. Pranavi Singh Managing Director, Ananta Group Executive Director, Ananta Group
Started in 2008 as an engineering unit, Ananta Engineering is one of the leading manufacturers of cold saw and ERW tube mills. This is our second year with the Tube & Pipe Fair. We had a wonderful experience. We received lots of genuine inquiries and we clicked some orders as well. Thank you so much Tulip 3P Media for giving us the opportunity. The crowd that was here was genuine and we look forward to your support to grow our company in the future.
Vice President - Sales and Marketing, A-One Steel Group
We are very much happy to be a part of Tube & Pipe Fair Hyderabad and we wish all great success for the upcoming events. On behalf of A-One Steel Group, we are happy that we got very good response from all parts of India. We are looking forward to the next edition and would like to participate in the next edition of Tube & Pipe Fair. Thanks to Tulip 3P Media for giving us the opportunity to participate in the Tube & Pipe Fair South.
Mr. Ashraf Ali
Mr. Anadi Katyayan COO, Gallium Executive Director, Gallium
Gallium is a 40 years old company having 3 offices in India and offices in Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Egypt, Dubai and China as well. We have supplied our equipment to 74 countries. This is our first time that we participated in the Tube & Pipe Fair Hyderabad. As a first timer, we feel the show has been good. The organizing team and its
Director - Exports, Blumet Tubes Private Limited
We are a manufacturer of seamless stainless tubes and seamless nickel alloy pipes and tubes. Part of Kobbs India Group of Companies, we have an annual production capacity of approximately 7000 metric tonnes. It was a great experience at the Tube & Pipe Fair. We met new and potential customers along with our existing customers. We have been working in Hyderabad for a long time. This fair has given us the opportunity to meet our clients in person, which is very beneficial for any company. This enhances the interaction for better understanding. Overall, the exhibition was really great and special thanks to the Tube & Pipe Fair team for giving us the chance to participate in this exhibition.
Ilker
Export Manager, Tekmak
We are a machinery manufacturer from Istanbul, Turkiye. We have more than 20 lines in different parts of India. We are participating in Tube & Pipe FairHyderabad for the first time. The exhibition looks promising. We hope to keep our presence in the exhibition and we hope for the best for a better business relationship in India.
Vice President, Shalimar Paints Limited
This is the second time we are participating with Tube & Pipe Fair. So far the experiences have been very pleasant. This is a very unique show where a lot of pipe manufacturers are able to meet up with their vendors. As a paint manufacturer, I am able to showcase my products and my strength. We have around 15-20 manufacturers coming over here trying to see products. We’ve been able to make it a touch and feel. You can have a look at it, you can see. It’s like a visual treat for a lot of people over here, just to see how things are working. I think it’s a very good opportunity for sharing knowledge, for interacting with the manufacturers.
Shivam
Director, DADU Pipes Private Limited
We are a steel tube manufacturing company from Sikanderabad, Uttar Pradesh, manufacturing MS ERW pipes from ½ inches to 14 inches upto 14 mm thickness. We have been associated with the Tube & Pipe Fair team since their 1st edition in Delhi last year. They provide a good exposure to the steel market. It is a good common place for all the people in the same industry. This platform provides good opportunities, good number of clients, all over India, covering every corner of the country. In this exhibition, we had customers from all over the country. People from Assam, Tamil Nadu and even from Jammu & Kashmir have come to attend the fair. We also received a few export inquiries. We found some potential clients and I hope to convert them into a good clientele for our company.
Director, Ratnabhumi Steeltech Private Limited
We are an Ahmedabad-based company, manufacturing ERW pipes and pre-fabricated structures used for infrastructure. We are into this for the past 4 years and we are expected to grow further from Gujarat to pan India. This fair has happened for the first time in Hyderabad. Comparatively, the footfall has increased today and we are hoping to get a good response in the near future from the south market.
An upcoming media company, Tulip 3P Media brings out publications for different B2B verticals. The activities of the company now embrace events and market research as well. Tulip is currently on its way to further expanding its publication portfolio through publications for other business verticals and a rich offering of other niche media services.
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Business Development Manager, Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Private Limited
It has always been a pleasure for us to exhibit at the Tube & Pipe Fair. We participated in the Tube & Pipe Fair - Delhi last year as well. We are looking forward to the 2025 exhibition. It is a great platform to meet the people exhibiting from all over the world. We met lots of customers and had fruitful discussions with the visitors. It has been a pleasure to meet familiar faces of the steel industry.
Managing Partner, Adinox Steel LLP (Ujala Pipes)
We are one of the leading brands for manufacturing stainless steel pipes. We are known for our quality and perfectly crafted pipes. We participated in the Tube & Pipe Fair for the first time. We had a good experience. The response was very positive and we received quite many inquiries. The fair was exceptionally well-organized, making for a fantastic experience and exceeding our expectations.
Technical Director, Parth Equipment Limited
We are a manufacturer of tube mills and allied machinery. We have been associated with Tube & Pipe Fair for a couple of years. This is the second edition that we have participated in the Tube & Pipe Fair. Although, as compared to Delhi, the exhibition was small, but overall it turned out to be good. We had good inquiries and we are looking forward to having good conversions from the inquiries. We look forward to your future exhibitions as well.
Partner – Operations Incharge, OmTech Corp
OmTech Corp is a consulting company that provides machinery technologies and materials for the production of specialized nickel and stainless steel tubes. We would like to thank Tulip 3P Media for giving us the opportunity to showcase our products and it has been a great platform where we can interact with lots of clients and we are very happy to participate over here.
Mr. Nigamananda Choudhury
Director, Krypton Steelworks Private Limited
We are the manufacturer of stainless steel pipes having diverse usage in railings, grills, gates etc. Headquartered in Sambalpur, we have a capacity of 300-400 tons per month. Tube & Pipe Fair has helped us to gain industry insights. We came to know about the depth of the stainless steel market. We realized that we have a scope of expansion in this field, and we met lots of traders through this fair where we exchanged data and had fruitful discussions. We aim to increase our business in Hyderabad with the help of this fair.
Mr. R K Bansal Director, GMT Industries Limited
The footfall is very good, and the ambience and the way they have organized the fair, I congratulate them. They have organized it very well. And what I see, there are some real customers and they are not just visitors. Serious people are visiting as well. We have great hope. So this year it seems very good for companies like us. People are coming from overseas. I met people from Sri Lanka, Burma, and Saudi Arabia. They are our existing customers also.
Mr. Romi Sehgal Managing Director, SG Tech Engineering
This time you are able to pull the crowd and they are serious inquiries. And such a footfall in a place like Hyderabad is commendable. Here you have been able to do a good job.
Mr. David Garrard
Director - APAC, Xiris Automation
We provide inspection systems for welded tubes. In India, we have customers already established. Our systems are used post weld or pre weld and they give insight into the process of welded tubes. We have other cameras that are available for use in other welding processes. We have been working with Tulip 3P Media for a number of shows now and it has always been effective for us. It has been a really good investment and turns into good ROI in the best cases.
Mr. Ajay Tyagi
Vice President - Sales, JTL Industries Limited
We have been here for the past 3 days. Our experience has been good. It has been organized really well. There was a good crowd and we are hoping for good results from the fair. As this was the first time in Hyderabad, I can say, the organizers have put great efforts.
Director, Ratnadeep Metal and Tubes Limited
We are the manufacturer of stainless, seamless and welded steel tubes & pipes. We are participating in this Tube & Pipe Fair for the first time and it has been a fruitful participation for us. We look forward to participating in future exhibitions with Tulip 3P Media.
Business Development Manager,
Ratnaveer Precision Engineering Limited
As a company, we were established in 2002 and our tubes & pipes division was established in 2015. We are manufacturing in 4 mills and plan to expand to 6-7 mills in the coming 2 years. Our production capacity is 3000 MTPA with plans to expand it to 6000-8000 MTPA in the coming years. It’s our first time here with Tube & Pipe Fair and we are really glad that we got an amazing response here. We met many dealers, traders and manufacturers as well who are going to be too useful for us in the near future. We have build good relations with too many people at this exhibition. We were glad to see the footfall, it’s really good. We are looking forward to participate more and more here again.
Director, Ravik Engineers Private Limited
We have been in the industry for over 25 years. With over 6000 machines installed, we are the industry leader in supplying the types of machinery that we deal in. We are the authorised distributor, stockist, and service provider for the leading manufacturers like SOCO from Taiwan, JIH from Taiwan, and Kinkendler from Holland. We have been participating in Tube & Pipe Fair since their first edition in Delhi, and this is the second edition in Hyderabad. We are very happy with the performance of this exhibition and we look forward to continuing our partnership with them in the coming years.
Director, U-Tech Engineers Private Limited
We are the manufacturers of tube mill & slitting lines, tube mill rolls, cut to length machines as well as cold saw machines. This is our second time that we have participated in Tube & Pipe Fair, the first time being in Delhi. We are getting good response from Tube & Pipe Fair and we are looking forward to the next exhibition hoping to take a bigger space in the next exhibition.
Director, Bizsol Technologies
Bizsol Technologies has been in the field of ERP development for the last 20 years. We are helping the pipe industry and other manufacturing industries in providing technology solutions. We had good exposure at the Tube & Pipe Fair South. Many big players have participated in this Fair, giving us the opportunity to enhance our clientele by interacting with these big players in the pipe industry.
Ms. Heena Mistry Manager – Marketing, Control Print Limited
Control Print is the manufacturer of industrial printers which are used for coding and marking. We have offices across India with two factories in Guwahati, Assam and Nalagarh, Himachal Pradesh Tube & Pipe Fair was a really good show. Yesterday was a very good experience, and today also it has turned out to be good. We got the opportunity to meet good new clients as well as our existing clients. We hope to get good business from this fair.
Mr. Abhishek
Viradiya CMO, KEC Bearings Private Limited
We are from Rajkot, Gujarat. We have been in the industry for 25 years. This is the first time that we have participated in the Tube & Pipe Fair, and we have had a good response till now. We look forward to having more interactions with customers.
Mr. P S Tewatia
We have participated for the first time in Tube & Pipe Fair at Hyderabad. We are having a good experience. As the industry is on the cusp of growing, this fair is helpful as it provides a platform to bring all under one roof together. Based on my experience, I feel in the future this fair will be larger. This fair is and will be beneficial for all the big players of the industry. The future is bright, this fair will provide good opportunities to all the industry players.
Mr. Chirag Patel
Director, Newlook Metaltech Private Limited Director, Polytech Project LLP
We are the manufacturer of pickling tanks, storage tanks and pre-treatment tanks from Ahmedabad. It’s our second day now and we have created some good relations with new clients. Our experience was good at the fair. The exhibition was fruitful for us.
General Manager - Sales, Raj Petro Specialities Private Limited
Raj Petro is an 82 year old Indian company which was taken over by the German group 5 years ago. We are into transformer oil, rubber processing oil, white oil, industrial lubricants and automotive. We represent industrial lubricants- maintenance lubricant, greases and specialty greases. This is the first time that we are participating in the Tube & Pipe Fair. We are exhibiting in the fair because we have a wide range of products catering to the tube & pipe sector, especially metal working products i.e. water soluble products and rust preventing solutions. We have got a good number of case studies with us and the customer base as well. Our experience has been very good. We are getting to see how the industry is evolving. We found customers coming from different areas, different geographies. We are able to see the vision of big players in the industry and how they are projected to grow in the future. We had good interactions with customers, and industry leaders. It’s good to see the industry is evolving at a faster pace.
Kumar CEO, JTECH Industrial Saws & Toolings
We are manufacturing and supplying HSS and TCT saw blades for the tube & pipe industry. Today is the second day and we have had a good crowd. I would like to thank Tulip 3P Media for organizing such an event and giving us the opportunity to participate where we got lots of new clients and inquiries.
Mr. Satendra
Rusia Director, Rusia Engineering Private Limited
Based at Nagpur, we manufacture seamless tubes and pipes. Our current turnover is around INR 8 crores with aim to double this turnover in the next 2-3 years. We are participating in the Tube & Pipe Fair for the first time. It has exceeded our expectations. We have got good orders and there is a lot of client footfall in the exhibition. Thank you Tube & Pipe Fair team for giving us the opportunity to be a part of this fair.
Director, Saffaire Industrial Saws (I) Private Limited
We are one of the leading manufacturers of circular saw blades catering to a wide range of industries like the tube & pipe industry, metal industry, wood industry, aluminium industry, uPVC industry. My experience with Tube & Pipe Fair has been good and the services were very good and it was a very smooth experience that I had with them. Whatever we needed, was done very smoothly and we are going to exhibit again with Tube & Pipe Fair.
Proprietor,
Sharp Edge Tools Technology Private Limited
We are a manufacturer of tube mills industry toolings. We manufacture tube mill rolls and spare parts related to the tube & pipe industry. This was our first experience with Tube & Pipe Fair Hyderabad. It was a great experience.
Managing Director, Timus Tooling System Private Limited
We deal in HSS circular saw blades, metal cutting tools as well as pipe cutting machines, and saw sharpening machines. We have been into this field for the last 15 years. We have been associated with Tulip 3P Media for the last 2 years. We participated in the Tube & Pipe Fair exhibition last year as well in Delhi. The response has been really good and the hospitality by the organizers is also good. We have been very thrilled and looking forward to participating in the next edition of Tube & Pipe Fair also. Thank you for the opportunity and see you next year in Delhi.
Technofour is a pioneer company founded by 4 IITians in 1972. We are indigenous company and have been a brand for eddy-current technologies. Our systems are highly competitive systems at par with the systems available in the global market. We are very much enjoying the show. The last two days have been good for us. We have had a good response in these two days.
We are the manufacturer of tube mills and electronic welders. The response has been good. The show is going well. In future as well we would like to participate in Tube & Pipe Fair.
Mr. Vikas Tiwari Director, Basco Tools Private Limited
Based in Faridabad with 8 other locations, our product basket includes saw blades for the tube industry. We have been a part of the Tube & Pipe Fair since its inception. We received a good number of customers and queries for the product. As compared to the Delhi show, this exhibition fulfilled our expectations and we look forward to our participation in the next edition.
Mr. Vijay Thammiraju Manager- Sales & Marketing, Guangzhou Blue Sky Machine Co Ltd
Guangzhou Bluesky Machines is a leading machine manufacturer for all steel coil processing machines. We manufacture slitting lines, cut to length lines, stainless steel tube mills, and all roll forming lines. We have supplied our machines all over the world. In India, we have supplied our machines to some of the major names of the industry like Tata Steel, JSW and OEMS for the auto sectors. Tube & Pipe Fair has been a perfect platform for us to create brand awareness. This has helped us to strengthen our customer base in and around India. We are glad to be a part of this wonderful exhibition, Tube & Pipe Fair. This is the second time we are participating in this exhibition and we are looking forward to more such exhibitions from them. We got many good quality customers from this exhibition. We came to know about many big companies and they are part of us now.
I have been a dealer of Jindal Industries (Hissar) for the last 25 years and I have been in the steel business for 49 years. I visited Tube & Pipe Fair Hyderabad yesterday and today as well. I find it very informative. The layout of the stalls is very good, the ambiance, the way everything has been put up is one of the best ways I have seen in my life. The exhibition is at par with the best of the fairs of foreign countries. I hope TPF expands to several parts of India and I wish them success because their quality and ambiance are very nice. I hope other manufacturers also take part in the future and put up their display as well as this will help them a lot in creating their product awareness and increase their customer base.
I work for a company called Hermeq Group which is into supplying of constructional goods into the UK. I have been to the Delhi fair which was bigger. This is the first time I have been to the South of India. Fair is a bit small but since it is the first year, I am sure it will grow a lot bigger. I was able to meet many suppliers here and I am sure I will be working with them very soon.
Following a two-pillar growth strategy, which includes customer focus and quality, Surya Roshni Limited is planning to increase its capacity in large dia pipes, strengthen its position in the structural segment, and retain its leadership position among pipe manufacturers in the country. In an exclusive interview with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. Ashish Agarwal, Executive Director at Surya Roshni Limited , revealed the company’ plans to explore markets affiliated to the tube industry, such as the galvanizing sector, poles, crash barriers, etc.
Mr. Ashish Agarwal, Executive Director at Surya Roshni Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the illustrious business journey of Surya Roshni Limited. Ashish Agarwal: Surya Roshni was established in 1973 with a steel tube manufacturing plant in Bahadurgarh. Since inception, Surya Roshni has been highly focused on quality. The name of Surya Pipes is synonymous with quality in the industry. We have grown by leaps and bounds to become amongst the largest steel pipe manufacturers in the country, having a production capacity of about 125,000 tons per month. We are an Indian conglomerate, exporting our products to over 50 countries around the world. Our brands - Surya and Prakash Surya stand for quality, innovation and the latest technology.
TPI: What are some of the factors that helped you achieve growth?
AA: We are extremely focused on quality and customer needs. We are very flexible in our business model, customize our offerings as per the need of the customer, and always ensure on time delivery. Tube industry is highly fragmented, with various manufacturers supplying pipes and tubes of different quality levels. We clearly place ourselves in the category of quality manufacturers.
TPI: Please give us a brief about your product portfolio. In what sectors or segments are your products mostly used?
AA: We have a complete range of pipes starting from half inch to 140 inches, covering an almost complete range of tubes, including black pipes, galvanized pipes, ERW, and spiral welded pipes. We have a strong presence in both round pipe and hollow sections. Agriculture has been one of the traditional sectors, where our products find application. Our products are much in demand in firefighting applications and HVAC. Then there are
structural products. All new PEB (pre-engineered buildings) are coming up with structural products, which has become a good market for us. We have installed a DFT mill for up to 300x300mm in order to serve our customers efficiently. Earlier, the plumbing sector used to be a big market, but the sector has now shifted largely to PVC pipes.
TPI: Kindly share details about major challenges that you have been encountering in the past few years.
AA: One of the major challenges we face is the sub-standard quality pipes available in the market today. Pipe is one product where a customer is not able to distinguish between a standard
product and a substandard product just by looking at it.
The tubes are used for many critical and load-bearing applications. If a customer chooses a sub-standard tube, it can pose a serious safety hazard for the future. We would request our consumers to be aware of this fact and choose quality tubes & pipes for a safe future.
TPI: Would you like to suggest any new policies or regulations to the government for the ease of doing business?
AA: The government has been quite supportive of the industry. We have quality control order in place, which make it difficult for players outside the country to dump their material in India easily. However, one thing lacking in the country is a regulation to prevent the supply of sub-standard tubes being made in the country.
couple of more soon. We are planning to increase our capacity of large dia pipes. We are also evaluating entering into manufacturing products similar to the tube segment, such as the galvanizing sector, poles, crash barriers, etc.
TPI: What is your take on the growth prospects of the Indian tube and pipe industry?
AA: The Indian tube and pipe industry has shown huge potential in the past few years, registering growth in double digits. A lot of traditional prefabricated buildings are shifting from I-beams and channels to tubular structures. A tubular structure is lighter in weight, but gives the same strength. The big push given by the infrastructure sector has benefitted the industry immensely, preparing it for a boom in the near future.
TPI: What is your takeaway from Tube and Pipe Fair 2024?
The big push given by the infrastructure sector has benefitted the industry immensely, preparing it for a boom in the near future.
TPI: Where do you see Surya Roshni in five years down the line?
AA: Surya Roshni is currently among the top five players in the industry. We currently have four plants operating out of the country. We may add a
AA: We are witnessing a good participation of tube manufacturers in the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair, organized in this beautiful city of Hyderabad. We would love to see higher participation from technology suppliers as well.
Hi-Tech Pipes, a major player in the Indian piping industry, contributing to a host of national projects, is planning to expand its production capacity to 2 million tonnes by 2028. Mr. Ajay Kumar Bansal, Chairman & Managing Director, Hi-Tech Pipes Limited, shared this information and much more during an exclusive interaction with Tube & Pipe India.
Mr. Ajay Kumar Bansal, Chairman & Managing Director, Hi-Tech Pipes Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the illustrious business journey of Hi-Tech Pipes Limited, highlighting major milestones and crucial achievements.
Ajay Kumar Bansal: Hi-Tech Pipes Limited (HTPL) is an NSE and BSE listed company established in the year 1985. From 1988 to 2001, the company commenced manufacturing MS pipes at its Sikandrabad unit 1, where it manufactured cold rolled coils and strips too. From 2001 to 2012, HTPL installed a hot-dipped galvanizing facility, commenced the production of highway crash barriers and began the production of hollow sections and solar mounting sections. Following this, from 2012 to 2016, the company commenced operations at Sanand in Gujarat for the manufacturing of ERW pipes and modernized the Sikandrabad unit’s cold rolling plant. The company also got listed on the NSE-SME. Between 2017 to 2018, HTPL commenced operations at Hindupur in Andhra Pradesh for the manufacturing of ERW pipes and commenced commercial operations for the manufacturing of steel tubes and hollow sections at its unit 2 at Sikandrabad, as well as the Sanand unit in Gujarat. In May 2018, HTPL became the third company to migrate to the NSE Main Board. The company received many accolades from 2018 to 2020, including the Secondary Steel Sector Award from the Ministry of Steel, the Top Performer Award from SAIL, and the Ispat Rachna Award from the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. The company started its third tube mill at Sanand, installed solar plants at Sikandrabad,
Sanand and Hindupur units, and started a cold rolling expansion project for wider HRoP, CRCA and CRFH production, within this period. From 2020 to 2024, HTPL commenced operations at Khopoli in Maharashtra, started a continuous galvanizing line at Sikandrabad, got listed on BSE and started the manufacturing of colour-coated coils and sheets.
During this period another milestone has been added to our company’s legacy. The recent addition of a new manufacturing facility in Sanand for large-diameter and solar torque tubes marks a significant expansion of our capabilities and commitment to excellence.
TPI: Brief us about your manufacturing set-up and production capacity of your plants?
AKB: With an installed capacity of 7,50,000 metric tonnes and six plants situated in different regions of the country, Hi-Tech Pipes has established itself as a leading manufacturer and supplier of ERW (Electric Resistance Welding) pipes, as well as other products. Our facilities are located in Sikandrabad, UP (2,55,000 MT); Sanand (Unit 1) Gujarat (1,25,000 MT); Hindupur, Andhra Pradesh (1,20,000 MT); Sanand (Unit 2) Gujarat (1,70 000 MT); and Khopoli, Maharashtra (80,000 MT). Further, the company is currently working on two more projects which are estimated to be completed by FY25. This includes a brown field expansion in Sanand Unit-2 and a green field expansion in Sikandrabad, UP. Post these projects the company’s total installed capacity will be at 1 million tonnes by the end of this fiscal year.
TPI: What does the product basket of Hi-Tech Pipes Limited contain? In what sectors do your products find application?
AKB: We have an extensive range of products, which includes ERW steel pipes, hollow sections & tubes, cold rolled coils & strips, road crash barriers, solar mounting structures, GP/GC sheets, color-coated coils, and a variety of other galvanized products.
Our ERW steel pipes are used for water supply, sewage, and drainage systems construction. They also find their use in process piping, machinery, and equipment. Additionally, our ERW steel pipes are extensively used in railway and metro rail infrastructure.
Another product, the hollow sections, is used extensively in building frames, columns, and beams. They are also used for building machine frames, conveyor systems, and storage racks as well as bus and truck frames, and trailer components.
Our tubes are used in handrails, door frames, furniture, heat exchangers, condensers, and evaporators. Our product basket also boasts GP/GC sheets used for roofing and wall cladding. They are widely used in the agricultural sector for making farm sheds, animal enclosures, and irrigation systems.
We also cater to the renewable energy sector where our solar tracker tubes are used for rooftop and groundmounted installations of solar panels.
Our cold-rolled coils & strips are used in the body panels, door frames, and wheel rims and many more.
TPI: How has Hi-Tech Pipes positioned itself in the highly competitive steel pipes and tubes market?
AKB: We are committed to delivering superior quality products, enriching the lives of our clientele. Our mission
is to achieve business excellence through effective utilization of our resources. We uphold sustainable and eco-friendly practices across all our operations, maintaining the highest ethical and professional standards. Embracing entrepreneurship and innovation, we keep pace with the ever-evolving industry.
TPI: Kindly share your observations on key market trends in the Indian tubes and pipes market.
AKB: The Indian tube market is witnessing an year-on-year growth. Many companies have started manufacturing large dia tubes, which can easily replace RCC (reinforced cement concrete) columns. These tubes reduce time required in the manufacturing of a building structure and have better strength. Hi-Tech Pipes manufactures the large dia circular, square and rectangular sections in its plants at Uttar Pradesh & Gujarat, and supplies them to various government as well as private projects in India. The solar sector is an emerging segment in the tube and pipe industry driven by the government’s ambitious renewable energy targets. The Indian government is supporting this emerging sector in big way’s. Hi-Tech Pipes is manufacturing a specialized solar torque tubes required for the solar panels. We are among the first one who have identified this sector as a big opportunity for the steel tubes and pipes industry.
TPI: Please tell us about your esteemed clientele.
AKB: We have successfully developed a versatile portfolio that caters to various industries. Our distinguished clients include Reliance Industries Limited, Indian Oil, Afcons Infrastructure, GAIL (India) Limited, Shapoorji Pallonji Group, DLF India, NCC Limited, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India, NTPC Limited, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, Adani Group, Tata Group, etc.
TPI: Hi-Tech Pipes recently started commercial production of colorcoated coils. Please tell us more about the product as well as the manufacturing facility producing it. Also please tell us in brief about the New Manufacturing facility Sanand Unit 2.
AKB: Hi-Tech color GC steel sheets are made from high-quality
galvanized steel, providing excellent strength, corrosion resistance and high durability. The steel sheets are designed to withstand various weather conditions, including heavy rain, wind and UV radiation. The demand for PPGI sheets is huge in the market. The company has received good response for these products in the market.
The recent addition of a new manufacturing facility in Sanand for large diameter and solar torque tubes marks a significant expansion of our capabilities and commitment to excellence. The facility is fully equipped with latest technology for
manufacturing of large dia pipes and solar tracker tubes upto a 1.70 lakhs tonnes per annum.
TPI: What is your plan for a bright future of Hi-Tech Pipes?
AKB: Our vision and objective is to position Hi-Tech Pipes Limited not only as a well-known brand or a piping solutions provider, but also as a company recognized for its ability and capacity to deliver. Our installed capacity in FY25 will stood at 1 million tonnes. And In the second phase of expansion, we will be doubling our capacity to 2 million tonnes by 2028.
JSW Steel plans to increase its Indian capacity to 42 million tons of steel per year by September 2027 and reach 50 million tons by 2031.
Jul 4, 2024
Inorder to realize its 2030 goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 42 percent (1.95 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of steel) and becoming carbon neutral by 2050, JSW Steel has announced an investment of USD 1 billion for decarbonization of its capacities.
As per a release, the company has developed a clear roadmap to become carbon neutral for all its divisions by 2050, well ahead of India’s commitment by 2070. It also aimed to increase its Indian capacity to 42 million tons of steel per year by September 2027 and reach 50 million tons by 2031.
JSW Steel estimated that the capacity expansion would require an amount of around USD 500 per ton of products. Over the next three years, JSW Steel is expecting capital expenditures at USD 7.72 billion.
The company plans to increase its annual consolidated capacity from the current 36.2 million TPA to 43.5 million TPA by 2027.
In a related development, JSW Steel USA, a subsidiary of the Indian JSW Steel, has announced an investment of USD 110 million in the modernization of its steel plant in Baytown (Texas) using sustainable technologies and state-of-the-art equipment.
Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited, the only company in India with a fully integrated pipes and tubes manufacturing plant at a single location, is set to expand with a new facility in Kuthrel, Raipur. This state-of-the-art plant will focus on the production of galvanized and stainless steel products, boosting SSTL’s overall manufacturing capacity to approximately 1.8 million tonnes of intermediate and finished goods. The development was announced by Mr. Vikas Goyal, CEO & Managing Director of Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited, in an exclusive interview with Tube & Pipe India.
Mr. Vikas Goyal, CEO & Managing Director, Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the illustrious business journey of Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited.
Vikas Goyal: Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited, formerly known as Sambhv Sponge Power Private Limited, is a leading manufacturer of high-quality steel products. We are a secondgeneration business family, which remains grounded to its roots and has more than 20 years of experience in the steel industry. Our journey started in 2017 under the able leadership of our father, Mr. Brijlal Goyal, Founder & Chairman Emeritus and my elder brother Mr. Suresh Goyal the Chairman & Managing Director of Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited.
In 2017, Mr. Harsheet Goyal, a young 3rd generation entrepreneur of our family, came up with the thought, “Sab kuch sambhav hai” (Everything is possible). It struck a chord with all of us and we settled on the name ‘Sambhv’ for our new venture.
Sambhv’s vision was to create a product that would truly disrupt the market. Through extensive research, we discovered that while smaller international players were producing high-quality steel pipes, only a few companies in India were doing the same—and they relied heavily on raw materials from primary coil producers. We chose to take a different path. By
producing our own narrow-width HR coils that meet international quality standards, we can offer Indian customers a superior, cost-effective solution.
Over the past seven years, Sambhv has soared to new heights through sheer hard work, dedication, and the visionary leadership of Mr. Brijlal Goyal, Mr. Suresh Goyal, and our entire senior management team. Our work culture is driven by the philosophy that ‘Everything is possible,’ which has empowered us to conquer challenges and set new benchmarks. The cornerstones of our success story—vision, determination, hard work, and honesty—continue to guide us forward.
TPI: What is the USP of Sambhv Steel Tubes that gives it an edge over others?
VG: We are proud to be India’s first producer of narrow-width HR coils, a true game-changer in the steel industry. In India, steel producers are typically categorized into two groups: primary and secondary producers. Despite being a secondary producer, Sambhv Steel Tubes Limited consistently delivers products on par with primary producers by leveraging advanced technologies. Our use of cutting-edge innovations, like the Hydraulic Automatic Gauge Control (HAGC) mechanism, ensures high
precision in controlling the thickness and surface quality of our HR coils, greatly enhancing efficiency and product quality.
We are the only company in India with a fully backward-integrated steel pipes and tubes manufacturing plant at a single location. This means that we produce all our products using our own raw materials, eliminating dependence on external suppliers. From sponge iron and blooms to HR coils and finished pipes and tubes, everything is manufactured at our state-of-the-art facility in Raipur, which spans over 90 acres. This
vertical integration ensures superior craftsmanship and consistent quality, as we control the entire process—from refining ore to delivering finished steel products.
Our strategic location in Raipur, a major logistics hub, gives us a significant edge over our competitors. Raipur offers direct connectivity to three key states—Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Maharashtra—enabling efficient distribution. Additionally, we are located just 300 km from the NMDC Bacheli mines in Chhattisgarh, home to the finest DRCLO-grade iron ore. This proximity allows us to source top-quality raw materials, further enhancing the superiority of our steel products.
At Sambhv, we believe that progress is born from action. Mistakes are part of the journey, but each one is a learning opportunity that propels us forward. By embracing challenges and seeking solutions, we foster a culture of growth, resilience, and teamwork. This mindset not only strengthens our team but also drives us on a practical path to success. Sambhv is more than just steel manufacturing—it embodies the belief that with determination and strong will, people can turn their dreams into reality.
TPI: Please share your views about the Indian tube and pipe industry.
We are the first secondary steel producer to manufacture HR coils using the Hydraulic Automatic Gauge Control (HAGC) mechanism.
True leadership isn’t just a title—it’s about the commitment to care for and empower your team. At Sambhv, we believe in giving our people the autonomy to make decisions and standing by them, even when outcomes differ from expectations. We understand that every result offers a learning experience, and it’s through these moments that growth happens. We encourage our team to not only dream but to take bold steps toward achieving their goals.
VG: Over the past decade, the tube and pipe industry has experienced remarkable growth. Today, steel pipes are essential across numerous sectors, including construction, modern infrastructure, agriculture, coastal applications, furniture, automotive, oil & gas, and many more. The potential of steel-based products is limitless, making steel a cornerstone of India’s infrastructure future. With the country’s current production capacity at 135 million TPA and a government target to reach 300 million TPA by 2030, the gap presents a tremendous opportunity for growth. As the steel industry expands,
Sambhv Steel Tubes is poised to grow alongside it, playing a vital role in shaping India’s progress.
TPI: Kindly give details about your CSR initiatives.
VG: At Sambhv Steel Tubes, giving back to society is at the core of our values. We regularly organize health camps near our plant and in surrounding villages, making a meaningful difference in people’s lives. Recently, we supported 30 individuals in receiving life-changing cataract surgeries. In our commitment to the environment, we plant trees every month to nurture nature. A significant focus of our efforts is on maternal health, where we provide regular health camps and nutritional support for expectant mothers. In Kesda village, Raipur, we’ve already helped 40-50 pregnant women ensure a healthier future for themselves and their babies.
TPI: Where do you see yourself five years down the line?
VG: As a leading force in the steel manufacturing industry, Sambhv Steel Tubes currently boasts an annual production capacity exceeding 1 million tonnes, including 0.35 million tonnes of finished products. With the upcoming inauguration of our new plant, we an-
We are the only company in India with a fully backwardintegrated pipes and tubes manufacturing plant at a single location, producing every product from our own raw materials. This complete control over the supply chain ensures unmatched quality and reliability.
ticipate an increase in total production capacity to approximately 1.8 million tonnes. Our strategic plan targets an expansion of our finished product capacity to over 1 million tonnes within the next 4-5 years. Starting October 2024, we will commence the production of GP coils and GP pipes, alongside SS coils, which we foresee as a transformative addition to our product line.
In studying the Australian market,
we observed that while demand for ERW black pipes was declining, pre-galvanized (GP) pipes were in high demand due to their rust resistance, aesthetic appeal, and ease of maintenance. Recognizing this opportunity, we decided to bring the same trend to India. With this vision, Sambhv is establishing a new plant in Kuthrel, Raipur, spread across 31 acres. This facility will not only boost our production capacity but also introduce a new product line, including GP and stainless steel (SS) products, further diversifying our offerings and addressing the evolving needs of our customers.
TPI: Please share your experience at the Tube & Pipe Fair 2024.
VG: This event has been a tremendous success. We connected with numerous buyers and gained valuable insights into the South Indian market. Sambhv is now planning to establish a strong presence in this region by aligning our high-quality products with the specific needs of local customers. This visit has been highly productive, and we have already entered into collaborations with key South Indian companies. Our goal is to capture the region with our premium steel products, ensuring we deliver the quality and reliability Sambhv is known for.
It is one of the largest orders of its kind in the history of MAN Industries, involving the supply of API 5L grade line pipes to a top-tier international oil & gas company for an offshore LNG project.
Jul 8, 2024
MAN Industries on Monday said that it has secured a pipe supply order worth INR 1,850 crore from an international oil and gas player.
A statement issued by the company said that MAN Industries has demonstrated robust strength and market credibility through its latest achievement of securing the INR 1,850 crore order from a top-tier international oil & gas company, marking one of the largest orders of its kind in the company’s history.
The order entailed supplying API 5L grade line pipes for an offshore LNG project over the next 12 to 18 months through competitive international bidding. The company would also supply SAW pipes for this project. With this, the order book of MAN Industries has surpassed INR 4,000 crore, it added.
SMS group, synonymous with the term ‘Innovation’ in the World of Metals, has a rich history of ‘150 Years of Shaping the Future’. From a small forging company and supplier to a local industry, it has developed into a global technology company that has had a significant impact on the development of the metal industry, making itself a truly international company. The group is continuously working on developing environmentally friendly solutions to reduce carbon emissions in the production and processing of metals. Recently, they announced the establishment of a new workshop in Gujarat, India. This was revealed by Mr. Bernhard Steenken, Chief Sales Officer, APAC & MEA Region, SMS group, during an interaction with Tube & Pipe India magazine at the international trade fair for Tube & Pipe in Düsseldorf, Germany, this year.
Tube & Pipe India: Discuss SMS group’s strategy for growing its presence in the global tube and pipe industry.
Bernhard Steenken: SMS group has opened branches and subsidiaries in the main markets. We are present in 31 countries, representing more than 80 percent of global steel production. There are two key drivers for our business. Decarbonization is one of the most important drivers of our strategy where we see huge growth potential and has been affecting all industries. Governments across the globe are looking for green solutions to reduce carbon emissions and we believe that the green transformation of the steel industry is a marathon, not a sprint.
Our lighthouse projects like H2 Green Steel and thyssenkrupp Steel will prove that climate-neutral steel production is possible. The H2 Green Steel Facility in Sweden will be the first worldwide green steel plant starting
from iron ore with a fully electrified process chain thanks also to the adoption of green hydrogen in the primary stage. The new green steel plant will be fully equipped with plant technology from SMS group. This hydrogen-based direct reduction plant will be fully integrated, transforming virgin raw materials into finished steel. This significant step will push the metal industry to the next level in terms of decarbonization.
Additionally, we have supplied a new CSP® Nexus plant to JSW. For the first time, hot strips and plates for shipbuilding, wind towers, heavy pipeline grades (API), or alike with a maximum width of 2,600 millimeters can be produced on a single plant that comprises casting and direct rolling. The hot strip thickness range of 2.0 to 32.0 millimeters is exceptional and offers JSW Steel (Dolvi Works) a unique opportunity to open up new markets at a competitive cost level, particularly in the field of “green plate” production. With parameters like these, the CSP® Nexus plant for JSW Steel (Dolvi Works) is not only setting standards for thin slab casting and rolling plants but also for conventional hot strip mills.
The demand for tubes has been rising exponentially, and we expect the market to pick up again. In India, there is significant growth in infrastructure. For instance, the CSP® Nexus plant for JSW Steel (Dolvi Works) supplies high-
quality pre-material to ERW (Electric Resistance Welding) tube welding lines. These lines then utilize this pre-material to produce structural and piling tubes. These end-products are crucial for infrastructure construction, providing essential components for pipelines, structural supports, and other critical infrastructure elements, thereby supporting robust and reliable infrastructure development. Therefore, the market outlook for pipes is quite positive.
Customer needs have changed in recent years, and the SMS group has been adapting to these changes. Customers are increasingly requesting a transition to renewable energy supplies, incorporating more renewable sources into the energy mix, and facilitating the transport of hydrogen and CO2. In response, SMS group engineers and provides innovative solutions to enable the transport of renewable energy sources. Their green solution portfolio, such as Viridis, helps in the overall reduction of carbon footprints.
Decarbonization is our joint duty, not just in our industry but in every industry. We are always working to enhance our equipment with the latest technology to reduce the carbon footprint.
Transporting hydrogen or CO2 presents several challenges. Hydrogen, being a smaller molecule, has a higher risk of leakage and a wider flammability range compared to natural gas. It requires approximately three times the volume to deliver the same energy, necessitating larger volumes or higher pressures during transportation. Additionally, hydrogen’s reactivity can lead to material embrittlement. Overcoming these challenges requires a very controlled and stable transportation process, with the right choice of materials and pipe dimensions, especially wall thickness. SMS group provides tailored solutions for the transportation of hydrogen in the tube and pipe industry. By selecting appropriate technologies for each plant, SMS enables the manufacturing of pipes based on specific requirements. Some tube and pipe customers are already successfully operating in the hydrogen market using SMS solutions. For example, the JCO press, combined with the shape system and the subsequent expander, allows for the production of high-quality pipes with tight tolerances, even in difficult diameter-wall thickness ratios.
The second key driver is our service business which includes automation, digitalization, spares, repairs, and technical outsourcing. By 2030, we plan to increase our
business share to 50 percent from the equipment business and 50 percent from the service business.
TPI: How do you help your customers achieve better efficiency on various fronts?
BS: Our “life cycle improvement” department goes beyond equipment supply. We support customers throughout its life, leveraging expertise from operations and engineering. We’ve developed new models like outsourcing maintenance (offline or online with cost-per-ton contracts) which is gaining traction in India. Additionally, our automation
and digitalization team helps improve plant operations through transparency tools and best practices, enhancing customer decision-making. Technology and innovation are fundamental cornerstones of the SMS group. Our new solutions ensure sustainable, competitive advantages and therefore, future revenue and growth.
We integrate our three Centers of Excellence – electrics/ automation, sms digital, and technical services – into one comprehensive entity automation, digital & service solutions (SX), to streamline organizational structures and foster collaboration. Our goal is to provide advanced integrated solutions that strengthen customer ties and our profitability, by providing tangible benefits in both tailormade business and direct service.
TPI: Please elaborate the group’s approach towards the ESG framework.
BS: Decarbonization is our joint duty, not just in our industry but in every industry. We are always working to enhance our equipment with the latest technology to reduce our carbon footprint, not only by integrating DRI steelmaking processes that utilize natural gas or hydrogen but also by electrifying our entire suite of equipment. By harnessing green electricity, we are making a substantial contribution to the decarbonization of steel production, demonstrating our commitment to sustainable industrial practices.
With the potential emergence of green steel plants in India, SMS group stands ready to assist the Indian steel industry in its decarbonization efforts. Leading steel manufacturers such as Tata Steel, SAIL, and JSW Steel have already
initiated the first steps towards this transformation. The economic incentive for complete decarbonization isn’t strong yet. For instance, a large Indian steel exporter with five million tons of exports wouldn’t need to decarbonize its entire production; only the five million tons for export. Additionally, the growing Indian automotive industry might create a business case for green steel in the next five to ten years, but not in the bulk commodity market. SMS group’s expertise and technologies are pivotal in enabling this targeted approach to sustainable steel production.
Currently, blast furnaces are the dominant technology for producing virgin steel in India. Scrap availability is
Our lighthouse projects like H2 Green Steel and thyssenkrupp Steel, JSW Steel will prove that climate-neutral steel production is possible.
limited, making blast furnaces the technology of choice. However, even for blast furnaces, technologies are being developed to reduce their carbon footprint. For instance, we have recently signed an MoU with TATA Steel who chose Paul Wurth’s EASyMelt as a key CO2 emission-reduction technology to be implemented at Tata Steel’s blast furnace E in Jamshedpur, India. In the first step, we will install a second ring to inject syngas into the furnace leading to approximately 30 percent CO2 reduction. In the second phase, we will replace the hot stoves with plasma torches to increase the temperature to 2400 degrees celsius as we need energy in the process coming from electrical energy via plasma torches which can reduce 60 to 70 percent of CO2 emissions. With this process, carbon capture will become economically feasible. Earlier, the CAPEX was too high for carbon capture using these technologies.
On the operational side, we try to bring our operations to maximum efficiency. Maximum efficiency cannot be achieved without huge investments. With maximum efficiency, CO2 emissions will be reduced while increasing the profit margins. At SMS group, we have made it our mission to create a carbon-neutral and sustainable metals industry. We supply the technology to produce and recycle all major metals. This gives us a key role in the transformation towards a green metals industry.
Recently, SMS group was honored with ESG Awards the 5th ESG Summit & Awards by Transformance held at Holiday Inn International Airport, New Delhi. The event was a gathering of industry leaders, sustainability experts, and corporate visionaries who are shaping the future of environmental, social, and governance (ESG)
standards. Under 3 distinguished categories, the group was recognized for its commitment to sustainability and social responsibility: ‘Best ESG Initiative to Improve Communities/Cities’, ‘Best ESG Initiative to Reduce Carbon Footprint’ and ‘Best ESG Initiative to Improve Employment Quality.’
TPI: How does SMS group manage to meet the diverse needs of different markets?
BS: Catering to a diverse market is both our strength and weakness. However, it presents a unique challenge. We offer a wide range of technologies, including upstream, downstream, flat products, and long products. Two or three years ago, we implemented a new structure to address this increasing complexity. Previously, we were organized as business units, where each unit was responsible for the entire product lifecycle, from product development to market execution. However, due to the growing complexity and geographical distances, this structure became inefficient. For example, a product team based in Germany or Italy might be too far removed from the needs of customers in other regions, especially considering time zone differences. To address this, we have adopted a regional structure with customer-facing teams. As part of the regional team, my role is to gather
customer feedback. We are also responsible for the profit and loss (P&L) of our region, which is directly tied to our customers and projects. We manage the integration of technologies, which are primarily driven by our technological experts who are then deployed to the region. We have a highly skilled workforce, particularly in India, where we have around 2,000 employees supporting our broader APEC and MEA region (Asia Pacific, Greater India, Middle East, and Africa).
TPI: What kind of further developments can we expect from the group in the coming years?
BS: We’re excited to announce our new workshop in Gujarat, India! This significant investment strengthens our presence in the rapidly growing Indian market. With operations starting in 2025, this workshop complements our existing state-of-the-art facility in Bhubaneswar and Khorda. The strategic location on the western coast of India improves logistics and caters to the booming economic development in the region. We’re actively hiring automation and mechanical engineers to support our expansion in India, recognizing it as a key market for the present and future.
This new workshop will be dedicated to producing key equipment for the international market, with a focus on production lines for flat and long steel products and forging plants. The facility will also provide localized repair and service solutions, serving major clients like AM/NS India and JSW, with potential future investments from POSCO and Adani promising to transform the region’s industry.
We’re excited to announce our new workshop in Gujarat. Supported by the Gujarat and national governments, the initiative aligns with ‘Make in India’ and ‘Vibrant Gujarat’, signaling strong governmental backing for industrial advancement.
Inside view of state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha
The workshop is set to initially employ 500 people, with the potential to expand to over 2,000 direct and indirect jobs. Collaboration with educational bodies will ensure a skilled workforce, with a horizontal deployment strategy ensuring practical training in manufacturing protocols.
Starting with an investment of 25 million euros, the project
may increase to 40 million euros in line with production expansion. Supported by the Gujarat and national governments, the initiative aligns with ‘Make in India’ and
‘Vibrant Gujarat’, signaling strong governmental backing for industrial advancement.
Established in Raigarh district of Chhattisgarh, the direct forming technology ERW mill will have SHS 300x300x22 to 600x600x22mm YST up to 550 MPa, making it the largest DFT mill of India.
Jul 10, 2024
O.P. Jindal Group’s blue-chip unit, Nalwa Special Steel Limited (NSSL) has successfully commissioned India’s largest direct forming technology (DFT) ERW mill having SHS 300x300x22 to 600x600x22mm YST up to 550 MPa.
NSSL had last year signed an MoU with the government of Chhattisgarh to establish a plant for square and rectangular pipes manufacturing in Tehsil Tamnar, district Raigarh, with an investment of INR 450 crore. The plant has an annual production target of 6,00,000 TPA.
Nalwa Special Steel is a subsidiary of Jindal Group and is in full-fledged production at Raigarh district in Chhattisgarh. The MoU was signed by Mr. Bhuvanesh Yadav,
Secretary, Commerce and Industry, and Mr. Pradeep Tandon, on behalf of the company. Mr. Tandon shared that the establishment and operation of the plant would create new employment opportunities for that region’s youth and the industry would become a partner in the development of the region.
Masters of industrial coating for over a century, Shalimar Paints aims to become one of the top three Indian manufacturers by the end of 2024, targeting a revenue of INR 750 crore in this fiscal. It plans to become an INR 1,000 crore company and explore the Middle East market in the near future. Mr. Suresh Nair, Vice-President, Shalimar Paints Limited, revealed this and much more during an exclusive interview with Tube & Pipe India.
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through your illustrious business journey, highlighting major achievements and crucial milestones.
Suresh Nair: Shalimar Paints has been in the industry for the last 120 odd years. We started our journey in 1902 and have two primary businesses- decorative business and the industrial business. I’m handling the industrial vertical and our participation in the Tube and Pipe Fair 2024 is part of our efforts to take this august venture to greater heights.
Over the last 50-60 years, we have been the pioneers in introducing innovative coatings for a variety of substrates and applications. We were the pioneers in introducing specialized coatings for the steel industry. We have many firsts to our credit. Shalimar Paints was the first company to introduce paints for fighter aircraft in the 1950s. We were the first company to introduce longlasting protective coatings for the shipping industry. We were one of the largest players in the nuclear market.
TPI: How sustainable are your operations?
SN: We have been working on sustainability for around two years now. We are doing it in stages since any change in this direction involves a lot of investment. We do business with corporate giants or big manufacturers in the tube and the pipe industry, such as the Tatas,
Welspun World, Man Industries (India) Limited, Surya Roshni Limited, etc. Their expectations are crystal clear. They like to associate with vendors, who are themselves making conscious efforts towards achieving a sustainable future. We are doing the same, partnering with sustainable vendors.
The coating industry is extremely wide. We need to make sustainable efforts at all stages, starting from the raw material stage, formulation stage, transportation stage to the customer level. We are the only company which supplied solvent-free epoxy coating for the prestigious NEOM project of Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest projects in the world. We are a listed company and maintain transparency in our dealings. People look up to Shalimar Paints to see how they can adopt sustainable practices.
TPI: What factors have helped Shalimar Paints to achieve its present positioning?
SN: There is a very beautiful quote by Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata Group, “If you have a resilient manufacturing facility, you can deal with various situations.”
For us, Covid-19 was a game changer. During the pandemic, rather than reducing our outputs, we invested heavily to make our infrastructure robust. We doubled the capacity of all three plants. It was only a matter of time before the economy came back on track. We believe the people who did not see
this game happening, lost out big time.
We would like to extend a big thanks to the Union Government for pushing the Make in India campaign. It has really been a game changer. A lot of organizations have started using indigenous products.
TPI: What is your overall production capacity and applications areas within tube & pipe industry?
SN: We started at around 3000 KL per month across our three plants two years ago and today we are close to around 4000 KL. Right now, we cater to two specific pipeline industries. First is the ductile iron pipe industry and second is the mild steel or the Longitudinal Submerged Arc Welded (LSAW) industry. This is where the coatings are typically used.
Ninety percent of coatings are used for drinking water pipes because India is investing heavily in drinking water projects. We are not really present in the contracting segment because we have to be absolutely sure about the payment schedules of such contractors. We tend to stick clearly with the manufacturers and that is one part of the business, which we would not like to move away from.
TPI: Please share details about your market footprint.
SN: If you were to look at pipe manufacturers, they are present in the Western zone and the Eastern zone as well. At both these places, we have dedicated facilities and are able to service the requirements very promptly. Between the three plants, situated at Nasik, Chennai and Secunderabad near Ghaziabad; and across 50 depots in the country, we are able to service our customers within a 7 day period.
We are actively exploring the export market. It’s not that the Indian market is saturated. We still have a long way to go in the country, but we also want to have an international footprint. Currently, we are exporting to the UAE, Oman and Kuwait. We are also selling our products through our dealer channel in Bhutan and Nepal. We did
one of our biggest projects last year in Saudi Arabia, which is currently the most promising market in the world.
TPI: Take us through some of the challenges you as a manufacturer have been encountering in the last few years.
SN: In terms of opportunity, postCovid, the opportunities have increased to a great extent. There is no dearth of orders or requirements as such. The industry is massive and we don’t see the production requirements at the manufacturer level of pipes going down in the near future. One interesting challenge in the industry nowadays is that no two customers are the same. So the pain area of one customer need not be the pain area of another. It is a diverse field, wherein we have to ensure that our products are able to deliver in different environments. For example, if you stay in a very cool location, it may pose certain types of problems to the structure being built in that particular area. If you were to set up the same type of an industry on the shores of Bombay or Gujarat, the type of environmental attack on the structure would be entirely different.
TPI: What kind of policy intervention would you like or expect from the government?
SN: Make in India is a very robust
model. Our economy is resilient enough in that essence. We have one of the best performing economic indicators in India.
However, the biggest challenge for us is that a lot of paints are manufactured using crude oil, and we import nearly 70 percent of the country’s domestic crude requirements. India does not have the capability to manufacture crude. We have the capability to address the refining part of it. We have to get crude from Russia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq etc. With the ongoing geopolitical crisis around the world, it be difficult for us to be cost effective, reduce our wastage, and increase our operational efficiencies. We hope for de-escalation of situations and smooth passage for our products.
TPI: What kind of growth prospect do you see in the tube and pipe industry?
SN: Right now, the Indian tube & pipe industry is flourishing. The DI pipe manufacturers in the country are tripling their manufacturing capacities. They are debottlenecking their production lines and investing in newer technologies. Same is happening in the mild steel or LSAW type industry. India is being looked upon as an alternative to China, to source the requirements across a lot of
Middle Eastern countries.
The economy of Europe is currently not very promising. Even the US economy is just about teetering on the edge of the recession. They are barely able to hold themselves alive. The economies which are actually going to drive and make it big in the coming years are India and the Middle East.
TPI: What is the USP of Shalimar Paints?
SN: Our clients know of us as a dependable and reliable vendor, who is in a position to deliver as per the customers’ requirement.
We are looking at quality in the entire sphere. Customers very minutely observe how you are able to pitch your products with zero complaints and with the right approach in the very first time. We have seen the challenges posed by small companies and the cut-throat competition given by large manufacturers. Sometimes we take a backseat because we don’t want to take each and every order that comes our way. We prefer to deliver workable products, which will not attract complaints.
We are a sustainable company, which delivers quality products on time. Trust, consistency and reliability form the core of our business. Besides, we have a dedicated team of application
engineers who offer a complete package of products and application expertise. We have an entire supply chain, which sets us apart from others.
TPI: Where do you see Shalimar Paints 4-5 years from now?
SN: We are targeting a revenue of around INR 750 crore in this fiscal. We are working on strategies to become an INR 1,000 crore company in the near future. With regards to the industrial paints market, we are currently among the top five Indian manufacturers and aim to be in the list of top three by the end of this year.
TPI: What’s your message to the tube and pipe manufacturers in India?
SN: The tube and pipe manufacturing industry has taken a lot of strides in the last three to five years. The entire world is looking at India in terms of innovative products coming out of this industry. The importance of pipe manufacturers is growing.
There are two challenges which are immediately going to impact the Indian tube and pipe industry. The first is the transportation of hydrogen and carbon as the current architecture of the pipe manufacturing process is not robust enough to carry hydrogen. HIC (hydrogen induced corrosion) is the biggest deterrent. The pipe
manufacturers should look into that.
Second is the ageing infrastructure in India for the effluent pipe replacement market and the government’s focus on clean drinking water for various households. We believe a lot of pipe manufacturers would be required to look at systems and processes, which would increase the life of such pipes and that is going to be a huge game changer for the industry.
TPI: What should be your take away from the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair?
SN: This is the second time we are participating with TPF. The experiences have been extremely pleasant both times. This is an absolutely unique show where a lot of pipe manufacturers are able to meet their vendors. As a paint manufacturer, we are able to showcase our products and strengths. We have got almost around 15-20 manufacturers coming over to see and try our products. We’ve made it a touch and feel experience. It’s a visual treat for visitors. They are able to see how things work at our end. TPF is a very good platform for sharing knowledge and interacting with the manufacturers. As I suggested earlier, we should be looking at the Middle East as a market the next time. The Tube and Pipe Fair show must go on!!
Riding on its unparalleled quality of products, timely delivery, and high customer retention, Venus Pipes and Tubes has doubled their turnover by every passing year, reaching INR 802 crore in the previous year. The company is also coming up with a pipe-fitting plant worth INR 125 crore. This was revealed by Mr. K.S. Sinha, Executive Director, Venus Pipes and Tubes Limited, during his interaction with Tube & Pipe India.
Mr. K.S.
Sinha, Executive Director, Venus Pipes and Tubes Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the business journey of Venus Pipes And Tubes, highlighting major milestones and crucial achievements.
K.S. Sinha: We are a leading manufacturer and exporter of stainless steel pipes and tubes in India. Originally a successful trading enterprise, we embarked on a transformative journey into stainless steel long product manufacturing in 2015. Our unwavering commitment to excellence has driven us to embrace state-of-the-art production technologies, including hot piercing, pilgers, tube mills, draw benches, bright and solution annealing furnaces, and various ancillary machinery.
Venus Pipes and Tubes Limited is a rising company, which has grown immensely in the last eight years. We have doubled our turnover by every passing year, reaching INR 802 crore in the previous year. We are currently positioned at No. 2 in the industry in terms of product quality and turnover. In the next two years, we target to be the market leader.
Venus Pipes and Tubes Limited is the brainchild of Mr. Mahesh Chaudhary, Director of the company. We have a team of young promoters, who are always full of energy. Mr. Chaudhary is one of our promoters, a man with a vision and clear focus.
TPI: What does the product basket of Venus Pipes and Tubes contain? Also, mention the industries where your products find application.
KSS: Pipes are the lifelines of industries, transporting vast quantities of materials every hour, every day. As leading manufacturers of premium stainless steel pipes and tubes, we provide our clients with robust pipes engineered for precise performance and durability, capable of withstanding the most demanding conditions. Our extensive product range comprises stainless steel high precision & heat exchanger tubes, stainless steel hydraulic & instrumentation tubes, stainless steel seamless pipes, stainless steel welded pipes, and stainless steel LSAW pipes.
We are one of the few companies in the country producing welded pipes in the outside diameter range of up to 20 inches, and up to 8 inches seamless pipes. We manufacture stainless steel LSAW pipes in the outside diameter range of up to 56 inches with annealing, which is a rarity in India. Our pipes find application in almost all sectors, including oil & gas, chemicals, fertilizers, space, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals.
TPI: How do you manage to stay ahead of the curve in the industry?
KSS: Venus Pipes and Tubes focuses on innovation, quality, and customer satisfaction.
We take immense pride in consistently delivering superior quality products that strictly adhere to international standards. We ensure timely delivery of all our products, which results in high customer retention. Almost everyone who has done business with us in the last five years has given us repeated orders.
TPI: The government has been introducing various schemes for the ease of business. What regulations would you like the government to introduce in the future?
KSS: We believe policy-making is a completely government’s arena. The Union government has formulated many industry-friendly policies, which have aided the ease of business in the country. All markets across India are experiencing an upward growth trajectory. The manufacturing sector is growing at a fast pace and the trend is expected to continue in the future. If the government chooses to impose a duty on the import of pipes from China and other countries, it would prove beneficial for Indian manufacturers and give a boost to home-grown products.
TPI: Kindly share your views on the tube and pipe industry.
Indian companies are now ready to compete with foreignmade products, which shows our level of competency and high spirits. In the next five years, there will be a big boom in the Indian pipe industry.
KSS: With big players joining the business, the Indian tube and pipe industry is poised for robust growth in all segments. There is healthy competition, as all companies are upgrading themselves and working in different segments. Indian companies are now ready to compete with foreign-made products, which shows our level of competency and high spirits. In the next five years, there will be a big boom in the Indian pipe industry. The future looks bright and promising.
TPI: Kindly share details about recent developments at Venus Pipes And Tubes. Where do you see yourself five years down the line?
KSS: We will soon be launching new products in a related segment - pipe fittings. We are installing a pipe fitting plant worth INR 125 crore, which will come up in the next 4-5 months. Besides, there are other projects in the pipeline. In the next five years, we wish to become a giant in the tube and pipe industry. We have extensive expansion plans for the future, which you will come to know about soon.
TPI: Please share your views on the second edition of Tube and Pipe Fair in Hyderabad.
KSS: The organisers of the show have done really well. It’s a fantastic show, which has attracted good brands and major companies of the industry. Two years in the show business is a very small time, but you people have shown immense potential. TPF has a very bright future. Your connection with the exhibitors is applaudable. We look forward to TPF 2024 to provide us with information on the current trends driving the industry, along with innovations and product launches. We are hoping to meet new customers and forge new relationships, helping us to take our brand to the next level.
RR Ispat, a unit of Godawari Power and Ispat Limited (GPIL), is set to launch a new HR coil mill in 2024 and this is the biggest contribution HIRA has made to the pipe industry. The company aims to enter larger pipe segments and become one of the top five manufacturers in India, all while delivering quality pipes at competitive prices. This was revealed by Mr. Pranay Agrawal, Director of the HIRA Group , during an interview with Tube & Pipe India.
Mr. Pranay Agrawal, Director, HIRA Group
Tube & Pipe India: Could you take us through the business journey of RR Ispat (A Unit of Godawari Power and Ispat Limited)?
Pranay Agrawal: RR Ispat is a unit of Godawari Power and Ispat Ltd., the flagship company of the Raipur-based HIRA Group of Industries, which is a conglomerate of 15 companies across India. It’s a family-run business, and our identity is deeply tied to our names. HIRA, Godawari, and RR all have personal significance to our family. HIRA is named after the Hirakud Dam, our place of origin. RR stands for my great-grandfather, Shri Ram Richhpal Agarwal, while Godawari is the name of my greatgrandmother Shrimati Godawari Devi Agrawal. We remain strongly connected to our roots.
RR Ispat was established in 1999 with the vision of becoming the most trusted steel brand in Central India. We started by manufacturing TMT bars and later diversified into wire rods. In 2001, we launched our flagship company, Godawari Power and Ispat Limited (GPIL), which was subsequently listed on the stock exchange, making RR Ispat a unit of GPIL is an integrated steel plant that handles everything from iron ore processing to the production of billets, pellets, and wire rods.
As the third generation joined the business, we sought further diversification. Following the integration plan devised by my uncle, Mr. Dinesh Agrawal, we entered new markets, including pipes, tower line
transmission structures, railway OHE structures, lighting poles, high masts, flag masts, crash barriers, and various galvanized steel products. In 2018, we established our first pipe mill, followed by a second in 2020. The year 2024 has been particularly significant for us, as we’ve already set up our third mill and are preparing to launch an HR coilcum-structure mill next month.
In just a decade, we’ve become one of the most trusted brands across India. Through product diversification, technological upgrades, and a focus on customer satisfaction, we are poised to make an even bigger name for ourselves in the pipe industry.
TPI: What is your annual manufacturing capacity, and in what sectors are your products used?
PA: Our current annual manufacturing capacity is approximately 1,20,000 tonnes. Most of our products are used in the fabricated sector, including mobile towers and solar dual pump structures. We also serve the agriculture sector, with casing pipes being a key revenue driver. These pipes are our cash cows, and we are now expanding into structures like sheds made of pipes. We are targeting the shed business, building fabrication, and solar megawatt structures, as these are emerging markets with significant potential.
TPI: When do you plan to achieve carbon neutrality?
PA: Achieving carbon neutrality is a
progressive journey for us. We aim to be near our target by 2050. The HIRA Group is always in expansion mode, and as a now net debt-free company, we are spreading our wings even wider. Currently, the HIRA Group is close to being net carbon neutral, as 75% of our power is generated through waste heat recovery, 20% from solar plants, and 5% from the trees we plant.
TPI: Could you outline your CSR activities and the importance of sustainability to your company?
PA: Compliance-based CSR activities are integral to our corporate DNA. We believe in creating meaningful stories and beautifying the cities where we operate. Our Make-in-India square in Raipur is a unique initiative. Whether or not HIRA endures, our story will be remembered. Our survival in the industry for over 50 years is a testament to this belief. Recognizing the environment and society’s contributions to our success, we feel a deep responsibility to give back. Last year, we planted 50,000 trees. Across our one 100-acre and one 18-acre campuses, we’ve planted over 5,00,000 saplings. My uncle, Mr. Dinesh Agrawal, strongly believes that planting trees is the best path to carbon neutrality. We’ve also established solar plants with a total capacity of 160 megawatts in our parent unit. While establishing solar plants is currently expensive, this will change by 2028-2030, when ESG norms strengthen, and every company will be compelled to adopt solar
power. Going solar now is a futuresmart strategy.
TPI: What are your thoughts on the growth prospects of the Indian tube and pipe industry?
PA: Based on my research, the Indian tube and pipe industry is experiencing a CAGR of about 8-10% annually and has achieved remarkable growth over the last five years. Some companies have surprised everyone by reaching production levels of 2,00,000 or 3,00,000 tonnes per month. I foresee further growth in the industry, as India is shifting from cement buildings to steel due to its faster construction, better quality control, and cost efficiency. Industry experts are now focusing on larger segments like 300 mm, 400 mm, and 500 mm square and rectangular pipes, which have significant growth potential.
TPI: Can you share some recent developments at the HIRA Group?
PA: We are constantly seeking ways to bring positive change to the industry. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant gap between strip quality and HR quality, which inspired my uncle to come up with a new idea. We have a great source of iron ore, which is like a gold mine, along with a good quantity of sulphur and phosphorus, both of which are below 0.04%. In about a month, we will be launching our HR coilcum-structure mill, where we will manufacture angles, channels, and HR coils up to 620 mm in length. We
aim to reach new heights with this facility and get closer to our parent company. This will be our most significant innovation to date and the largest contribution HIRA has made to the MS ERW Pipe industry.
TPI: Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
PA: We are currently focusing on the HR coil-based pipe market. We believe in aiming high, knowing that even if we don’t fully reach our goals, the results will still be favorable. We plan to enter larger pipe segments in 2025, and within the next five years, we aim to become one of the top five manufacturers in the country, producing quality pipes at the right price and delivering them on time.
TPI: What are your impressions of the second edition of the Tube & Pipe Fair in Hyderabad?
PA: This was our first expo, and I must say that our debut experience was both amazing and informative. Industry fairs like this one provide manufacturers like us with the opportunity to meet other industry leaders and learn from them. The HIRA Group believes in continuous learning and evolving to become a better version of ourselves every day. TPF 2024 has opened up new avenues and opportunities for us, and we look forward to participating in TPF 2025, scheduled to be held in New Delhi from November 4-6, 2025. We believe the third edition will be even bigger and better.
MPL Group, a renowned name in the industry, is planning to achieve 1 million tons of steel finished products capacity in the next five years. According to Mr. Hitesh Agarwal, CEO, MPL Group , the company is setting its eyes on the export market, which it considers to be a lucrative option for future.
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly Walk us through the illustrious business journey of MPL, highlighting major achievements and crucial milestones.
Hitesh Agarwal: MPL started in 1959 by manufacturing CTD (Cold Twisted Deformed) bars or steel rebars. It was the first steel re-rolling mill in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. Since then, we have grown multifold and today span an empire having turnover of INR 1500 crore. We manufacture and supply finished steel pipes to 15 states across the country and export to around 5-7 different nations. We are currently amongst the top 10 manufacturers in our segment in India. We have taken our product offering under the MPL brand further and expanded to other materials as well. We have already laid down our roadmap for achieving 1 million tons of steel finished products in the next five years.
TPI: According to you, what has helped the company to reach the pinnacle of success?
HA: We firmly believe in the value system and integrity of our company. MPL is known for honoring all its commitments and delivering superior quality products on time. Being an integrated steel manufacturer has helped us to control the costs and get the best quality, which has been well-accepted in the market. It has also enabled us to deliver our products
across various regions of the country. The brand visibility we have built in the industry is the result of all the hard work put in by three generations of my family, and the contributions made by many people who stood with us through thick and thin. It has been a long and satisfying journey.
TPI: What does the product basket of MPL contain? In what sectors are your products majorly used and what new sectors are you eyeing at the moment?
HA: MPL offers a wide range of products, including high-quality steel pipes, cement, logistics solutions. Our steel pipes are used in over 4,000 applications across various industries, meeting international standards with command high brand value in South Indian Market. We have created a niche for ourselves in the engineering components and general engineering product market. The cement division produces OPC and PPC grade cement, catering to construction and infrastructure. MPL is also expanding its logistics hub, providing modern supply chain services. In terms of new sectors, MPL is eyeing renewable energy with a proposed solar rooftop project and power plant.
TPI: Where in India do you enjoy a strong demand?
HA: South is definitely our forte. MPL has been here for so many years. We personally know a lot of our
dealers and distributors at the very grassroot levels of our country. They have an emotional connection with our company because our businesses have flourished and we all have grown together.
TPI: In the backdrop of the European Commissions’ Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), which is still in the transition stage, what role does sustainability play in your business operations?
HA: Sustainability is definitely the talk of the hour and also features on our future roadmap on a priority basis. Since we are eyeing the export markets, CBAM is something we should be prepared for. Keeping our energy competencies in line with sustainable goals, we have installed a 4 megawatt solar rooftop. We have increased the use of more reprocessed or recycled steels coming from scrap. We are also exploring other lucrative energy options such as hydro or solar to meet the CBAM requirements. All these efforts contribute to achieving our sustainability goals.
TPI: What are some of the innovations that you’ve been relying on to stay ahead of the curve?
HA: Being a steel manufacturer, we procure scrap, which is a very tricky part in the domestic scenario. We are currently on a nobel way of curving technology integration. Apart from that, we’re trying to focus on more value-added products, which are not easily available in the market, such as smaller dia tubes with particular applications.
TPI: As a manufacturer, what are some of the major challenges that you have encountered in the past few years?
HA: The skill level of the human resources really needs to be improved because even though we have a huge pool of talent, they are not business ready or future ready. We appreciate both the state government and the centre for taking initiatives in this direction and giving priority to upskilling of the workforce. This would help businesses to grow and thrive faster because the learning curve on the job would decrease.
TPI: The industry has become more organized in the past few years and the government has implemented certain policies and measures in this regard. What regulations would you like the government to introduce further
for the ease of doing business?
HA: Being a Telangana-based manufacturer, I’m all praise for the state government. They have something called a single window clearance with time-bound approval deadlines. It has really helped the businesses. Telangana is one of the highest ranked states in the country in terms of ease of doing business. We get approval sitting in our offices or online using e-governance and related tools. It aids transparency and puts accountability on part of the public sector officers. Electricity is one sector that really needs improvement. Though there have been efforts in the past, the sector has remained nonaligned till date. This is one segment, which needs urgent government intervention.
TPI: Please share your experience at the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair in Hyderabad.
HA: It’s the second day and the place is still buzzing with a lot of energy. Everyone is very upbeat about the future of what India holds for the world. It’s great to see all our industry peers here, growing year over year. Their journey and success inspire us to go further and strive for a better tomorrow, while continuing to do what we have been doing for all these years.
Utkarsh India Limited is planning to double its capacity and reach INR 5,000 crore revenue in the next three years. The company is further planning to increase its pipe manufacturing range from the current 16 inches dia to 20 inches dia in future. This was revealed by Mr. Ravindra Gupta, Vice-President, Utkarsh India Limited, during his interaction with Tube & Pipe India.
Mr. Ravindra Gupta, Vice-President, Utkarsh India Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Please walk us through your illustrious business journey, highlighting its major milestones and crucial achievements.
Ravindra Gupta: We started our business with single product for more than 40 years ago. From time to time, Utkarsh India Limited has evolved itself by enhancing its product range and augmenting its facilities with the latest machinery. We are today a leading manufacturer and supplier of high-end engineering products and services in the infrastructure, agriculture and domestic water piping industry. Last year, we did a business of INR 2,300 crore. We are targeting INR 3,500 crore revenue this year and plan to take it to INR 5,000 crore in the next 2-3 years.
TPI: Please share information about your manufacturing facility. What is your annual production capacity?
RG: Our current production of all products is 50,000 tonnes per month. We plan to double our capacity and reach 1 lakh ton per month in the next three years. After implementation of new government policies for infrastructural development, the market witnessed tremendous growth. The demand for all products in the industry has increased in the past 10 years and the upward trend is expected to continue in future as well.
TPI: What does the product basket of Utkarsh India look like? Which are the industries where your products find application?
RG: Utkarsh India manufactures a wide range of galvanized steel fabricated structures, as well as HDPE pipes, PLB HDPE ducts, steel tubes & pipes, & steel tubular poles. We also manufacture railway electrification structures, transmission towers, telecom towers, metal beam crash barriers, high mast lighting systems, street light poles, pedestrian barriers, jal minar - water towers, pre engineered building, polygonal /octagonal poles, and substation structures. Utkarsh India Limited is a renowned leader in the pipes and fittings industry. We specialize in providing a comprehensive range of pipes and fittings solutions to meet the diverse needs of our customers. Our product portfolio includes uPVC, cPVC, PVC, and SWR pipes and fittings. Our products are used in various segments, such as air, water & gas transmission, agriculture etc.
TPI: What is your USP that sets you apart from others?
RG: Utkarsh India has earned high respect in both the government and infrastructure sector, owing to our 40 years of experience in high-end engineering and manufacturing. Our motto is to provide our customers with the best quality product at an affordable price. We believe in timely delivery of new and diverse products to our customers, which results in higher customer satisfaction. We work with the leading raw material suppliers and offer only the best to our customers. At Utkarsh India Limited, quality is more than a commitment to our customers. It is a passion through which we contribute to
All players are optimistic right now. We are expecting robust demand for all products in the coming years.
nation building. Our journey has been marked by unwavering commitment to quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction.
TPI: Kindly tell us more about your market footprint and major clientele.
RG: We have a very strong foothold in the West Bengal, North Eastern states of the country. Besides, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and states down South are also good markets for our products. In overseas markets, we have a footprint in Middle East and Europe. The demand for our GI pipes and other products is quite high abroad and we expect good response from the foreign shores in future also.
TPI: Please share recent developments at Utkarsh India Limited. Where do you see yourself
three years down the line?
RG: Utkarsh India Limited has aggressive plans for the future. We plan to double our manufacturing capacity in the next three years and introduce new products in the pipe industry. Besides, we plan to increase our pipe manufacturing range from 16 inches dia to 20 inches dia in future.
TPI: Please tell us about the challenges you face in the pipe and tube industry.
RG: Ups and downs are part of any business. We grapple with challenges such as low-quality raw material and rising competition. When it comes to Utkarsh India, we use the best raw material available in the market. We see competition as an opportunity, as it gives rise to a new path. We try our best to adapt ourselves.
TPI: How do you think the industry has evolved in the past decades?
RG: In the 80s, when we started, there were very few companies in India. There was little demand for the products and the price was also low. The industry has changed drastically in the last 40 years. With more and more companies coming up, there is an increased demand, which leads
to higher production. All players are optimistic right now. We are expecting robust demand for all products in the up-coming years.
TPI: The government has been introducing various schemes for the ease of business. What regulations would you like the government to introduce in future?
RG: The government is focusing more and more on Make in India campaign to make our nation developed and become a global leader. We are also focusing on that. With expected new infrastructural development schemes coming up in future, we will grow to achieve new targets.
The demand for our GI pipes and other products is quite high abroad and we expect good response from the foreign shores in future also.
Ratnadeep Metal & Tubes Limited, known for supplying high-quality products to crucial sectors such as oil & gas, nuclear and power plants, plans to double its manufacturing capacity for all its products in 2025. The company is also coming up with a hot finish plant next year to produce raw material in-house for seamless tubes. Mr. Jaimik Sanghavi, Director, Ratnadeep Metal & Tubes Limited, revealed this and much more, during an exclusive interview with Tube & Pipe India .
Mr. Jaimik Sanghavi, Director, Ratnadeep Metal & Tubes Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the illustrious business journey of Ratnadeep Metal & Tubes Private Limited.
Jaimik Sanghavi: Our journey started in 2004 by manufacturing tubes & pipes in stainless steel, carbon steel & alloy steel seamless & welded. We gradually increased our capacity, production and testing facilities, to cater to a wide range of industries and sectors. Today, we are a leading manufacturer and supplier of stainless, carbon & alloy steel to the tubes and pipes industry. We serve a variety of sectors, such as petrochemicals, chemical plants, fertilizer plants, power plants, nuclear plants, automotive, aerospace, etc. Each and every sector we work in is extremely crucial. Our tubes are used in very critical projects, a level where there’s no scope for failure. Owing to our high-quality products and time delivery, we have gradually and steadily earned goodwill and reputation in the industry.
TPI: What is the USP of Ratnadeep that gives it an edge over others?
JS: We are one of the top players in India, supplying our material to different clients. My father has been in this industry for the past 40 years.
In our industry, failure is not allowed. We have to maintain our performance at all levels, starting from manufacturing to delivery of products. Since the industries are upgrading to newer and innovative technologies, if we want to stay in the market, we also have to upgrade ourselves and remain aware of the current scenario.
We understand the criticality of the material we produce and supply to our clients. Due to our rich industry experience and top-notch quality products, we are way ahead of our competitors.
TPI: Kindly tell us about your product portfolio.
JS: We started manufacturing carbon steel seamless tubes in 2004. In the same year, we set up our production facility for welded stainless steel.
In 2005, we started manufacturing stainless steel seamless. We now cater to the market of stainless steel, carbon steel, alloy steel & nickel alloys. We have a very wide range of applications. Our client does not have to go to different vendors. We are like a one-stop shop, having all products in-house.
TPI: In what industries are your products majorly used? What
more industries or sectors are you currently eyeing or targeting?
JS: There is a huge requirement of tubes and pipes in India in a lot of segments. Having said that, 80 percent of our business comes from oil & gas refineries, petrochemicals and power plants. The rest 20 percent comes from the products supplied to fertilizer plants, automotive industries and the hydraulic sector. We also supply our products to aerospace industries. We supply instrumentation tubes to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). We want to expand our presence in the aerospace and nuclear power industry because the quality requirement is higher in those sectors and the work is pretty good. We are also going to set up a hot finish plant next year to make raw material for our seamless tubes in-house.
TPI: Kindly share details about your market footprint.
JS: We have two products - stainless steel and carbon steel. We do 60 percent of stainless steel business in the domestic market and 40 percent in the export market. In carbon steel, we are having a ratio of 90:10, which means 90 percent of business is done in India and 10 percent outside the country. Outside India, Europe is a major client for stainless steel, along with the Middle East. We are also supplying carbon steel tubes and pipes to countries in the Middle East.
TPI: What is your take on the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism? Are you prepared for CBAM as an exporter?
JS: We are prepared for CBAM, which will be introduced in 2026. We are aware of the CBAM regulations and have started giving our quarterly carbon emission reports to our clients, since our customers will have to pay tax based on our carbon emissions. We have installed 1.2 megawatt solar panels on our company roof. We believe in green energy and try to reduce our carbon emissions.
TPI: Please tell us about the challenges you face in smooth running of business operations.
JS: Challenges are always there in any industry. Due to the current geopolitical situation, to be precise, the Russia-Ukraine war, many projects in Europe have been canceled and the continent is also experiencing a slowdown. I think there will be challenges and a slowdown in the oil and gas sector also in future. Now the market is being driven through electric vehicles. Besides, there are other developing markets like hydrogen, which we can focus on.
TPI: What new regulation would you like the government to introduce for the ease of business?
JS: There are some policies regarding steel, which need the government’s attention. Besides, certain varieties of steels are not melted or produced in India. We think the government should understand the requirements of the steel industry and work on their production or melting in the country. This will reduce our dependence on imports for special steels, as well as make it easier for Indian companies to manufacture special grades like nickel alloy, which has good prospects as a future market.
TPI: What kind of production capacity are you eyeing in 2025?
JS: We are going for backward
integration for our in-house raw material manufacturing. We are currently producing around 7,0008,000 metric tons per annum. From next year onwards, we will double this capacity to 15,000 metric tons per annum for all our products.
TPI: What are the growth prospects of the Indian tube and pipe industry?
JS: We foresee huge growth in the Indian tube and pipe industry. The government is increasing investment in many sectors, such as oil & gas, fertilizers, power plants, and nuclear energy. We feel the future is very bright for the tube and pipe market in India.
TPI: Please share your experience at the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair in Hyderabad?
JS: We are participating for the first time in the Tube & Pipe Fair and absolutely love this expo. It is also our first participation in an industry fair in the southern part of the country. We took part in the exhibition earlier in Delhi. Ratnadeep hopes to meet new clients and explore new markets down South. It’s amazing to meet a variety of people. We met a lot of suppliers and machine manufacturers here. It has been a great experience.
Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Private Limited is coming up with a new facility “Global 2” near its existing mill in West Bengal for the exclusive production of stainless steel. It’s also establishing its first production facility in the US. This was revealed by Ms. Suman Islam, Senior Marketing Manager, Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Private Limited, during an interaction with Tube & Pipe India.
Ms. Suman Islam, Senior Marketing
Manager, Global Seamless
Tubes & Pipes Private Limited
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through your illustrious business journey, highlighting major achievements and crucial milestones.
Suman Islam: Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes Private Limited was started in 2019. Soon after we set up our business, Covid-19 happened. It was a hard-hitting year and everyone suffered immensely. However, we overcame this. The year 2022 turned out pretty good for the steel industry. We did very good business in 2022 and 2023. I’ve been in this industry for the past 12 years. I’ve seen some really tough times and upsurges as well. Though the market right now is a bit slow and somewhat sleepy due to some odd political reasons, Global Seamless believes that it is slowly moving on a progressive path. The business will hopefully be up very soon.
TPI: What does the product basket of Global Seamless contain? Which are the industries where your products find application?
SI: We are a leading manufacturer of seamless tubes and seamless pipes, specializing in the production of hotfinish and cold-drawn carbon steel seamless tubes. Our products find application in various sectors, such as oil & gas, the offshore industry, and the heat exchangers & boilers segment. We have been doing good
business for the last 5-6 years in the heat exchangers & boilers and the alloy industry.
TPI: Kindly tell us about your market footprint and major clientele.
SI: In domestic market, our products are well placed with segments namely automobile/energy, structural and railways. We have a strong footprint in the United States of America and the current situation out there is uncertain. We will have some clarity only after the US elections in November 2024. Due to polls in that country, big projects such as those regarding the oil and gas sector have been put on the back burner and our Europe segment business are catching up.
TPI: What are some of the challenges currently being faced by the industry? How can the government help in overcoming these challenges?
SI: We are facing a few problems, especially in the export of steel. Since steel is a heavy product, it cannot be sent by air. We export our material in fully loaded containers via the sea route. The easiest way for our products to reach their destination markets is through the Red Sea. Right now, there is a surge in commercial freight charges due to several reasons, such as the current geo-political
We are establishing our first production facility in the US with an investment of USD 35 million.
situation. The conflicts between Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Palestine have affected the sea routes, including the Red Sea. Earlier, it would take 4045 days for the material to reach our clients. Now the time has increased to 120 days. This has resulted in a big spurt, with the prices going almost double or triple the initial amount. It’s hammering the whole export business across the globe. The Union of India can collaborate with international giants in business, and speak to the countries in conflict. It would definitely help the global business scenario.
The price of raw material is also a challenge. I would like to give an example in this context. In Ukraine, there is a single mill having a product range similar to Global Seamless. The Ukraine government made an all-out effort to support it for purchasing
raw material. If a small country like Ukraine can do it, the Government of India can also do it. Major Indian steel companies purchase raw material either from the government or certified mills. The government can help local manufacturers by giving subsidies or lowering the price of raw material. This kind of benefit would boost the industry and help in the flourishing of local businesses as well. When it comes to raw material or steel, the Indian products cannot be compared to those manufactured in Vietnam, China or Thailand. The Indian steel has a very high quality and that is why it is costlier. The government can also bring in some protectionist measures for Indian manufacturers.
TPI: Please share recent developments at Global Seamless Tubes & Pipes.
SI: Global Seamless is currently concentrating on two projects - a new production facility in Louisiana, USA; and a new plant in India for the exclusive production of stainless steel. We are establishing our first production facility in the US with an investment of USD 35 million. We have purchased a greenfield on 70 acres at the Texas-Louisiana border, near the main hub of oil & gas and steel. The plant is just a two-hour drive from the main city. We will build a replica of our Indian mill in
northwest Louisiana with a similar production capacity. We plan to produce internationally acclaimed seamless steel pipes and tubes from the best raw material, using worldclass technology and scientific management there. Two of our Directors have already invested in this ambitious project.
We plan to set up a new unit in India for the exclusive production of stainless steel. We have purchased an area of 2 lakh sq ft for the purpose, calling it Global 2.
Besides, we are planning to set up a new unit in India for the exclusive production of stainless steel. We have purchased an area of 2 lakh sq ft for the purpose, nearly 4 kms from our existing mill in Bagnan, West Bengal. We call it Global 2. What we’re doing or getting in terms of price or commercial value, stainless steel is three times higher. Many new projects are in the pipeline, but it is too early to say anything about them.
TPI: Please share your experience at the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair 2024 in Hyderabad.
SI: The show has turned out really well. We participated in the debutant edition also, which was held in October 2023 in Delhi. We made some great connections and got new customers. The footfall has definitely increased. In this Hyderabad edition, we are looking forward to making our presence felt in the southern regions of the country. We know South India is a very good market for steels & tubes, and hope to capture it.
Satyam Iron & Steel Company Private Limited, a fully integrated steel plant, is planning to double its manufacturing capacity, upgrade product quality and enhance its presence across the country, especially down South, in the next three years. This was revealed by Mr. Rohit Pareek, Strategy and Business Development Manager, Satyam Iron & Steel Company Private Limited, during his recent interaction with Tube & Pipe India.
Mr. Rohit Pareek, Strategy and Business Development Manager, Satyam Iron & Steel Company Private Limited,
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the business journey of Satyam Iron & Steel Company, highlighting major achievements and crucial milestones.
Rohit Pareek: Satyam Iron & Steel Company Private Limited is a pioneering sponge iron manufacturing enterprise and a fully integrated steel plant, which has been doing its business with a set standard of principles and ethics for the past 24 years. We have always maintained the philosophy of unity and growing together with all our stakeholders. Mr.
Rahul Agarwal, Director, Satyam Iron & Steel Company Private Limited, has developed a very good market base and a great network of dealers and distributors, owing to his over 25 years of experience in the industry.
The bond we share with our dealers and distributors forms the core strength of our company. Satyam Steel believes that our people are our greatest assets. It is their hard work and dedication that has helped us become a fully integrated steel plant. Our focus on core values and
maintaining good relations with our stakeholders, combined with our high-quality products, has helped us to achieve phenomenal growth in the tube and pipe industry.
TPI: Kindly tell us more about your market footprint and major clientele.
RP: Currently, we are not a pan-India group. Our clients are majorly based in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal. We are currently doing very good business in these states. We plan to go pan-India in future with more products and capacity enhancement.
TPI: What does the product basket of Satyam Iron & Steel boast of? Which are the sectors where your products find application?
RP: The product basket of Satyam Iron & Steel boasts a diverse range of high-quality products designed to meet various industrial needs. Our setup includes sponge iron, DRI and power plant components, offering MS billets, HR strips, MS (ERW) pipes and various structural products. Our steel products are essential for constructing robust and durable structures. Billets and strips serve as raw materials for other manufacturing companies. The newly-launched MS ERW pipes are utilized in various frameworks and infrastructure, providing essential strength and stability across a wide array of projects. We make products for the betterment of the common man.
TPI: Kindly give information about the challenges you face in the smooth running of your business.
RP: In the secondary market, the major challenge from the initial days has been to maintain the quality of the material. Our Director- Mr. Rahul Agarwal has taken up this challenge and handled it well. He has given us the best of machines to enhance the quality of our products. We take care of the whole process, starting from the raw material used to make the coil, to melting and end-finishing. We produce the best quality billets, MS strips and sponge. We even take care of the straight portion of pipe, to optimize its quality. Another challenge we face in the secondary market is the fluctuation of rates.
Since the secondary markets are highly volatile, it is also a big challenge to maintain robust relations with dealers and distributors. If we fail to develop their faith in us, we will not be able to survive. The company does not just sell them a product, it wins their confidence. We call them a part of the Satyam family. We give them the best price protection. As per our policy, we never force our dealers and distributors to purchase material when rates are down. We make sure that they do not suffer any loss. Whenever we ask our dealers and distributors to do something new, they’re very eager to collaborate with us. You will not find these kinds of ethics and lasting relations in secondary markets. Most of the companies in this market cannot
match up to our ethics and standards.
TPI: Please suggest some policies or regulations, which the government can introduce for the betterment of the industry.
RP: The government should come up with a policy to keep a tab on freight charges. There should be some uniformity in freight rates across the country. Though a lot has been done in terms of infrastructure, much work is needed on the logistics front to improve the demand and supply ratio.
TPI: Please share your views on the Indian tube and pipe industry. RP: I have been part of this industry for the past 12-15 years. The market has witnessed ample growth in the last five years and the trend is expected to continue in future. In fact, the tube and pipe industry is poised for a big boom in the next 5-10 years. It’s going to be a major player in the development of the country in the next decade.
TPI: Please share your future development plans.
We have launched “Satyam Pipes”, a high-quality ERW pipes, and we are looking for dealers, and distributors panIndia.
RP: We are coming up with an INR 500 crore investment plan to upgrade the quality of our pipes and give better service to our customers. In the next three years, we plan to double our production capacity and increase our market presence across the country. Our current manufacturing capacity is 15,000 to 20,000 tonne pipes. We are planning to double this capacity in the next 1-2 years. We are also planning to capture 70-80 percent of the industry, at least in the five states we currently operate in. We are also looking
The tube and pipe industry is poised for a big boom in the next 5-10 years. It’s going to be a major player in the development of the country in the next decade.
forward to setting our footprint in South India. Major tube and pipe markets in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai are currently governed by local players. We are confident of making ripples in the southern part of the country, on the basis of our highquality products, core values, and strong dealer & distributor network.
TPI: Kindly share your experience at the s econd edition of Tube & Pipe Fair 2024 in Hyderabad.
RP: It’s a great show. The organizers have done a commendable job of bringing all channels of the tube and pipe industry, including major pipe manufacturers, pipe machine makers, dealers, distributors, suppliers and buyers, under one roof. You guys are doing a great job. Satyam Iron & Steel is looking forward to making lasting collaborations and getting some wonderful insights about the industry from this fair.
Mahler GmbH Industrial Furnaces , the company that started in the 1920’s with the production of kitchen stoves became in the 50’s a manufacturer of industrial furnaces for the various heat treatments of metals, especially in a protective atmosphere. In 1980, it delivered its first sintering furnace with an incorporated endogas generator, thus laying the cornerstone for its success in the powder metal industry. Today, the German company’s reputation precedes its name. In India, it enjoys an elaborate customer base. Tube & Pipe India caught up with the company’s MD, Mr. Darius Geldner to delve into the company’s history to its market positioning, to mention some.
Tube & Pipe India: Please Walk us through the journey of Mahler since its inception.
Darius Geldner: The roots of Mahler, a company with tradition, date back to the year 1864. The company that started in the 1920’s with the production of kitchen stoves became in the 50’s a manufacturer of industrial furnaces for the various heat treatments of metals, especially in a protective atmosphere. In 1952 already we supplied the first protective gas furnace for bright annealing of 18/8 Cr-Ni steel. In 1964 the first protective gas continuous furnace with incorporated exogas generator to bright braze low carbon steel was supplied. In 1980 we delivered our first sintering furnace with an incorporated endogas generator, thus laying the cornerstone for our success in the powder metal industry. In 1991 we received the Award of Merit for “PM Processing Technology” from the European Powder Metal Association (EPMA) for the new development of a modern sintering furnace for sinterhardening with rapid dewaxing zone, incorporated endogas generator and a gas quench unit. Over the decades the name Mahler became a term for innovative heat treatment and up-todate and efficient furnace production.
TPI: What are the product lines you have been catering to the Indian market? And what motivated Mahler to enter the Indian market
and how are you positioned today, in terms of market share?
DG: Our business in India started with bright Annealing furnaces. We had a good response, and we achieved this without any advertisement as all in the country; it was purely word of mouth. The products speak for themselves. If you look at the Indian market, the tube and pipe, it’s like a community, and within this community words spread, and they found our time-tested quality products. That’s how we made our footprint here, and now we want to expand it. We also deliver some sintering furnaces to south India for automobile and fastener spare parts or for auto-metallurgy parts. More than 20% of our furnace is in India.
TPI: What is something that makes Mahler very different in the competition or how do you stay ahead of others in the game?
DG: Bright annealing furnaces is our technology. When it comes to a simple bright annealing furnace, everyone can do this more or less successfully. But we are really able to make ‘bright’ annealing. It means the pipes will come really bright and not oxidized. When it comes to a very fast cooling, which is called jet cooler, when the pipes come out of the furnace at 1050 degrees, we cool them down very quickly with pure hydrogen. The thing is handling hydrogen is dangerous,
it could explode, if you don’t know how to deal with it. The fact is that we are a unique company in the world equipped with this know-how or being able to control the flow of the hydrogen inside the furnace. So, we know when we blow this pure hydrogen, we are talking about 25,000 cubic meters per hour.
TPI: Who do you count as your major customers in India?
DG: Our biggest Indian customer is Ratnamani Metals and Tubes. The first time we delivered furnaces to them was in 2009, followed by more in 2012, 2013, and 2023. We also count Welspun Corporation and Remi Group as our good customers, and soon Jindal, Man Industries and Avon Tubetech will be
in the list. We want to approach everyone in the Indian market. And what is quite surprising for me is people already know the name Mahler.
TPI: What is the normal lead time in manufacturing and delivery?
DG: We deliver quite fast. On average, it’s between six to eight months. Then again based on the priority, we can reschedule.
TPI: What are some of the challenges that you often face?
DG: The biggest, at present, is the challenges posed by the ongoing geopolitical crises. When shipping, we now have to avoid the usual routes, and this evidently means more time, and thus impacting our cost.
Fluctuating exchange rate is also a major challenge. The fact that war in Ukraine has fueled inflation means we have to increase our price. We are, however, fortunate that our customers understand this, as we have been a reliable partner.
TPI: How do you see Mahler in the next five years?
DG: We are hopeful that our share in the Indian market will increase. I am saying this because I have been coming to this country since 2007, and have noticed a lot of positive changes. In this country of 1.43 billion, there must be a market for tubes, for pipes and for everything, for that matter. So, we are very optimistic about our future.
Hi-Tech will supply ERW steel pipes from its new manufacturing facility located in Sanand, Gujarat over the next three months. The pipes will be used for wind farms, solar installations and other green energy projects.
Aug 23, 2024
Hi-Tech Pipes has bagged orders worth INR 105 crore for supply of electric resistance welded (ERW) steel pipes from customers in the renewable energy sector.
The steel tubes and pipes manufacturer said in a statement that the supply orders would be executed from its new manufacturing facility located in Sanand, Gujarat over the next three months.
The ERW steel pipes would be used for wind farms, solar installations and other green energy projects.
The statement further said that Hi-Tech Pipes was ‘thrilled’ to be chosen as a preferred supplier of ERW Steel pipes for such a pivotal sector. These contracts not only demonstrated the confidence placed by its clients in the company, but also highlighted its role in advancing renewable energy infrastructure, it added.
The company said in another statement that its board has approved a plan to raise up to INR 600 crore through equity issues.
The fundraising plan has been approved by way of issue of equity shares or any other equity-linked instruments or securities; by way of a composite issue of non-convertible debentures and warrants; or any other eligible securities, for an aggregate amount not exceeding INR 600 crore, said the statement.
The proposal remained subject to necessary approvals, it added.
Hi-Tech Pipes owns and operates six integrated manufacturing facilities having a combined installed capacity of 7,50,000 metric tonnes per annum.
Riding high on innovation and out-of-the-box ideas, Parth Equipment Limited plans to enhance its annual manufacturing capacity from current 80-100 machines to 125-135 machines in 2024. Mr. Parth Shah, Technical Director of Parth Equipment Limited, revealed during an exclusive interview with Tube & Pipe India that they have carved a niche for themselves in the tube industry by catering to both industrial and ornamental sectors.
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly walk us through the illustrious business journey of Parth Equipment Limited, highlighting major milestones and crucial achievements.
Parth Shah: Parth Equipment Limited was started by my father, Mr. N.T. Shah, in 1987. After completing his M.Tech degree in Mechanical System Design from IIT Bombay in 1979, he joined Gujarat Steel Tubes Limited to get technical know-how about the tubes industry, before starting his own venture. He has so far designed and produced many components for various industries, including the plastic industry. In around 1990, we got our first requirement for a tube mill. From then onwards, we have made machinery exclusively for the tube industry. We faced a tough time during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the market has been very good after 2021. Parth Equipment has grown extensively in the past 37 years. We started with one running plant and today we have five running plants. We keep on adding 2-3 machines to our product range every year.
TPI: Please give information about your product portfolio. What is your annual production capacity? PS: We are a leading manufacturer of machines, mainly for the tube industry. There are two types of tube machinery markets in Indiacarbon steel and stainless steel. The
difference lies in steel grade and manufacturing-welding process. While carbon steel (ERW pipes) are manufactured using HF welding, the production of stainless steel tubes involves arc welding. We have been in the stainless steel industry since 199091. We are well-known and respected for supplying high-quality machines to almost all tube manufacturing companies established after 1986. Our major clients include Ratnamani Metals & Tubes Limited, Prakash Steelage Limited, Suraj Limited etc. We entered the carbon steel machinery branch in 2000, and have carved a niche for ourselves in that segment too.
Stainless steel tubes were earlier used for industrial purposes only, such as in reactors, heat exchangers etc. Nowadays, there is a huge market for ornamental tubes. These are used in railings and furniture. In ornamental tubes, finishing is more important than welding. The outer look matters more than the inside of the tube. We face competition from China in this segment. Our mills were initially designed for industrial purposes. Around 10 years back, we developed mills for the exclusive production of ornamental tubes. Now we have a separate product range of ornamental tubes. We are doing well in that sector as well. Sometimes, the mills we supply are cheaper than Chinese mills. Our current annual manufacturing capacity is 80-100 machines. We are planning to make 125-135 machines this year. We
keep some of the components of our fast-moving machines ready, so that we can supply these market-driven machines on a priority basis.
TPI: Please tell us the process and requirement to develop a highly innovative and state-of-the-art machine.
PS: Development of a new machine requires time and investment. First of all, you need a client, who is willing to be part of the process and respects the timeline. It takes 10-12 months to develop a new machine. The design process alone takes around 4-5 months. We have to study the end requirement, input and the different methods, which can be used to go from point A to B. Then we select an optimum method. My design team plays the most important part of the development. We have a wonderful team of design engineers, which comprises my father, me, my brother, and people with a similar mindset. Both me and my brother are secondgeneration IITians. I completed my M. Tech in Machine Design from IIT Madras in 2007. My brother, Mr. Arth Shah, completed his M.Tech (Honors) in Mechanical System Design from IIT Kharagpur in 2014. Our research team keeps conducting brainstorming sessions and comes up with excellent ideas.
TPI: Kindly tell us more about your market footprint and major
clientele.
PS: We have been exporting our products since 1993. We supply machines to our clients in the Middle East, Indonesia, South East Asia, East Africa, South Africa, South America, North America, and East Europe.
TPI: What is your USP that gives you an edge over others?
PS: Our advantage is our capability to design, adopt, and come up with a solution to develop a machine, which is most suitable to the requirements of our client. Over the years, we have marked our presence in both industrial and ornamental sectors. We have diversified and positioned ourselves as a strong competitor to Chinese machine manufacturers/ suppliers. We have a well-thought strategy and a perfect roadmap to continue our steady growth and expand our business.
TPI: Please share your views on the Indian tube and pipe industry. Also give information about the challenges you face in smooth running of your business.
PS: I’ve been in the tube and pipe Industry for almost 20 years. The industry has completely changed in the past two decades. The quality which was acceptable some 10-15 years ago, is not acceptable now. People are now looking for high-quality products, which is a good thing. This
The Indian tube and pipe products are sold more in the European and American market today than 10 years back.
has resulted in better recognition of our products, especially in foreign markets. The Indian tube and pipe products are sold more in the European and American market today than 10 years back. The industrial players have understood the need to supply quality goods. Quality has always been our advantage. We fall in that category, where customers come up with specific requirements related to quality and tolerance. However, there is a certain segment in India, wherein people are not ready to pay more for high quality. To manufacture better quality products in the same price range as low-quality products is indeed challenging, but we have managed to satisfy all our customers. When I joined the industry, there were 10-15 machine manufacturers. The number has now increased to 25-30 companies. There is healthy competition in the industry now. We look forward to growing with the industry in future.
TPI: Kindly share your experience at the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair 2024 in Hyderabad.
PS: Parth Equipment Limited is extremely happy to be part of TPF 2024. We have been associated with Tube & Pipe India for almost two years now. The depth in your publications, I have not seen in other publications. We participated in the debut edition of Tube and Pipe Fair in Delhi last year. This has always been a wonderful experience. Though I don’t know the statistics, the stalls are really good and I’m sure they are attracting a good number of visitors as well. Overall, a fantastic show.
TekMak prides itself on being a ‘leader in the machinery manufacturing sector for many years’ and delivers customers with the highest quality and most innovative machines to enhance their business efficiency. Its product range includes three primary offerings: the tube and pipe manufacturing line, the slitting line, and the cut-to-length line. These machines are engineered to withstand demanding industrial environments.
Established in Istanbul in 1980 by Mr. Mahmut Akpapuk, TekMak initially focused on offering maintenance and renovation services for tube mill lines. Over the past ten years, the company has grown significantly, now supplying steel factories and service centers with full coil processing lines. It prides itself on being a ‘leader in the machinery manufacturing sector for many years’ and delivers customers with ‘the highest quality and most innovative machines to enhance their business efficiency’.
Utilizing the latest technological advancements, the company is capable of providing its clients with the most sophisticated equipment available. Mr. Ilker Uzer, the Export Manager at TekMak, specializing in steel coil processing lines, mentioned that their product range includes three primary offerings: the tube and pipe manufacturing line, the slitting line, and the cut to length line. These machines are engineered to withstand demanding industrial environments. The tube mill lines are capable of producing tubes of various shapes, including round, square, and rectangular, with diameters ranging from 0.13 mm to 323 mm, featuring a variety of sizes. The slitting lines are adept at handling HR, HRP, CR, GI, PPGI, SS, aluminum, and electrical steel strips, from 0.15 mm to 15.00 mm in length, with a range of variations. Meanwhile, the cut to length lines are designed to handle HR, HRP, CR, GI, PPGI, SS, and aluminum coils, from 0.15 mm to 25.00 mm in length, offering a variety of options. Mr. Uzer emphasized that these machines
are crafted to meet stringent quality standards and can be tailored to meet specific customer needs. Furthermore, the company is committed to contributing to a sustainable future by integrating environmental consciousness into its manufacturing processes, as Mr. Uzer pointed out.
We started exporting to the Middle East, then Europe and then North Africa, and since 2016 we have been focusing on India because we believe in India’s future in the steel market, Mr. Uzer observed. He said that in the beginning, it was difficult even to sell the first line. Today that’s history. The company has been exporting to India since 2018 and has installed more than 20 lines in different parts of India, in places like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Coimbatore and Raipur, and several other states. But the company is yet to install its first tube line in India. Mr. Uzer was hopeful, when our interaction happened at the Tube & Pipe Fair second edition which concluded recently in Hyderabad, that it would happen during or after the event.
With a total capacity of maximum 12 lines per year, today, it counts Jindal Steel and Power among its major clients in India. The company, which always prioritizes customer satisfaction, is also a pioneer in after-sales services. Our customers, he asserted, are supported by a professional team in technical support, spare parts supply and maintenance services.
When asked what innovations and technologies define its uniqueness
in the competition, Mr Uzer emphasized: Quality. “Our quality level is similar to those of the European companies’, but at almost half the price. Our strongest point is, we provide a five years warranty, which is very rare. It shows that we are very unique,” he noted. And this five-year full warranty, he claimed, in electronic, mechanical and hydraulic makes the customers believe in their products.This is our strongest program, he added.
Mr. Uzer concurred with most leading exhibitors at the second edition of Tube & Pipe Fair that there is enormous potential in the Indian market. Although the company manufactures everything in Turkey and exports, he is hopeful that it could alter in the near future. That future could be India, given the prospects in the Indian economy or the fact that every player is eyeing a piece of the Indian pie. I am sure India has a bright future, not only for tube and pipe, but the entire steel sector, he mentioned.
He attributed this to the country’s vibrant and massive infrastructure developments. The steel pipes and tubes industry is one of the significant portions of the Indian steel sector. It contributes around 8 percent of India’s steel utilisation. The Indian steel pipe market is estimated to be INR 50,00055,000 crore. That’s why we are more focused on India, he said. Mr. Uzer shared TekMak’s plan to build a factory in the near future in India to move the company’s manufacturing capacity to the country. According to him, the company had already done its market research way back in 2016, and that concrete assessment is the reason why they have been coming to India. The company doesn’t want to increase its production capacity in Turkey, instead, it wants that to be done in India. If we open a facility, maybe we can add five,
six lines just for India, he said.
Despite the market potential state and the varied prospects, the ride in the Indian market has not been without challenges. The experience of operating in the Indian market, however, has evolved significantly since economic liberalization. It can be said that bureaucratic hurdles have been reduced significantly over the years, and to propel growth or to unlock market potential schemes such as Make in India and ProductionLinked Initiatives have been prioritized as well as promoted. They have definitely gained traction, and more will be rolled out. But they seem to have little to do with the equipment manufacturing companies like TekMak. I think this is not suitable for us, he said.
As far as challenges often experienced by companies like them with manufacturing setup elsewhere, he said that whenever they attend an exhibition, the first question he gets is: Do you have any machine in India? “They want to see, and we have to convince them without the actual machines. That’s why we are thinking of setting up a factory here. This is the main challenge for us. He, however, maintained that that gap, in a way,
The company doesn’t want to increase its production capacity in Turkey, instead, it wants that to be done in India. If we open a facility, maybe we can add five, six lines just for India.
has been bridged as they have done installation of many lines.
We started exporting to the Middle East, then Europe and then North Africa, and since 2016 we have been focusing on India because we believe in India’s future in the steel market.
As of now, the company has no plan to launch any new products, instead it wants to focus on enhancing its product quality. “This is our main thing. Technology is changing, new technologies are coming. We are talking with new suppliers, we are putting additional equipment to the line,” he elaborated. “Our aim is to install in every state of India. Now we have many lines, and in 5 years I am sure we will make up to 50 lines, which we can manufacture in India also. This is our main target for now.” As the industry continues to grow, many players have grown big, new players have joined the game, remarkable technologies have been introduced and many are planning significant investments and footprint expansion. What is unique is the increasing roles advanced technology suppliers and players from allied industries have been playing, and in this ecosystem, the competition over the years has become more intense, with players offering cutting-edge technologies. It remains to be seen how much share of the Indian pie TekMak will get.
GMT Industries is planning to double up its manufacturing capacity and reach a revenue of INR 250-300 crore in the next 2 years. It is coming up with a new manufacturing facility in Faridabad, establishing a new state-of-the-art machine shop to build more than 80 percent components in-house, purchasing latest technologies, and looking forward to becoming one of the few manufacturers of API pipe mills in India. During a joint interaction with Tube & Pipe India, Mr. Rakesh Kumar Bansal, Director, GMT Industries Limited and Mr. Romi Sehgal, Managing Director, SG Tech Engineering (part of APL Apollo Tubes Limited), discussed their 16-year-old partnership.
Mr. Rakesh Kumar Bansal, Director, GMT Industries Limited and Mr. Romi Sehgal, Managing Director, SG Tech Engineering (part of APL Apollo Tubes Limited)
Tube & Pipe India: Kindly Walk us through the illustrious business journey of GMT, highlighting major milestones and crucial achievements. Also give information about your 16-yearold partnership with APL Apollo. Rakesh Kumar Bansal: GMT Industries was started in 2008 by a group of professionals to do fabrication and machinery work. APL Apollo gave us the opportunity to manufacture tube and pipe mills which turned out to be a very successful venture. Today, we manufacture approximately 36 tube mills in a year, along with slitting lines, cut-to-length lines, hydrotesters and straightening machines, all for the steel industry. It’s a 16-year-old partnership, which has remained fruitful to date.
TPI: What prompted APL Apollo to invest in GMT Industries?
Romi Sehgal: All the Directors in GMT Industries were earlier working for Gallium Industries Limited in JV with Japanese Company Kusakabe in Faridabad. I was also there as the head of production. They brought in a lot of new technology. They had some financial problems and gradually closed down. During those times, APL Apollo Tubes Limited, which SG Tech Engineering is a part of, was eyeing a lot of new segments in India. Nobody was making tubes for those segments. Replacement of the structural steel,
channels and angles was pioneered by APL Apollo. We wanted some company to make equipment according to our requirement, not as per standard. We could have collaborated with an Italian or a European company, but that would have taken a lot of energy and time. In the equipment industry, unless you have orders, you cannot just make the machine and keep it for selling on the shelf. It requires a lot of money. We wanted somebody in India to give us the equipment and technology required for our expansion. So we thought about GMT Industries and entered into a collaboration with them. Our partnership started with a single tube mill and today, we have about 25-30 mills from GMT Industries. Apart from standard mills, GMT Industries has provided us with new equipment and machines, designed and customized as per our requirement. It has been a win-win situation for both of us.
TPI: After this investment, how would you describe GMT’s position in the tube and pipe industry?
RKB: Both, our company and our network, have grown exponentially after collaborating with APL Apollo. It also set the stage for expansion and new ventures. We have purchased a 3.6-acre patch on Mathura Road, about 20 kilometers from our existing plant in Faridabad, to build a large
factory. As our order book swelled, we found it difficult to run the business from our existing setup. We are also establishing a state-of-the-art machine shop containing all CNC imported machines. It will reduce our dependence on vendors and suppliers. We will build 80-90 percent components of the machines in-house and get around 10-20 percent through outsourcing. It will improve the quality of our machines. We are also investing in technical collaborations. We purchased 2-3 new technologies recently. In future, we hope to bring the latest technologies like flexible forming, cage forming and bigger API machines to India.
TPI: What kind of production capacity are you looking at?
RKB: In terms of finances, we are working on INR 100-125 crore right now. With the new premises, machine shop and new technologies, we are very much hopeful that within a span of 1-1.5 years, we will double our production capacity and reach a revenue of INR 250-300 crore.
Our profit margin will go up, our EBITDA will increase and we will grow at a fast pace.
TPI: What are some of the factors that have enabled GMT Industries to achieve its current growth and market positioning?
RS: Since its inception, GMT
In future, we hope to bring the latest technologies like flexible forming, cage forming and bigger API machines to India.
Industries has been continuously improving its quality. They are a bunch of honest professionals, who work with unmatched dedication and focus. Once they get an order, they make all-out efforts to finish it on time. APL Apollo buys a lot of equipment from GMT. Till date, we never faced any problems. Our idea behind supporting them was to fulfill our equipment manufacturing needs in India, rather than approaching Europe or China. We supported GMT Industries for our benefit and for the market as well. We push them to achieve their targets in the least possible time, as well as improve their equipment, technology and quality.
TPI: What does GMT Industries’ product basket contain? Which are the sectors where your products find application?
RKB: We manufacture ERW tube mills, precision tube mills and stainless-steel tube forming mills. We also produce tube-related equipment, such as slitting lines, horizontal strip accumulators, tube draw benches, push pointer machines, strip shear & welders, rolls, tube straightening machines, tube end facers, annealing equipment, tube hydrotesters, pipe bundling machines, pipe threading machines, servo cut-to-length lines, and cold saws. There are basically two segments of pipe manufacturers in the industry. First are those making structural pipes, such as black pipes, galvanized pipes and pre-galvanized pipes. Second are the companies making precision pipes. We cater to both. Our ERW pipes are primarily
used in the manufacturing sector.
TPI: What kind of policy intervention do you expect from the government for the ease of doing business?
RKB: Though the current government policies, rules and regulations are very good, we expect more businessfriendly policies in future for robust growth of our industry. After the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), doing business has become easier. We are a company that follows all the rules & regulations. We believe that by paying taxes on time, we are aiding the development of our nation. We also comply with all the labor laws, such as the ESI, PF and welfare for the employees, CSR, etc.
RS: Since the equipment manufacturer depends on the end user, the policies should be designed in such a way that they ensure the ease of doing business for the end user rather than the manufacturers.
TPI: What’s your view of the Indian tube and pipe industry in terms of growth and future prospects?
RS: The industry totally depends on how much the government is
ready to spend on the infrastructure because tubular products go into a lot of infrastructure requirements. The government has started spending on infrastructure since the last 2-3 years, and the future also seems very good. Also, a lot of new pipe manufacturing companies and new segments are coming in. We are trying to switch the end users from the traditional steel to pipes.
TPI: What kind of growth figure can we expect?
RS: As per global standards, in a developed country, if 100 tons of steel is produced, out of that about 10 tons is tube. But in India, tube content is around 2 tons, reflecting a gap. So, as we develop, that gap will be narrowed. There’s a lot of scope, potential and space for new companies and for new segments.
TPI: Where do you see GMT Industries five years down the line?
RKB: In the next five years, we will quadruple our production capacity. India is a developing country and per capita steel consumption is not at par with developed countries. We see a
lot of scope in India because there are a lot of tube mills, pipe mills, steam and pipe material available here. Besides, we are planning to acquire new technologies like manufacturing of spiral saw welded pipes and API pipes. There are only a few factories currently manufacturing spiral saw welded pipes in the country. The same goes for API pipe mills. Many companies go out of India to buy mills for API pipes, which are mainly used in the oil and gas sector. We see this as a great opportunity.
TPI: What is your takeaway from the second edition of Tube and Pipe Fair in Hyderabad?
RS: It has been a good experience. The set-up has attracted a lot of visitors and received several serious inquiries. Such a footfall in a place like Hyderabad is commendable.
RKB: GMT Industries is participating for the first time. It’s a good platform for companies like us. The ambience, footfall, set-up, everything looks good. We hope to make lasting connections and collaborations during TPF 2024. It’s not just visitors, real customers are coming here, even from overseas.
Larsen & Toubro’s hydrocarbon vertical has won (Significant) offshore order from ONGC involving EPCIC of 129 km subsea pipelines.
Jul 6. 2024
The L&T Energy Hydrocarbon (LTEH) vertical of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has secured an order from the Oil & Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) for the eighth phase of Pipeline Replacement Project (PRP-VIII Group B) off India’s west coast.
The order involves engineering, procurement, construction, installation & commissioning (EPCIC) of 129-km subsea pipelines and associated modification works across India’s west coast offshore fields of the ONGC.
Commenting on the order win, Mr Subramanian Sarma, Whole-time Director & President – Energy, L&T,
said: “This order reflects ONGC’s continued confidence in L&T, and this emanates from our track record of successfully delivering complex offshore projects. This order further demonstrates L&T’s unwavering commitment to India’s energy requirement.”
Xiris Automation Inc, developers of technology that can monitor for minute defects in welded tubes and pipes, see huge potential in the Indian market. This was revealed by Mr. David Garrard, Director-APAC at Xiris Automation Inc, in an exclusive interview with Tube & Pipe India .
Tube & Pipe India: Please tell us about your company and the products and technologies you offer for the tube and pipe industry.
David Garrard: Xiris Automation Inc. develops machine vision technology that enables cameras to monitor, recognize, and detect quality defects in metal manufacturing processes. Our primary focuses are the tube and pipe industry and in welding automation.
For the tube and pipe industry we offer a post-weld inspection tool that is placed immediately after the weld box on a welded tube or pipe mill. This tool uses a laser line and a high-speed, high-resolution camera to detect weld and tube geometry deviations down to the micron level. Adopting this technology can lead to a significant enhancement in the quality of a customers’ tubes. In industries such as nuclear energy or high-pressure applications, where tube leaks can be catastrophic, our technology is crucial. Our customers also include those producing tubes for the aerospace and automotive industries, where tube quality is also paramount. The Xiris solutions provide operators with early insights into the mill forming and welding operations, allowing them to proactively address issues before they escalate.
Additionally, we offer weld cameras for automated welding applications across various metal fabrication sectors, enabling real-time analysis of weld pools for alignment, size variations and more recently, melt
temperature monitoring.
TPI: Where are your major markets, and what motivated you to enter the Indian market?
DG: Our major markets include the US and Europe, where there is a strong demand for the high-quality solutions Xiris offers. The Indian market is currently in a developmental stage and holds tremendous potential. We already have significant clients like Tata Steel and ArcelorMittal, who have seen value in our products for both their international and Indian operations. For example, Tata Steel in the Netherlands started with one of our systems six years ago, and now they have over 12. Establishing a strong footprint in India before our competitors is a strategic priority for us.
TPI: How would you describe your experience of doing business in India?
DG: The Indian market is challenging but evolving rapidly in the right direction. There is a growing openness to innovative solutions and a better recognition of the importance of quality compared to a decade ago. Although price remains a hurdle, it is gradually becoming less of a barrier, which bodes well for the market. The adoption of new technologies and higher-quality standards will enhance India’s reputation for product quality both domestically and internationally.
TPI: What is the typical lead time for manufacturing and delivering a machine?
DG: The lead time varies depending on the solution. A camera solution
typically takes three to four weeks, while a laser-based solution can take six to eight weeks. Our consignments are shipped from Canada, and most of the time, installation is not required. However, in some cases, we will send our installation experts to set up the systems on-site.
TPI: Do you offer customization options?
DG: Yes, we provide customization based on the size of the tubes being manufactured. For instance, mills producing small diameter tube will require a different sensor size compared to a large tube mill. We offer tailored solutions for various tube sizes from 5mm on up beyond 700mm and have integration capabilities that allow us to connect to PLCs, send warnings and errors states to cutters or marking devices. We have customers who are reading our sensor data and conducting machine learning and AI for more advanced applications.
TPI: What are some of your best-performing machines in the market?
DG: Our tube and pipe laser profiling product is unique and faces little competition. We also have a thermal camera that we’ve developed and have been selling to high-end research institutes globally, including the atomic energy sector in India. We have sold it also for ERW tube V-angle analysis. Our most widely sold products are our high-dynamic range weld cameras, which are used extensively to monitor welding processes for defects. We have an automated seam monitoring solution for laser and TIG welding tube mill operators.
TPI: Can you share details about recent innovations or new technologies you have incorporated into your products?
DG: We are continuously innovating, particularly with our software – with the recent introduction of a Melt Pool AI solution. Due to customer interest we introduced a specialized microphone that can operate in challenging welding environments.
This microphone listens to the sound of welding and detects anomalies in the audio signal, providing realtime alerts. Further, due to the extreme brightness associated with welding, we have developed specialty illumination and optical filtering to improve our ability to perform realtime machine vision analysis on weld pools.
TPI: What is your overall production capacity at the moment?
DG: Our company is relatively small, with less than 100 employees, a third of whom are in the production department. We are constantly working to meet our order demands. If we received an order for 100 cameras, it would take us several weeks to fulfill it. These are all custom build orders.
TPI: As a manufacturer, what are some of the major challenges you often encounter in the market?
DG: The tube, pipe, and welding industries are inherently challenging due to the harsh conditions, including heat, fumes, and liquids. Our cameras need to be robust, with cooling systems, spatter protection, and air knives to ensure accuracy and durability. These conditions mean there are challenges in engineering design and packaging. Doing all that for a price that is attractive to the
customer can sometimes be an issue.
TPI: What is your perspective on the growth prospects of the Indian tube and pipe industry?
DG: The industry is evolving rapidly, particularly in terms of inspection. Our Indian tube industry partner, who sell other technologies, has noted a significant increase in investment in better, higher-quality technology so that top-tier Indian producers can compete internationally on quality, and price. This is promising for us, as companies aiming for global quality levels will need our inspection systems.
TPI: What kind of policy-level interventions would you like to see to make doing business easier for companies like yours?
DG: Selling in India comes with its challenges, such as obtaining BIS certification and dealing with letters of credit and performance bank guarantees. These are not common hurdles in other parts of the world. We believe that a shift towards a more open business-friendly policy would be beneficial to Indian industry and Indians in general.
TPI: Where do you see yourself in the Indian market in the next five years?
DG: We foresee substantial growth in India over the next five years. We
sold our first tube inspection system in India late last year and have already sold a second one. Our client, a premium company, has indicated that once they validate the product’s value, there will be significant sales across their operations, potentially mandating it for their suppliers as well. This would be a huge win for us.
TPI: What are your takeaways from the Tube & Pipe Fair 2024 edition in Hyderabad?
DG: Our business thrives on strategic partnerships, and industry fairs like
this one are invaluable for building those connections. We’ve already had three promising meetings and received samples for testing in our laboratory. These opportunities might not have arisen if we hadn’t attended the show. These fairs are crucial for our business.
TPI: What marketing and branding initiatives do you use to keep your clients informed about your latest technologies?
DG: Apart from attending industry shows, we are very active on social
media. Because our products involve cameras, we can easily prepare visually striking and easy-to-understand selling content right from our sensors. Not many people have ever seen the tube weld bead profile of their tube mill, or watched a weld pool form in real time. Our marketing strategy focuses on using these types of videos to showcase the value and ease of use of our products. Once prospects have seen the videos it is a matter of building trust and helping the prospect see the quality and ROI boost that they could derive from a Xiris solution.
Two Indonesian companies have entered into a strategic partnership to establish SouthEast Asia’s first seamless pipe production plant at Krakatau Steel industry complex in Cilegon, Banten. The deal is worth around USD 325 million.
Sep 4, 2024
Two Indonesian companies, which include a leading seamless pipe manufacturer and a well-established steel pipe supplier, have entered into a strategic partnership to establish Southeast Asia’s first seamless pipe manufacturing facility on the picturesque islands of Java.
PT Inerco Global International has entered into a strategic partnership with PT Artas Energi Petrogas to establish Southeast Asia’s first seamless pipe manufacturing facility at Cilegon in Banten, the westernmost province of Java Island in Indonesia.
Mr. Hendrik Kawilarang Luntungan, CEO of PT Inerco Global International, signed the cooperation agreement worth around USD 325 million with Mr. Jose Antonio Reyes, CEO of PT Artas Energi Petrogas
As per the deal, the companies would set up a seamless pipe production plant within the Krakatau Steel industry complex in Banten.
Mr. Luntungan said the project aligned with President Joko Widodo’s vision of transforming Indonesia into an industrial nation by increasing oil production and promoting domestic value addition.
Noting that Indonesia was currently importing steel pipes worth around USD 96.9 million annually, he said the operation of the seamless pipe factory would help the country save on foreign exchange.
The plant would be able to address the growing demand for seamless steel pipes in Indonesia’s oil and gas sector, which currently stood around 500,000 tons per annum, he added.
Mr. Luntungan said PT Artas Energi Petrogas had an annual production capacity of 250,000 tons. However, the factory’s domestic component level (TKDN) or local content was currently only 43–50 percent as it imports raw materials. The aim of PT Inerco Global International was to increase the TKDN value of PT Artas Energi Petrogas to 95 percent, he added.
ArcelorMittal’s Gent, Belgium site has become the first steel plant in the world to trial the new technology by D-CRBN, which would convert carbon dioxide captured at the plant into carbon monoxide, for use in steel and chemical production.
Jul 22, 2024
ArcelorMittal and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited (MHI) are working with a climate tech company, D-CRBN, to trial a new technology, which can convert carbon dioxide (CO2) captured at ArcelorMittal’s plant in Gent, Belgium into carbon monoxide (CO), for use in steel and chemical production.
As per a release issued by ArcelorMittal, this is the first industrial testing of D-CRBN’s plasma technology, making ArcelorMittal Gent the first steel plant in the world to trial the process.
This new trial expands the current multi-year carbon capture pilot taking place at the site to test the feasibility of full-scale deployment of MHI’s carbon capture technology (Advanced KM CDR Process).
D-CRBN, an Antwerp-based company, has developed a technology that uses plasma to convert CO2 into CO. Using renewable electricity, the plasma is used to break the carbon-oxygen bond, thereby converting carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide.
Carbon monoxide can be used as a reductant in the steelmaking process – replacing part of the coke or metallurgical coal used in the blast furnace – or as a basic ingredient in Gent’s Steelanol plant, for chemicals or alternative fuel production.
The D-CRBN process requires high-purity CO2, which can be provided by MHI’s carbon capture unit, currently being used to capture blast furnace off-gases, and off-gases from the hot strip mill reheating furnace, in Gent.
A pipeline between MHI’s carbon capture unit and D-CRBN’s unit was connected on July 1, 2024, to test the feasibility of using the CO2 captured by the MHI technology as a feedstock for D-CRBN. The industrial pilot is an important stage of testing D-CRBN’s technology, to make sure that any impurities that accompany the CO2 produced during steelmaking do not have a detrimental effect on the process and product gas.
ArcelorMittal is pursuing a number of decarbonisation routes in order to achieve its climate targets, which include a 35 percent reduction in CO2 emissions from
ArcelorMittal Europe, by 2030. One of these routes is Smart Carbon steelmaking, which uses circular carbon in the blast furnace, carbon capture and storage (CCS) or utilization (CCU).
Manfred Van Vlierberghe, CEO, ArcelorMittal Belgium, said, “We are proud to be part of this unique carbon capture and usage trial in Gent, which is part of our strategy to develop the Smart Carbon steelmaking route in ArcelorMittal Belgium. Our team of engineers has worked hard with our partners to reach this stage – and we are thrilled that our new partner, D-CRBN, have created this new CCU technology here in Belgium.”
Gill Scheltjens, CEO at D-CRBN, said, “D-CRBN is thrilled to partner with ArcelorMittal and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries on this innovative carbon capture and utilization (CCU) pilot project. Electrifying steel production is challenging, but D-CRBN’s process, which recycles CO2 emissions back into CO, offers a cost-effective and scalable solution. Our technology can electrify and decarbonise existing blast furnaces and significantly reduce their coal use. The conversion of CO2 back into CO for steel production will limit the need for green hydrogen in the future and reduce the costs of emission-free products. Moreover, some of the CO produced can be supplied to neighboring chemical companies as feedstock.”
MHI’s Senior Vice President (CCUS) of GX (Green Transformation) Solutions, Tatsuto Nagayasu, said, “CCUS will play a critical role in decarbonising existing assets in the steel industry. Our collaboration with ArcelorMittal and D-CRBN in Belgium provides another tool for the industry to reduce its carbon footprint — capturing
emissions, converting them into a valuable feedstock, and feeding them back into the process. This initiative demonstrates our commitment to sustainable practices and innovative solutions for a greener future.”
ArcelorMittal, MHI, BHP and Mitsubishi Development Pty Ltd (Mitsubishi Development) announced in May
2024 that they had successfully started operating a pilot carbon capture unit on the blast furnace off-gas at ArcelorMittal Gent in Belgium. In October 2022, the four parties announced their collaboration on a multiyear trial of MHI’s carbon capture technology (Advanced KM CDR ProcessTM) at multiple CO2 emission points, starting at the Gent steelmaking site.
Steel demand has fallen more than 10 percent since 2020 in China. Earlier, companies were permitted to build steel plants on the condition that they remove set amounts of existing and older capacity.
Sep 3, 2024
In a strong response to a demand slump, which has fallen more than 10 percent since 2020, crushing industry profits and fueling a surge of exports, the People’s Republic of China has suspended approvals for new steel plants.
For years, China has operated a system in which companies can build steel plants on the condition that they remove set amounts of existing and older capacity.
These rules have ceased to apply from August 23, said a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The Ministry said the government would develop an alternative program. The supply and demand relationship in the steel industry was facing new challenges. There were problems such as inadequate policy implementation, imperfect supervision and implementation mechanisms, and incompatibility with the industry’s development situation and needs, it added.
The statement said the Ministry would accelerate research into a new capacity-swap policy. Local authorities that announced any new replacement plans would be deemed to have added capacity illegally, it added.
The past few months have witnessed strong calls from the Chinese authorities for action amid the decreasing demand of steel and its prices.
As per analysts, the industry needed to shrink to fit an economy which was becoming less reliant on steel-intensive construction.
As the mills struggled to find domestic markets for about 1 billion tons a year of output, Chinese steel exports registered a record growth in 2024, highest after 2016.
An analyst said that this would not do enough to meaningfully phase out excess capacity, adding that the weakening demand on the ground called for more drastic measures, such as aggressive production control, along with strong government enforcement.
The country had introduced the ‘capacity swaps’ for heavy industries, including steel, in the middle of last decade, as the government began to tackle untrammeled expansion.
Under the latest rules introduced three years ago, each ton of annual steel capacity added in environmentally sensitive areas had to be matched by the closure of 1.5 tons of existing capacity, or by 1.25 tons in all other areas.
However, there were significant exceptions, largely designed to encourage electric arc furnace plants that relied on scrap, rather than the coal-fired blast furnaces that dominated China’s industry.
As per an analyst, the capacity swap program actually led to growth, as mills often opted to demolish outdated plants for bigger ones. Since the whole industry’s demand was currently declining, overcapacity was becoming more and more serious. This document from the ministry sent a signal of control, he added.
Tosyali-SULB will build the world’s largest DRI plants, equipped with MIDREX Flexi DRI technology and having a total capacity of 8.1 million tons in Benghazi. The project aims to transform Libya into a world-class steel industry and one of the world’s leading bases for green steel production.
Tosyalı, a global producer of green steel, is strategically expanding its investments across three continents, from Europe to Africa and Asia. In line with this forward-thinking strategy, Tosyalı has signed an agreement with Libya United Steel Company for Iron and Steel Industry (SULB) to build the world’s largest DRI complex in Benghazi.
As per a release issued by Tosyalı, the global green steel producer has started a new world-class steel investment in Libya following its investments in Turkey, Algeria, Senegal, Angola and Spain.
Continuing its worldwide growth by expanding its investment geography to three continents, Tosyalı further expands its sphere of influence in the Mediterranean basin with Libya, which formerly entered with Algeria.
With the agreement, the two companies will establish a brand new company titled Tosyalı-SULB in Libya. The project includes a series of investments that will significantly contribute to the development of Libya’s industry, particularly the development of the iron & steel sector and employment.
As a part of the investment project, the world’s largest DRI plants, with a total capacity of 8.1 million tons, will be built. These plants will be equipped with MIDREX Flexi DRI technology, also utilized in Tosyalı Algérie. With this technology, the plant can operate using hydrogen, a clean energy source, making it one of the world’s leading bases for green steel production.
Investments will commence immediately for the first phase of the integrated iron and steel complex, which will have a capacity of 2.7 million tons. The plant will meet the hot bricket iron (HBI) needs of the nearby regions and Europe for green steel, while further enhancing Tosyalı’s position as global green steel producer. When this investment is completed, Tosyalı will become the largest supplier in the international marketplace in the supply of HBI, the primary intermediate product needed most in the green transforma-
tion process.
“We are excited to expand our investments in the Mediterranean coasts of Africa, a priority investment region we identified and committed to years ago with great foresight. By focusing on value-added steel based on local production, our regional investments create a positive economic, environmental and social impact by fostering value, employment, development and welfare in the countries we enter,” said Mr. Fuat Tosyalı, Chairman of Tosyalı Holding.
“We will be very pleased to bring our expertise and capabilities in value-added steel production to Benghazi with this new complex, where we have completed the ground investigation and engineering works. The construction and assembly will start in the upcoming days. I firmly believe we will pioneer transforming the Libyan steel industry into an ecosystem that meets world steel industry needs by producing high-standard, high-quality green steel products with low carbon emissions, utilizing advanced technology, innovation, and R&D in the integrated facility we will establish. I hope this agreement will benefit both companies and our friendly & brotherly country, Libya,” he added.
“We are delighted and proud to make a crucial step towards Libya’s industrialization and the development of the steel industry by partnering with Tosyalı, a global steel producer and leader in green steel across three continents. This agreement will help both groups to make a big move forward and strengthen economic ties between Benghazi and Turkey even more. This investment will position Libya as a key player in global
steel production and significantly impact green steel and decarbonization. I hope this major global investment will benefit both companies and Libya, following
the rapid progress made in our partnership,” said Mr. Ahmed Gadalla, Chairman of Libya United Steel Company for Iron and Steel Industry (SULB).
Tata Steel has become the first Indian steel mill to produce hot-rolled steel for the transportation of gaseous hydrogen, while Welspun Corp has become the first Indian pipe mill to produce Electric Resistance Welded pipes.
Tata Steel and Welspun Corp have become the first Indian companies to produce Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) pipes for transportation of gaseous hydrogen.
As per a release issued by the leading global steel company, Tata Steel entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Welspun Corp, one of the largest manufacturers of line pipes globally, to develop Hydrogen compliant API X65 H grade pipes through the ERW pipe route in 2022.
The companies achieved the significant milestone of developing Hydrogen compliant API X65 grade pipes, which successfully surpassed all necessary critical sour service and fracture qualification tests for transportation of 100 percent pure gaseous Hydrogen under high pressure (100 bar) at RINA, Italy.
With this development, Tata Steel has become the first Indian steel mill to produce hot-rolled steel for the transportation of gaseous hydrogen and Welspun Corp has become the first Indian pipe mill to produce Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) pipes.
The Green Energy Strategic Partnership between Tata Steel and Welspun Corp was set up to assess the suitability of a variety of pipes manufactured by Welspun Corp for the transportation of Hydrogen. This partnership is synchronous with the Government of India’s (GoI) green hydrogen policy.
Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Vice President, Marketing & Sales (Flat Products), Tata Steel, said: “We are proud to achieve this milestone in partnership with Welspun Corp since it marks a critical advancement in our journey towards clean energy solutions. Through this, we are laying the groundwork for a more robust
infrastructure and ecosystem necessary for the widespread adoption of green hydrogen, thereby encouraging the transition to a greener and more sustainable future.”
Commenting on this development, Mr. Vipul Mathur, Managing Director & CEO, Welspun Corp Limited (WCL), said: “WCL is continuously working towards strengthening its expanding product portfolio across the pipe solutions and building material segments, both in India and globally, while being mindful towards building a future-ready world. Our strategic partnership with Tata Steel enables us to jointly adopt and build awareness towards the usage of Green Hydrogen in our daily lives. This endeavor is in line with our ongoing efforts to strategically embed ESG drivers across our businesses, and the Government’s vision for a net-zero economy by 2070.”
The journey began in 2022 when Tata Steel and Welspun Corp entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop hydrogen-compliant API grade pipes through the ERW Pipe route.
Additionally, in October 2022, the Longitudinal-seam Submerged Arc Welding (LSAW) pipes produced by Welspun Corp successfully passed all qualification tests, confirming their suitability for hydrogen transportation.
Man Industries will build a new plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia with an investment of INR 6 billion.
Aug 20, 2024
India’s leading steel pipe manufacturer, MAN Industries Limited, is set to establish a new plant in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with an investment of INR 6 billion. The company in a statement said that the new plant will consist of line pipe manufacturing and a coating facility catering to Saudi Arabia’s growing demand. The new plant will enhance the company’s capacity by 0.4 to 0.5 million tonnes overseas. The facility will be funded through debts and internal accruals, the statement said.
The Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) 2.0 portal features API integration with multiple government portals, enhancing quality control and streamlining processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness. It will give a boost to the domestic steel industry and help in monitoring steel imports.
Aug 5, 2024
The Union Ministry of Steel and Heavy Industries has launched the upgraded Steel Import Monitoring System portal, to bolster the domestic steel industry, monitor steel imports, and achieve self-sufficiency in steel production, aligning with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
As per an official notification, SIMS 2.0 features API integration with multiple government portals, enhancing quality control and streamlining processes for improved efficiency and effectiveness.
The portal boasts a robust data entry system, ensuring consistent and authentic data, which promotes transparency and accountability. Integration of various databases enable stakeholders to locate areas of risk and permit better risk management.
Availability of such detailed data not only provides input for policy making but also signals areas for production and growth to the domestic steel industry, says the release, adding that the detailed data will also enable the customs department to conduct better analysis and risk management of steel imports.
The government has also released the second volume of the book ‘Safety Guidelines for Iron of Steel Sector,’ containing the guidelines for 16 different processes being used by the iron and steel sector. It extends the work of the Steel Ministry of publishing 25 safety guidelines in 2020 covering specific risks.
As per the release, though these guidelines are currently voluntary in nature, the industry has welcomed such regulations, as these have been generated through a consultation process. Besides addressing safety, such rules and regulations have a positive bearing on productivity, it adds.
Indian Oil Corporation is further targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2046. The company plans to enhance its renewable energy capacity by expanding its traditional oil operations and investing in green hydrogen and EV charging.
Jul 25, 2024
As India embarks on an aspirational journey to become a USD 30 trillion economy by 2047, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), one of the largest integrated oil companies of the country, braces up to meet a significant portion of the country’s growing energy needs by targeting net-zero carbon emissions by 2046.
The company will continue investment in fossil fuels and new energy avenues to have a balanced portfolio that will help achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2046, said Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, IOC Chairman, in the company’s annual report.
IOC was also planning to enhance its renewable energy capacity and pursue green initiatives to contribute to India’s ambitious renewable energy targets by expanding its traditional oil operations and investing in green hydrogen and EV charging.
Calling IOC the ‘Energy of India’, Mr Vaidya said they were targeting a revenue of USD 1 trillion by 2047 and looking forward to becoming the nation’s lead energiser, fulfilling 12.5 per cent (1/8th) of the country’s energy needs by 2050.
IOC will make significant capital investment in both brownfield and greenfield expansions to ensure uninterrupted energy, while petrochemical integration will be a key focus area that will greatly enrich the country’s value chain, he added.
While the first phase of petchem expansions at Panipat in Haryana and Paradip in Odisha is complete, the one at Gujarat refinery is scheduled for commissioning in 2024-25. The firm is also setting up a polypropylene unit at Barauni refinery.
“We are scaling up our capacity, targeting an increase to 13 million tonnes and achieving a petrochemical intensity index of 15 per cent by 2030,” he said.
He said by integrating petrochemicals into its refining investments, IOC was expanding its product range to include niche offerings like speciality chemicals and biopolymers. Alongside, it will pursue green initiatives, including hydrogen mobility, hydrogen transportation, biofuels, electric mobility, solar cooktops and
minimizing water footprint.
“In pursuit of our vision for a greener future, IOC has resolved to consolidate its green initiatives under a single umbrella by setting up a wholly-owned subsidiary Terra Clean Limited. This new entity will undertake low carbon, new, clean and green energy businesses,” he said.
By putting all green initiatives under one arm, IOC is looking to optimize resource allocation, enhance innovation and implement cutting-edge solutions more efficiently.
“As part of our carbon-neutral energy vision, we plan to establish 1 GW of renewable energy capacity with an investment of over Rs 5,000 crore. This green arm will spearhead our initiatives in renewable energy, ensuring that we remain at the forefront of the energy transition and contribute significantly to India’s ambitious renewable energy targets.”
“The firm aims to enhance its renewable energy capacity to 31 GW by 2030, primarily through solar and wind projects. IOC is integrating renewable power into its refinery operations. It is also energising fuel stations and installations with solar power,” he revealed.
IOC has formed a joint venture with Israeli technology company Phinergy for aluminium-air batteries and with Panasonic Energy of Japan for advanced cell manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries in India.
“With a vision to propel ‘Make in India’ for the world, the JV plans to establish a 1 GWh capacity factory by 2027, with an ambitious expansion to 5 GWh by 2031,” he said, on the joint venture with Panasonic.
IOC has also formed a joint venture with Sun Mobility Private Limited to establish one of the largest batteryswapping networks in India by 2030.
In the realm of compressed bioGas (CBG), it plans
to set up 30 CBG plants nationwide this year. On hydrogen, the firm is looking to convert half of its current hydrogen consumption to green by 2030.
“Our plan involves setting up green hydrogen plants across all refineries and propelling the advent of hydrogen mobility in the country,” the chairman noted.
IOC is betting big on battery swapping solutions,
particularly for the two and three-wheeler segment, with plans to expand this avenue for heavy-duty vehicle applications.
“As the energy needs of an ascendant India rapidly grow, we are fully prepared to ramp up both conventional and non-conventional energy options to cater to this increasing demand,” Mr. Vaidya asserted.
Hi-Tech Pipes will decarbonize 60 percent of its manufacturing capacities by 2030 and all of them by 2033. The development aligns with the Government of India’s push for reducing 30-35 percent carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving zero carbon emissions by 2070.
Jul 25, 2024
One of the leading steel tubes and pipes manufacturers of India, Hi-Tech Pipes Limited, has announced plans to decarbonize 60 percent of its manufacturing capacities by 2030 and all of them by 2033.
Hi-Tech recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the time-bound generation and captive use of green hydrogen projects with a top renewable energy provider. The supplier would present its robust EPC credentials along with extensive R&D capabilities covering a wide range of green hydrogen applications, said Mr. Ajay Kumar Bansal, Chairman of Hi-Tech Pipes Limited.
According to Mr. Bansal, the development aligned with the government’s push for reducing 30-35 percent carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving zero carbon emissions by 2070. He said the company was committed to powering India’s drive towards carbon neutrality by leveraging the power of green hydrogen and renewable energy.
Hi-Tech forged this alliance to realize India’s green hydrogen aspirations, in sync with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to make India a hub of generation and export of green hydrogen. This partnership would focus on green hydrogen projects at the company’s plant located at Sikandrabad in Uttar Pradesh, he added.
Mr. Bansal said the proposed joint ventures would support the Government of India’s recently announced green hydrogen policy and enable the country’s transition from a grey hydrogen economy to a greener
economy that increasingly manufactured hydrogen via electrolysis powered by renewable energy.
The Green Hydrogen policy notified by the Central government in February 2024 aimed at boosting production of green hydrogen and green ammonia to help the nation become a global hub for the production, use and export of green hydrogen & its by-products. For countries like India, with its ever-increasing oil and gas import bill, green hydrogen could help in providing the crucial energy security by reducing the overall dependence on imported fossil fuels. In addition to decarbonisation and financial goals, these Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) programs would also help Hi-Tech Pipes to increase the company’s societal value by considering environmental sustainability and social responsibility, added Mr. Bansal.
Hi-Tech Pipes further announced plans to have 13.5 MW renewable energy capacity for captive usage by December 2024. The steel pipe manufacturer said in an exchange filing that it has an installed solar power capacity of 8.5 MW and was in the process of installing another 5 MW in a phased manner through rooftop solar, open access & generation, and captive consumption of green hydrogen gas. This green power sourcing would contribute around 30 per cent of the company’s total power requirement, it added.
The expansion project further includes setting up a crude oil import terminal at Paradip Port in Odisha and laying about 1640 km of cross-country pipelines for transportation of imported crude oil to Numaligarh.
Sep 3, 2024
The Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) is embarking on a major integrated refinery expansion project to triple its capacity from 3 MMTPA to 9 MMTPA at an estimated investment of more than INR 28,000 crore by 2025. As per a statement issued by NRL, the project further includes setting up a crude oil import terminal at Paradip Port in Odisha and laying about 1640 km of cross-country pipelines for transportation of imported crude oil to Numaligarh.
As per media reports, the total equity commitment for this project will be approximately INR 5,500 crore, of which 69 percent will come from Oil India Limited. The project has already received investments worth INR 19,000 crore. The refinery will run at 50–60 percent capacity after its expansion until reaching full capacity in 2026–2027 after stabilizing.
NRL further plans to build a refinery with a six million
TPA capacity, along with related pipelines and terminals for crude oil, with the goal of processing both Arab Light and Arab Heavy grades of crude oil.
Oil India Limited anticipates a rise in gas output following the construction of the pipeline that will link Oil India’s producing fields to the country’s gas infrastructure. The Indradhanush Gas Grid (IGGL), a joint venture of IOCL, ONGC, GAIL, OIL and NRL, hopes to have the first section of the pipeline put out by December 2024.
Goodluck India is inaugurating its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility marking a new era of large-diameter cold-drawn welded and ERW precision steel tubes’ production.
Sep 05, 2024
Goodluck India is celebrating a major milestone this month with the grand opening of its state-ofthe-art manufacturing facility. This cutting-edge plant marks a new era for the production of large-diameter Cold Drawn Welded (CDW) and Electric Resistance Welded (ERW) precision steel tubes, further cementing the company’s position as an industry leader in innovation and capability.
A Transformative Investment
This new facility represents a strategic investment of INR 200 crore, and showcases Goodluck India’s commitment to enhancing its technological prowess
Mr. Mahesh Chandra Garg, Chairman and Managing Director, Goodluck India
while strengthening its market foothold. By investing in advanced manufacturing capabilities, the company is setting new benchmarks in the steel tube sector,
reinforcing its long-term growth trajectory.
Equipped with the latest technology, the new plant is capable of producing ERW Precision tubes with diameters up to 220 mm and thicknesses of up to 15 mm. Additionally, it can manufacture CDW tubes up to 210 mm in diameter with the same thickness. This broad range of production underscores Goodluck India’s ability to innovate and cater to a diverse array of customer requirements.
The facility will add an additional 50,000 metric tons (MT) per annum to the company’s existing precision tube production, raising the total to 166,000 MT. With an overall annual production capacity now at 462,000 MT, Goodluck India is well-positioned to reduce the country’s trade deficit by offering a competitive alternative to imports of seamless tubes. The facility is also equipped with highly precise, automatic heavy machinery to ensure quality and efficiency.
The high-performance steel tubes produced at this new facility will serve a variety of critical industries, including
hydraulic cylinders (essential components for efficient hydraulic systems), automotive parts (key materials for the automotive manufacturing sector), agricultural machinery (durable and reliable tubes crucial for farming equipment, and construction and industrial machinery (heavy-duty tubes for use in large-scale construction and industrial projects). By expanding its production capabilities, Goodluck India enters a select group of manufacturers offering specialized products for critical applications, further solidifying its standing in the market.
The launch of this advanced facility underscores Goodluck India’s unwavering dedication to quality and technological innovation. With its flexible and efficient design, the new plant is well-equipped to meet the evolving demands of the market and deliver high-performance products consistently.
In addition to precision tubes, Goodluck India Ltd. continues to manufacture and export a diverse range of products, including ERW and CDW precision tubes, galvanized pipes, black pipes, GI hollow sections, CR coils, CRCA, and galvanized and plain corrugated sheets.
With the new order, the cumulative value of line pipe orders received by Welspun Corp in India and the US has reached INR 1,202 crore since its last disclosure on May 30.
Aug 5, 2024
Welspun Corp Limited has received an order from the Middle East to supply LSAW pipes and bends (bare and coated).
With the new order, the company’s cumulative value of the line pipe orders received in India and the US has reached INR 1,202 crore since its last disclosure on May 30, Welspun said in an exchange filing.
The orders will be executed during FY25 and FY26, it added.
Welspun had announced in June, 2024 that its Saudi Arabian associate firm signed contracts with Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) worth INR 3,670 crore
for the manufacturing and supply of steel pipes.
The contracts were signed between East Pipes Integrated Company for Industry (EPIC) and Aramco. The duration of the contracts is 19 months.
As per Welspun Corp, EPIC is Saudi Arabia’s leading manufacturer of Helical Submerged Arc Welded (HSAW) pipes.
The project involves installation of a 22 MW AC/30 MWp DC ground-mounted solar project in Helas village in the Jalna district of Maharashtra.
Sep 3, 2024
The Indian Seamless Metal Tubes (ISMT) Limited, a Kirloskar Group company, has given a new order to Waaree Renewable Technologies Limited (WRTL), part of Waaree Energies, for installation of a 22 MW AC/30 MWp DC ground-mounted solar project in Helas village, Jalna district, Maharashtra.
As per WRTL, it would acquire land for the project, and oversee the full construction of the plant. The company would provide comprehensive EPC services, including design engineering, procurement, supply (bifacial solar modules), installation, and commissioning of the solar plant.
The project further included installation of evacuation
infrastructure at plant and substation levels, establishing the required transmission line, and securing all statutory approvals for seamless operations.
WRTL would further manage comprehensive operation and maintenance to ensure optimal performance.
The merger is planned to take effect on April 1, 2025. It will involve a company split and an absorption-type merger, with the transfer of commercial rights for construction and mechanical steel pipes to streamline operations.
Sep 3, 2024
Nippon Steel Corporation and its subsidiaries have decided to go for a major restructuring of their domestic ERW steel pipe business, to enhance their efficiency and competitiveness, and strengthen their market position.
As per a statement issued by the steel major, the merger is scheduled to take effect on April 1, 2025. It would involve a company split and an absorption-type merger, with the transfer of commercial rights for construction and mechanical steel pipes to streamline operations.
Nippon Steel Corporation, its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Nippon Steel Metal Products Company Limited & Nippon Steel Pipe Company Limited, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nippon Steel Metal Products, Nippon Steel Coated Steel Pipe Company Limited, have resolved the details of this business reorganization at their respective Board of Directors meetings and concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) re-
garding this business restructuring, said the statement.
As per the MoU, the business centered on the commercial rights for the construction steel pipe of Nippon Steel Pipe will be taken over by Nippon Steel Metal Products through a corporate split, and Nippon Steel will take over the remaining mechanical steel pipe business through an absorption-type merger with Nippon Steel Pipe. The commercial rights of the mechanical steel pipe business of Nippon Steel Coated Steel Pipe will be transferred to Nippon Steel.
This will integrate production and sales of the companies in their respective business fields and further strengthen their competitiveness. The companies will discuss the specific details of the agreement and plan to conclude a reorganization and integration agreement in the end, it added.
The steel giant said the prolonged slump in domestic demand for steel products led to a decline in the Nippon Steel Group’s steel pipe sales volume and the utilization rate of production lines has remained low. In addition, macroeconomic and technological shifts such as domestic manpower shortages, the electrification of automobiles, the globalization of customers and an increasingly competitive landscape have produced a more challenging operational environment. In order to continue to grow sustainably, we believe it is essential
to reform our business structure to strengthen our efficiency and competitiveness, it added.
The Nippon Steel Group will be fully prepared to contribute to customers even more than before by further enhancing its ability to respond to customers, strengthening its supply chain, sophisticating its commodities, and providing solutions to meet new demands for a decarbonized society in the future, said the statement.
The national gas consumption has risen from 86 million metric standard cubic meters per day in 2007 to 189 MMSCMD in 2024. The national gas pipeline network has increased from 14,000 km in 2018 to 24,881 km in 2024.
Aug 21, 2024
The consumption of natural gas in the country has taken a big leap in the last nearly two decades, increasing from 86 million metric standard cubic meters per day (MMSCMD) in 2007 to 189 MMSCMD in 2024. This was accompanied by a significant expansion of the national gas pipeline network from 14,000 km in 2018 to 24,881 km in 2024.
The growth is in line with the Union government’s ambitious plans to create a national gas grid and increase the availability of natural gas across the country. Going forward with this plan, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board (PNGRB) has authorized an approximately 33,478 km length of natural gas pipeline network across the country.
According to the data available on the Press Information Bureau (PIB), PNG connections to the households is part of development of the City Gas Distribution (CGD) network and the same is carried out by the entities authorized by PNGRB.
After completion of 12/12A CGD bidding round, PNGRB has authorized 307 Geographical Areas (GAs) covering almost 100 percent of the total geographical area of the country spread over around 733 districts in 34 states/UTs for the development of CGD network with MWP target of establishing approximately 12.63 crore PNG connections across the country by 2032.
As on May 31, 2024, 1.31 crore PNG connections have been provided by the CGD entities and 5,20,176 Inch-kilometer of Steel and MDPE pipeline has been laid across the country against the MWP target of 5,46,867 Inch-kilometer.
To promote the use of gas in PNG (D) segment, the government has taken various measures to meet demands for piped gas to households from cheaper domestic gas, which includes diverting domestic gas from power and other non-priority sectors to meet the requirement of CNG (Transport) and PNG (Domestic) segments; declaring CNG(T)/PNG(D) sector as the first priority for allocation of domestic natural gas; priority to CNG(T)/PNG(D) sector for supply of High Pressure High temperature (HP-HT) gas in any situation requiring proportionate distribution of gas under the bidding process.
As of March 2024, approximately 24,881 km pipeline is operational and 10,404 kms of pipeline is under construction.
Vibhor Steel Tubes Limited has inaugurated a new galvanizing iron state-of-the-art facility in Telangana to increase the production of crash barriers. It will double VSTL’s special steel manufacturing capacity at Telangana from 24,000 tonnes to 48,000 tonnes.
Jul 30, 2024
Vibhor Steel Tubes Limited (VSTL) has doubled its special steel manufacturing capacity at Telangana from 24,000 tonnes to 48,000 tonnes, to meet the evolving needs of infrastructure development across the country and reinforce its leadership in the steel tubes and pipes industry. VSTL has inaugurated a new galvanizing iron (GI) manufacturing unit in the state to increase the production of crash barriers, a crucial component used in medians, shoulders, verges, and high embankments.
The new state-of-the-art facility would not only ensure the availability of high-quality crash barriers across
The country intends to increase its exploration acreage to 1 million sq km by 2030. Only 10 percent of India’s 26 sedimentary basins, containing substantial reserves of crude oil and natural gas, is currently under exploration. The Government intends to explore 16 percent sedimentary basin area by 2024.
Jul 19 2024
The Exploration and Production (E&P) sector in India is offering investment opportunities worth 100 billion USD by 2030, said Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
Underscoring the importance of the Exploration and Production (E&P) sector in achieving energy self-sufficiency and sustaining economic growth, Mr. Puri said the Government of India intended to increase India’s exploration acreage to 1 million sq km by 2030.
The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG) has instituted sweeping reforms in the E&P sector to empower stakeholders to contribute to the nation’s progress, added Mr. Puri.
He highlighted the vast potential of India’s 26 sedimentary basins, containing substantial reserves of crude oil and natural gas yet to be fully tapped.
Despite substantial progress, only 10 percent of India’s Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, inaugurating the first edition of UrjaVarta 2024 at Bharat Mandapam
Mr. Puri said that initiatives like the Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) and the Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy have accelerated the pace of exploration activities.
sedimentary basin area is under exploration today. After the award of blocks under the forthcoming Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) Rounds, the figure was likely to increase to 16 percent by the end of 2024, he added.
Through the first 8 OALP bid rounds, a total of 144 blocks covering approximately 244,007 sq km have been awarded. The recently announced OALP IX round offered an area of approximately 136,596 sq km spread over eight sedimentary basins, with the vision of expanding the nation’s footprint in offshore explora-
tion, he noted.
He said the DSF Policy, since its inception in 2015, has garnered investments of approximately 2 billion USD and brought in 29 new players in the field.
Highlighting the focus of the Government on promoting scientific data-driven exploration, Mr. Puri said that an investment of INR 7,500 crore was going into the acquisition of new seismic data, including that of the EEZ, financing stratigraphic wells, and acquiring aerial survey data for difficult terrains.
Nearly 75 percent of INR 16,000 crore will be spent on ramping up capacities in Europe and India, especially on the completion of projects at Kalinganagar in Odisha. The remaining amount will be spent on its de-carbonization program in the UK.
Jul 8, 2024
Global steel manufacturer Tata Steel has projected its capex at INR 16,000 crore on a consolidated basis, which is intended to be financed through internal accruals for its domestic and global operations during the current financial year.
As per the company, which is among the few Indian steel companies to be fully integrated - from mining to manufacturing and marketing of finished products- it has earmarked INR 10,000 crore towards Tata Steel Standalone operations, out of which the Kalinganagar project will account for approximately 70 percent.
The data was revealed by Mr. T. V. Narendran, Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director, and Mr. Koushik Chatterjee, Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer of Tata Steel.
They said, “Our other Indian subsidiaries currently in an expansion phase with value accretive projects, especially in downstream operations which are important to service customer needs and improve our value-added product mix, will have a capex of about INR 2,000 crore. In Europe, Tata Steel Nederland will incur capex of INR 1,100 crore on the relining of its blast furnace, which is underway. The remainder of the capex is largely allocated towards and will be spent on sustenance, environmental initiatives, and improvement projects.”
The top-ranked officials said the company was making progress towards augmenting the capacities across multiple sites in India, aligned with the objective of achieving its 2030 target of an overall 40 million TPA capacity.
Tata Steel is committed to the Tata Group’s stated objective of achieving Net Zero emissions by 2045, as part of the group-wide project Aalingana (embrace). Under this project, the Tata Group is focused not just on the decarbonisation of businesses and value chains; but also applying a systemic, circular economy approach to reduce resource use and waste; and preserving and restoring the natural environment.
Tata Steel’s approach and pace of decarbonisation will be calibrated for each location based on the local regulatory framework, government support, and the willingness of customers to pay for higher-cost green steel, they added.
