ArcelorMittal, the world`s largest steel maker, which is planning a greenfield plant in Jharkhand in India, will draw on the experiences of steel operations in yet another emerging country, Brazil for India operations. ArcelorMittal India will witness best practises in steel production, environment and safety from its counterpart in ArcelorMittal Tubarao, in the state of Vitoria in Brazil, a steel plant which accounted for 28% share of the hot rolled coils in the South American state.
“There is already a 15 member ArcelorMittal team, that comprises experts from different areas of operations, working on the project in India. There are a lot of things that ArcelorMittal Brazil can share with India,`? said Jose Armando Campos, president, ArcelorMittal Brazil. For instance, ArcelorMittal?s Tubarao plant spent $7 million in 2007 on projects for sustainable development in Brazil. In the social sector, the company has the ?University for All? scheme targeted at children from low income families. It supports the Empao project, which undertakes restoration work of historical monuments by training youngsters, and also supports community financial institutions through the Bem and Terra banks.
The Tubarao plant uses coking coal as fuel, and produces 480 MW of power, a part of which it supplies to other users. All the ArcelorMittal companies generate a strong cash flow , and therefore are able to get funds easily, Armando said. The company also has a high productivity level, to the tune of 1,700 tonnes of steel per man per year, he added.
The story of the Tubarao plant is one of remarkable turnaround, from a company which incurred losses of $1 billion in the first nine years of operations starting 1976, to one which generated a net profit of $1.2 billion last year on flat products. This has been possible by putting in place a clear system of procedures in all operational areas, practises which the company would replicate in the Indian context.
ArcelorMittal is already hiring young MBA professionals from India , between 15 to 30 of them a year, getting them trained in Brazil and Europe to be send back to India to support in the operations in that country. Apart from India, Eastern Europe is another region where it looks to hire more skilled workforce from.
(The travel for this story was sponsored by ArcelorMittal)