Considering the increased usage of stainless steel in diverse sectors such as automobile, buildings, bus shelters and railway bogies, specialty steel long products manufacturer Facor Steels Ltd is looking for a joint venture partner to set up 250 MW power plant and 0.5 MT stainless steel facility in Orissa. The company plans to spend Rs 2,500 crore on the two projects over the next three years.
?Increased production of stainless steel in the domestic market would help augment its usage in various applications? Consumption of stainless steel products in India is as low as 1.1 kg per capita as compared to 4 kg per capita in the developing countries and 8 kg in the developed nations,? chairman and managing director Ferro Alloys Corp Ltd (Facor) R K Saraf told FE.
An industry analyst said that the production in India remains stagnant as chunk of the chrome ore reserves are with the public sector such as Orissa Mining Corp and Manganese Ore India Ltd. ?The public sector units are not exploiting the resources to the optimum as increased raw material would put pressure on their profit margins,? said the analyst.
Explaining the benefits of stainless steel in items such as pipes, buildings, automobile, and bus shelters, Saraf said it not only renders an aesthetic value to the products but also increases its life substantially as compared to other products used such as wood, plastic and other metals. ?Initially it might seem costly initially but in a longer run it scores over other products,? he added.
When asked about the impact on chrome ore exports after the government levied Rs 2,000 duty on per tonne of the raw material, Saraf said it has reduced by about 25% this year as compared to last year. Chrome ore exports, till November, stood at 300,000 tonne as compared to 400,000 tonne last year. The entire burden (of duty), however, is passed on to the customers.