Domestic demand for structural steel products accelerated in May-June as construction companies increasingly opted for the customizable building material for high-rise structures, apartments and quarantine facilities in the face of labour shortage due to the lockdown, steel players said.
Structural steel, or readymade steel, is a category of construction steel material that is produced with a particular cross section or shape, and some specified values of strength and chemical composition. It is customised by the builders who then assemble the parts at the site.
JSPL forayed into the construction materials & solutions business with its steel fabrication facilities of 240,000 MT/annum in Punjipatra, Raigarh, Angul and Raipur.
“We have sold around 18,000 metric tonnes of steel in FY20, with increasing demand for the steel structures. We have set a target to sell around 40,000 metric tonnes in FY21. High-rise steel buildings have a market potential of 80,000 metric tonnes as of now,” the company said.
Tata Steel’s joint venture company, Tata BlueScope Steel, too, has ramped up production to provide readymade steel structures to the health sector.
Tata Steel’s smart steel structures in form of quarantine wards and testing kiosks are available in kit-like solutions, wherein walls, roof panels and internal partitions, are assembled onsite. They can be dismantled, packed and shifted to other sites too.