Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) is all set to launch its own brand of thermo-mechanically treated (TMT) bars, a value-added product which is expected to improve the company’s earnings.
The MMTC and Odisha government-promoted steel public sector undertaking is the country’s largest producer of pig iron. It has only been producing ‘semis’ so far, ‘NINL SMART TMT’ will be NINL’s first finished product and will mark a milestone in the turnaround journey of this loss-making company.
Sashi Shekhar Mohanty, vice chairman of NINL, said that the aim is to initially produce about 10,000 tonnes of TMT bars a month from billets.
“This should help NINL improve topline and bottomline by about 30%. In due course of time, the quantity of value-added products will increase when NINL gets its own TMT bar-cum-rod mill,” said Mohanty, who is also the company’s managing director.
While its bars are now being produced by an outside conversion agent, the company intends setting up its own mill for which it’s invited expressions of interest.
The latest milestone takes NINL from a producer of semis into a full-fledged steelmaker. Prices of pig iron and billets have been among the worst affected in recent months. NINL’s value-added products like TMT bars will considerably ease the pressure on margin.