NINL, a 1.1-million-tonne steel manufacturing unit in Odisha, has reached 100 per cent capacity utilisation within one year of its acquisition by Tata Steel. On July 4 2022, the steel major completed the acquisition of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) through subsidiary company Tata Steel Long Products Ltd (TSLPL) for a consideration of Rs 12,000 crore.
After being shut for almost three years, operations at the NINL unit was started by Tata Steel in October 2022.
“NINL has successfully ramped up production to its rated capacity of 1 million tonnes on an annualised basis within just nine months of its acquisition,” Ashish Anupam, MD of Tata Steel Long Products Limited (TSLPL), told in reply to a query on the progress in one year of acquisition.
The acquisition was efficiently implemented even though the NINL plant had been mothballed for nearly three years. In August 2023, the company will complete the commissioning of its last major facility, a coke oven unit at NINL, he said.
“During FY23, Tata Steel undertook key strategic initiatives towards growth and long-term value creation. In the first half of the year, TSLPL completed the NINL acquisition. This acquisition is part of the larger plan for the company’s long products business and being part of the Kalinganagar ecosystem is well positioned to grow synergistically in the future,” Anupam said.
According to Tata Steel, acquisition of NINL resulted in higher production and deliveries by TSLPL in FY23.
In FY23, TSLPL achieved crude steel production of 0.91 MnT (miilion tonne), while deliveries stood at 0.82 MnT.