Essar Steel's crude steel output from its Hazira unit in Gujarat has increased by 41 per cent in the first quarter of the 2011-12 fiscal. While crude steel production was pegged at 1.14 million tonnes, finished steel output during the April-June period was up 35 per cent at 1.07 million tonnes.
The company, which is close to completing the expansion of its domestic steel-making capacity to 10 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), has a current global production capacity of 14 mtpa.
“As part of this expansion, Essar Steel has started production at two iron making units – a blast furnace with a capacity of 1.73 million tonnes and a DRI unit of 1.74 million tonnes …. Further, the company also recently started India's first 5-m wide plate mill with a capacity of 1.5 mtpa, which is under stabilisation,” a company statement said.
Wide presence
Essar Steel, which is part of the $17-billion Essar Group, is present in North America, Europe, West and South East Asia, the UK, the UAE and Indonesia. Its products are used in the automotive, white goods, construction, engineering, hydrocarbon and shipbuilding sectors.
Essar's announcement follows that of other large private sector steel makers such as Tata Steel and JSW Steel, which have reported an almost 10 per cent growth in crude steel output in the first quarter of the fiscal.
Tata Steel has achieved the highest-ever quarterly production of hot metal and crude steel in the June quarter. The company's hot metal production grew by 7 per cent to 1.94 million tonnes (1.82 million tonnes in the corresponding last quarter). Crude steel output was up by a tenth at 1.79 million tonnes (1.62 million tonnes). Tata Steel registered a 14 per cent increase in sales at 1.59 million tonnes during the quarter.
Similarly, JSW Steel reported a 9 per cent increase in crude steel production at 1.71 million tonnes for the June quarter over the corresponding last quarter. Crude steel production included about 30,000 tonnes of trial run from an expansion project, the company said in a statement.