KIOCL helping companies set up pellet plants

State-owned KIOCL Ltd sees huge business opportunity in helping steelmakers set up pellet plants.

The company, which stopped its mining operations in the Kudremukh region of Karnataka in January 2006 following a Supreme Court order, as the mines are situated in an area declared as a national park, has kept growth intact by diversifying its operations. At present, it is catering to the demands of domestic steel companies.

“Today, we are in the business of setting up pelletisation plants. There is a dire need for technological know-how across the country for pelletisation. We are helping other firms set up plants,” said Malay Chatterjee, Chairman and Managing Director, KIOCL. Noting that KIOCL was still paying dividends to the Central Government, Chatterjee said: “The long-term plan is to make the company an international hub for pelletization.”

He added the company’s marketing team is working on its international plans. “We expect top global companies to send their ore to us for pelletization…This will be an important revenue stream for KIOCL.”

Earlier, Chatterjee received the Chief Executive of the Year award from the Indian Institute of Materials Management here. Speaking at the event about supply chain management, Chatterjee emphasised the need for an active role by regulatory bodies.

T Venkataraju, engineer-in-chief, Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Board, who received the award for ‘Best Supply Chain Practices in Water Management’, said the board had set standards in supplying water and treating sewage in a cosmopolitan city like Bengaluru.