Tata Steel Thailand, a major steel producer here, today said it foresees a high demand for its products due to the country’s planned $ 70 billion investment in major infrastructure projects.
Tata Steel Thailand (TSTH) President Peeyush Gupta said if the ambitious infrastructure projects were approved, his company “will stand to gain as all these projects need steel and cement“.
“We will have two and a half years worth of extra demand being created over a period of seven years,” he told PTI.
Gupta said Thailand was a good market to make steel as domestic scrap was available.
“With the regional market growing, Tata rebar steel was selling well,” he said, adding that the company had started “cut and bend” steel solutions for construction companies here.
TSTH’s big export markets are neighbouring Laos and Cambodia for its rebars and wire rods to Indonesia.
Commenting on the company’s performance, he said the sales were better leading to reduction in inventory.
Gupta added that the company had taken the issue with the authorities of China steel flooding the market under the guise of Alloy steel and subsequently being used by the consumers of Carbon steel. Tata Steel produces Carbon steel.
The Thai government plans to borrow 2.2 trillion baht ($ 70 billion) to finance four new high-speed train routes and extend mass transit lines in Bangkok.
The government also intends to improve water infrastructure to prevent floods like the ones that inundated Bangkok and surrounding areas in 2011.
TSTH is the largest producer of long steel products in Thailand with a manufacturing capacity of 1.7 million tonnes per annum. TSTH operates as a holding company with three subsidiaries.
Through its subsidiaries, TSTH manufactures rebars, wire rods and small sections.
Rebar products comprise round bars and deformed bars for use mainly in the construction industry, including roads, bridges, buildings and houses.
Wire rod products include both low carbon wire rods (LCWR) and high carbon wire rods (HCWR). LCWR products are used as raw materials for construction parts such as binding wire, nails, wire mesh, galvanised wire, barbed wire, welding wire, cold draw wire, and screws and nuts.
HCWR products are used as raw materials for manufacturer of pre-stressed concrete (PC) such as PC wires and PC strands, compressing spring, extension spring, torsion spring and sling among others.
Small sections products comprise angles and channels, used in roof structures, electricity poles, billboards, etc.