Following the announcement of an one million tonne steel expansion, Tata Steel is looking at expanding its ferro chrome business in the home market. 

B Muthuraman, managing director, Tata Steel, said, the company was studying the possibility of ferro chrome capacity expansion, but, could not put a figure to it. 

Tata Steel, at present, produces 50,000 tonne of ferro chrome at its own plant at Bannipal, which was a sick state PSU and has now been turned around to attain full capacity utilisation. 

This was over and above the 50,000 tonne produced through its conversion agreements with leading ferro-chrome producers in the country. 

Commenting on the prospects of the ferro chrome business in the near term, Muthuraman said, in future, prices would slide. 

But, that would not deter the company from embarking on expansion of capacity, being a serious player in the business. 

Moreover, he pointed out that Tata Steel did not enter into businesses based on price considerations. 

That the company has decided to make ferro chrome one of its main activities was evident from the company’s move to set afoot in South Africa with the objective of setting up a 120 tonne ferro chrome plant. 

Tata Steel has lined up an investment of Rs250 crore for the project and was also discussing with IDC for partnership in the ferro-chrome project. 

A Tata Steel spokesperson said, the agreement and details of equity pattern, nature of relationship and name of the company were still being worked out and were likely to be finalised shortly. 

On the steel front, the cold rolling (CR) mill was running to capacity and Tata Steel was assessing demand in high-end markets and was poised to take a decision on further capacity expansion, as well as products range. 

“Any expansion would be in Jamshedpur as that is where the knowledge lies,” said the spokesperson. Tata Steel was increasingly focusing on the automotive segment. 

The company desired to be the preferred supplier to the automotive segment and was keen to forge strategic partnerships with key players. 

To achieve this, the company was planning a steel auto centre, which would help Tata Steel develop a better understanding of various automotive processes like forming, joining and painting through appropriate testing and simulation facilities. 

Tata Steel was currently a supplier to most of the auto companies in India and was working closely with them for developing CR-coated steel for their domestic and export production.