Setting up a unit in Gurgaon, Tata Steel to plans to foray into scrap processing

Tata Steel, an Indian multinational steel-making company, is planning to set up a scrap processing unit in Gurgaon by the end of this year. As the company braces for the era when the blast furnaces are being replaced in India.

This will be the first scrap processing units of the company, to tap the high consumption of white goods and automobiles in National Capital Region. The unit will cater to company’s need of raw materials for steel making.

Anand Sen, president, TQM & steel business, Tata Steel is expecting scrap processing to be business of Rs 1,000-crore in six to eight years.

He said, “Scrap so far has been an unorganised sector, with no control over quality, run by middlemen. We see an opportunity to do this in an organised way and hope to have our first unit in Gurgaon operational by the end of this year.”

Tata Steel’s Singapore unit, NatSteel, has a scrap processing unit for its electric arc furnaces. Company’s Gurgaon unit will source, separate, shred and process the scrap that can be used in steel production.

Recently, on the sidelines of the Asia Steel International Conference in Bhubaneswar, Sen said, “If it works well, we will replicate it in Pune, Sanand and other auto hubs and metro cities.”

The conference was jointly hosted by Tata Steel and the Indian Institute of Metals in India. It was an opportunity for the steel industry of Asia to share their experiences and developments in the sector.

Anand Sen said, “Currently, our steel processing requires very limited scrap, only 7-10% of the charge is scrap or scrap equivalent.”

Expectations of international companies to meet their own sustainability targets as well as cost factors, and government norms will push steelmakers to switch towards less-polluting routes in future. By then, Tata Steel would possibly be ready with its own scrap inventory.

Tata Steel, along with Rio Tinto and support of EUROFER (the European steel association), has also developed a steelmaking technology at its plant in Holland. The advanced technology of the company is being tested. Tata Steel claims that it will allow to make steel with at least 20% lower carbon dioxide emissions.

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