Ambar Singh Roy

Kolkata, Aug. 8 With three projects, including the components manufacturing facility at Singur that will supply six critical components for the Tata small car Nano, slated to be commissioned in the current fiscal, the year 2008-09 is expected to be “the most critical era” of Tata Ryerson Ltd, a 50:50 joint venture of Tata Steel and Ryerson Inc of the US.

A cumulative investment of Rs 200 crore is currently in the pipeline.

The Singur facility is being set up at an investment of Rs 100 crore. This is being met through internal accruals and debt. It is scheduled to be commissioned next month, according to Mr Sandipan Chakravortty, Managing Director of Tata Rayerson Ltd.

Mr Charkavortty told Business Line that while the first phase of the Singur project would concentrate on the supply of six critical components for the Nano, in the second phase, steel would also be supplied to vendors.

In the interim period, steel requirement of vendors would be met with supplies from Jamshedpur. Around 50 vendors have set up facilities at the vendors’ park near the Nano factory in Singur.

According to Mr Chakravortty, the company will commission this month its Pantnagar unit that has been appointed as exclusive suppliers of steel blanks, strips and coils to the Tata Ace small truck manufacturing facility there.

The company’s upcoming facility near Chennai will serve as an exclusive supplier of critical components and parts to Caterpillar in India and South East Asia. The Chennai plant will also supply components to BEML, Volvo and L&T Komatsu.

Mr Chakravortty said Tata Rayerson was on target to become a two-million-tonne-per-annum steel distributing and processing company by 2010. Having notched a turnover of Rs 1,300 crore in 2007-08, the company hopes to touch a turnover of Rs 2,000 crore in 2009-10, according to Mr Chakravortty.

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