Jindal introduces 200-grade stainless steel to local market
Indian stainless-steel manufacturer Jindal Stainless Ltd has introduced a new category of product to the Thai market.
RK Goyal, the company's commercial director, said the firm had started marketing 200-grade stainless steel, which he said would give Thai industries a more competitive edge. "Thailand will lose its competitiveness in exporting with other countries such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam if it doesn't change to use grades in the 200s, instead of the 304 grade," he said. Most industries in Thailand presently use 304 grade (also known as austenitic) stainless steel as the raw material to manufacture stainless-steel products. Meanwhile, its competitors such as China, Indonesia and Vietnam have begun using more 200-category stainless steel. The 200 grade is cheaper than the 304 grade as it contains between 1 per cent and 5 per cent nickel, compared to 8 per cent in 304. Goyal said the price of nickel has risen considerably, from US$14,000 (Bt527,000) per tonne in March to $34,000 per tonne. He added no one really knows why the price of nickel has risen so rapidly but possibilities include speculation on the London Metal Exchange, higher demand for nickel in the stainless-steel industry and a lack of expansion in the production capacity of nickel industries. Goyal said Jindal Stainless entered the Thai market four years ago and has average sales revenue of $2 million to $3 million per year in the country. He added the stainless-steel market in Thailand is worth $400 million to $600 million per year. He expects the company's products in the 200 categories to claim 20 to 25 per cent of Thailand's total stainless-steel market. Jindal Stainless aims to become a market leader, sharing more than 50 per cent of the 200s category stainless market in the next three years. The company has a total production capacity of 600,000 metric tonnes per year at its plant at Hisar in India, which it intends to boost to 720,000 metric tonnes at the beginning of next year. In addition, the company has invested more than $2 billion setting up the world's largest integrated stainless-steel plant in Orissa, India, with a production capacity of 1.6 million tonnes per year. Construction is expected to be completed by 2010.
Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul The Nation
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