Russian mining and steel company NLMK started construction work on its first steel processing plant in India, the company said July 1.
The grain-oriented, or transformer, steel plant in the western state of Maharashtra is expected to come online in the first half of 2022 and will have a capacity to produce 64,000 mt/year of premium cold-rolled grain-oriented steel products.
The plant will process coils shipped by NLMK from its Russian mills, and will become India’s second grain-oriented electrical steel producer after Thyssenkrupp Electrical Steel India.
The launch of captive production will enable NLMK to expand its presence on the Indian grain-oriented steel market, where it currently has a 25% share, the company said.
Over January-March, NLMK sold 67,000 mt of transformer steel with 85% of this being exported. India is the biggest market for NLMK’s transformer steel business.
NLMK is investing $100 million-$150 million to localize the finishing stages of grain-oriented electrical steel production in India, applying electrically insulated coating, straightening by annealing, cutting, and laser treatment of finished products.
— Ekaterina Bouckley
