India: Low Demand affects SAIL’s Structure Conversion Agents

Steel Authority of India (SAIL), who already cut orders for Structure from conversion agents, is not floating any tender for new Structure conversion agent.

SAIL, a government undertaking Maharatna Company, who is also the leading Structure manufacturer of India, is not floating any tender for Structure conversion agent. While in last 6 months, the company invited two tenders to appoint Re-bar conversion agents in Hajipur (Bihar) and Nagpur (Maharashtra).

The company has already cut Structural order to its conversion agents. According to a conversion agent, “SAIL is taking around 2,000-2,500 MT of Structural item at present, which was around 4,000-4,500 MT a year ago.” Company envisages minimum order of around 1,500 MT (changeable according to plants production capacity) of the material per month.

Low demand for Structural items forced them to reduce the quantity of material through conversion agents. At the same time, plant avoid stocking and try to sale its old inventory as well. They produce an average quantity of material in March, which is around 52,000 MT per month on basis of last 6 month’s data. From December to till date, SAIL had floated tender for sale of around 530 MT of Structural item. Meanwhile, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) had floated tender for around 9,265 MT of the material.

In the conversion agent list, which is provided by SAIL on its official website, few conversion agents’ tender period is over and one is going to end by August, 2014 last.

When SteelMint query for Structure conversion agents tender in near future, SAIL’s official persons refuse to answer that.

List of SAIL Conversion Agents for Structural as on 1 Apr, 2014