AM/NS India bets on high-margin, high-value steel for solar, auto sectors

MUMBAI: ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, India’s largest private steelmaker, is betting on growing demand for speciality steel products, most of which are imported, a top executive of the company said.

Ranjan Dhar, director and vice president, sales and marketing, AM/NS India, said value-added products not only bring higher profits but also help the company stand out in a competitive market.

AM/NS India is a joint venture between the world’s two largest steel producers – Lakshmi Mittal-led ArcelorMittal and Japan’s Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation.

The company launched the value-added steel production line named Magnelis on September 16, with an estimated investment of nearly ₹1000 crore. Its flagship plant in Hazira, Gujarat, has a production line with an annual capacity of 500,000 tonnes. The product is targeted at solar panel manufacturers.

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According to people aware of the development, AM/NS is in talks with potential clients including Adani Green Energy, Reliance Industries, Sterling & Wilson, NTPC, NexTracker, Kirby Building, M&B Enterprises and BG Shirke Construction Technology Private Limited.

According to news reports, in 2022, ArcelorMittal CEO Aditya Mittal mentioned plans to supply Magnelis to the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project.

AM/NS is also working on setting up a new value-added steel production line for the automotive industry by the first quarter of 2025. Currently, several leading automakers import steel from countries such as South Korea.

Value-added steel accounts for 60-65% of AM/NS’s sales. AM/NS provides specialty products for industries such as automotive, new energy and construction.

“When AM/NS came to India, we not only wanted to be part of the value-added chain for steel usage in India, we also wanted to educate and drive the market towards value-added steel,” said Dhar.

AM/NS plans to nearly double its capacity in India from about 8.5 million tonnes per year to around 15.6 million tonnes by the end of next year and to 24 million tonnes per year thereafter, he said. Earlier this year, the steelmaker announced plans to build the world’s largest single integrated steel plant in Hazira.

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Dar said the steelmaker also plans to expand its operations in East India.

In addition to Magnelis, the company earlier introduced two new products: flake-free galvanized flat steel, a material used in appliances, and a patented product called Optigal, a steel coating produced by hot-dip galvanizing the steel in a zinc-aluminum-magnesium alloy bath.

All value-added products launched by the steelmaker this year have been supported under India’s Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steels. So far, the steel ministry has signed 57 memorandums of understanding to attract investments. ₹According to a press release in February, the company plans to invest Rs 295,000 crore to add 25 million tonnes of special steel capacity by FY27-28 and create around 17,000 jobs.

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