In-Focus

Indian HR & CR Steel Industry : Present Status

teel is a unique material that touches our everyday life. It has a wide range of applications from the manufacture of a small pin to automotive, railway systems, aircrafts, defence materials, big engineering and construction projects, space satellites and various infrastructural projects etc. Steel is also the most recycled material and almost all new steel product contains recycled steel. It is the most widely used material all over the world next only to paper and concrete. The per capita consumption steel of a country is considered as an indicator of the level of its economic development. Steel is eco-friendly. Finished steel products are usually divided into two categories viz Non-flat or Long Products and Flat products. HR coils and CR coils are the two most important materials in the flat product segment. In 2010-11, the above two products together with skelp and HR Sheets (the construction of the two being negligible) had a share of 68.52 percent in India's total flat product consumption after accounting for double counting and the total consumption of these products had a share of 34.16 percent in the total consumption of India's carbon finished steel after adjusting for double counting. In the production for sale during 2010-11, the above products had a share of 60.69 percent in the total flat product segment while their share in the total production for sale of carbon finished steel was 30.25 percent.

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Hot Rolling
Hot Rolling is defined as a progression following which metal forming methods are being used (where the metal stock is conceded all the way through a pair of rolls) by machines with the usage of a series of diverse temperature levels, the disparity in shape and size along with other conditions is achieved. The temperature level of the material is being kept above its recrystallization temperature within these machines. The machines are of perennial usage and help immensely in the optimum development of the related industry.

Table 1 : Major Applications of HR Coils / Skelp / Sheets Application Grades / Specifications

IS:1074/995 Grades I to V IS:11513/85 Grades O, D, DD, EDD (EDD with CBT) IS:1979/94, Grades O, D, DD, EDD SAE1012 SAE1020 IS:2062/2006, Grade B with Copper IRSM 41/HCRS IS:2062/2006 Grades B,C IS:5986/1992, Fe 330, 360, 410, 510 SAE 1541 Medium Carbon Grades, SAE 1040, SAE 1045, SAE 1055 IS:6240/2008 JISG 3116, EN10120 JISG 3113, SAPH-45, 310, 370, 400, BSK-46 Medium Carbon SAE 1030, E-34, E-38, SAPH-45, 310, 370, 400, BSK-46 APISL Grade A, B, X-42, X-46, X-60, X-65, X-70, X-80, X-100 Medium Silicon Electrical Steel Tube Making Cold Reducing Segment, Manufacture of GP/GC Sheets, Automotive, White Goods, General Engineering General Structural Applications Manufacture of Wheel Disc, Cold Formed Products Manufacture of Propeller Shaft Manufacture of Corrosion Resistant Engineering Goods Fabrication of Engineering Structurals Manufacture of Hamilton and Other Poles, Flanging Applications Manufacture of Fork and Spokes for Two Wheelers Chains including Cycle Chains, Hair Clip, Sprocket, Clutch Plate, Hacksaw Blade etc. Domestic and Auto LPG Cylinders Export Quality LPG Cylinders Long and Gross Members of LCV & MCV, Wheel Disc, Wheel Rim and Other Structural Components of Passenger Car Long & Gross Members of HCV, LCV and MCV. Stappings of High Strength Manufacture of Tubes and Pipes. Mostly for Oil and Gas Sector Manufacture of Electrical Equipment

Hot Rolled Coils

HR/Coil is regarded as the most important product in the flat product segment. Its downstream products like CR Sheets / Coils, GP/GC Sheets, Electrical Steel, Sheets, Tinplates, Pipes etc. play a vital role in the industrial development of a country. The global market price of HR Coils is regarded as an indicator of the market trend of all its downstream products in the flat product segment.

Major Applications of HR Coils / Skelp / Sheets

Some of the major applications of HR Coils / Skelp / Sheets in various industries along with their grade / specifications are shown in Table 1.

Production for Sale of HR Coils / Skelp and Sheets

Production for sale of HR Coils / Skelp and HR Sheets in India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 2. The overall growth in production for sale for between 2006-07 and 2010-11 for HR Coils / Skelp was 51.81 percent. The share of skelp was negligible. The

drop of 5.71 percent during 2008-09 was due to the global slowdown after October, 2008. The decline in 2010-11 was due to a lower growth of the manufacturing sector. In case of HR Sheets the negative growths in production for sale even after 2008-09 was due to the lack of market demand.

India during percent.

2010-11

was

83.93

Imports of HR Coils by India

Imports of HR Steel Coils by India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 4. India recorded its highest import of HR Coils in 2009-10 at 2.99 Mt. as the demand for the product was high due to a healthy growth of the manufacturing sector at 11.0 percent during the year.

Leading Producers of HR Coils in India

The gross production of HR Coils in India of the leading producers between 2008-09 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 3. The share of the above producer's in the total gross production of HR Coils in

Export of HR Coils by India

Exports of HR Coils by India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 5. India recorded its highest export of HR Coils in 2006-07 at 1.58 Mt. India was a net exporter of HR Coils in that year. But after the global slowdown of the steel industry since October, 2008, the volume of export of HR Coils came down sharply due to a sharp decline, in global demand and a substantial drop in global market price. The position is unlikely to change substantially in 2011-12 and even in 2012-13 due to the Eurozone Financial crisis and other allied factors.

Table 2 : Production for Sale of HR Coils / Skelp and HR Sheets in India : 2006-07 to 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) Production For Sale Year % Change % Change HR Coils / Skelp HR Sheets
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 8143 11674 11007 12002 12362 == 43.36 (-) 5.71 9.04 3.00 702 757 615 603 570 == 7.73 (-) 18.76 (-) 1.95 (-) 5.47

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Table 3 : Gross Production of HR Coils by the Leading Producers between 2008-09 and 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) 2010-11 (P) 2008-09 2009-10 Producer
SAIL Tata Steel Essar Steel Ispat (now JSW Steel) JSWSL JSPL 3005 1572 2190 2136 2025 224 3198 1835 2444 2611 3091 384 3089 1947 3195 2308 4305 357 opposing directions at a steady rate of space and they are set apart so that their width is smaller than the metal sheeting passed through. When the metal goes through the cold mill process, it is pressed into a preordered gauge for further finishing.

Advantages of Cold Rolling

The major advantages of coldrolling operation are mentioned below : l Cold rolling refines the metal and goes on to develop the surface condition of the strips. It makes the steel more strong. l The metal-on-metal procedure helps to stiffen and reinforces the properties of the steel itself. While the steel thickness decreases, most of the breakdown or variable patches that take place in heat processing are builtup or annealed by cold rolling. l The majority of the steel companies have extensive buildings to accommodate their mills or machinery. The rolling process can begin with a conveyor belt at one end and a shearing blade at the other end. A coil of steel is threaded through the mill, and an operator sets the desired gauge and length of the piece to be cold-rolled. Attaining the right gauge involves calculating the roll widths, operating speed and the needed lubricant rate, while meeting the specifications of the end-users' order. Cold-rolled coils, strips and sheets are versatile products that are used as critical inputs in various sophisticated industries which demand very stringent quality specifications, high level of surface finish and close tolerances in dimensions.

Table 4 : Imports of HR Coils by India : 2006-07 to 2010-11 ('000 Tonnes) Imports Apparent Consumption (A/C) Imports as % of A/C Year
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 1572 2948 2293 2986 3308 11232 13246 12199 14244 13970 14.00 22.26 18.80 20.96 23.68

Table 5 : Exports of HR Coils by India : 2006-07 to 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) Exports Year Production for Sale Exports as % of Production for Sale
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 1580 1391 943 540 525 8143 11674 11007 12002 12362 19.40 11.92 8.57 4.50 4.25 consumption of HR Coils in India in 2010-11 was due to a decline of the growth of manufacturing sector to 8.1 percent during the year over 11.0 percent in the previous year.

Table 6 : Apparent Consumption of Hot Rolled Coils in India : 2006-07 to 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) Apparent % Change Year Consumption
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 11232 13246 12199 14244 13970 == 17.93 (-) 7.90 16.76 (-) 1.92

Cold Rolling of Steel

The method of Cold Rolling points at the process of metal forming in which the shape and structure of steel is being changed by drawing, extruding, hammering, pressing, rolling, spinning and/or stretching at temperatures below the steel's recrystallization temperature. These actions create alterations in the metal's work which enduringly increase its hardness and tensile strength while enhancing the surface finish and decreasing ductility and impact resistance. Cold Rolling is termed as a process by which the sheet metal or strip stock is being introduced among rollers followed by compressing and squeezing. The roller rotate in

Cold Rolling Steel Industry in India

Leading Indian producers of cold rolled steel are now capable of producing high quality products comparable to global standards. They are continuously upgrading their process technology with the help of world majors. Important applications of cold rolled products in India are found in the manufacture of automotive body and auto components, petroleum tankers, lube grease barrels, bitumen drums,

Apparent Consumption of HR Coils in India

The apparent consumption of Hot Rolled Coils in India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 is shown in Table 6. The decline of 7.99 percent in the apparent consumption of HR Coils in 2008-09 was due to the slowdown of the global steel industry that also affected the Indian steel industry after October, 2008. The marginal drop of 1.92 percent in the apparent

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agricultural and electrical equipment, earth moving equipment, furniture, office equipment, precision tubes, bicycle components, railway coaches and wagons, ship building, elevators, trucks, containers, cold formed sections etc.

Leading Producers of CR Sheets / Coils in India

The gross production of CR Sheets / Coils of the leading producers in India between 2008-09 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 9. The above five producers accounted for 48.9 percent of India's total gross production of CR Sheets / Coils in 2010-11.

2008-09. In the next two years exports persisted at lower levels due to the lack of demand in the global market as well as robust domestic demand.

Apparent Consumption of CR Sheets / Coils in India

The apparent consumption CR Sheets / Coils in India between 200607 and 2010-11 is shown in Table 12. The high growth of 27.75 percent in 2009-10 was due to a robust demand from the domestic market and a net import of 547,000 tonnes of CR Sheets / Coils during the year. The low growth in apparent consumption in 2010-11 may be attributed to the decline in the growth of manufacturing sector at 8.1 percent as compared to 11.0 percent in the previous year as well as the high base of the previous year.

Major Specification / Gradewise Applications of CR Products

Major applications of CR products in various industries in India with their grades / specifications are shown in Table 7.

Imports of CR Sheets / Coils by India

Imports of CR Sheets / Coils by India

Table 7 : Major Applications of CR Products in Various Industries in India Application Grades / Specifications
Full Hard IS : 513 Grade O IS : 513 Grade O (SK) ID (Killed) IS : 513 Grades D/DD/EDD IS : 513 O (SK) / D (Killed) IR/SM-41 IS : 513 O/D (with Cu) Semi Processed Electrical Steel HSCR 26/35 Coated Sheets Packaging, Household Appliances Automobile, Household Applications Precision Tubes Railway Coaches, Wagons Corrosion Resistance Applications Fractional Horse Power Motor and Electrical Applications Load Bearing Components for Automobiles, Roll formed Sections, Industrial Storage Systems, Drums, Barrels etc.

Growth Slows Down in 2011-12

According to the advance estimates released by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) on 7th February, 2012 India's GDP is likely to grow by 6.9 percent in 2011-12 over 8.4 percent in the previous year. The

Production for Sheets / Coils

Sale

of

CR

Production for sale of CR Sheets / Coils in India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 8.

Table - 9 : Production of CR Sheets / Coils by the Leading Producers : 2008-09 to 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) 2010-11 (P) 2008-09 2009-10 Producers
SAIL Tata Steel Essar Steel Ispat (now JSW Ispat) JSWSL 692 965 670 207 710 720 1041 954 238 1498 683 1095 907 230 1660

Table 8 : Production for Sale of CR Sheet / Coils in India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) Production % Change Years for Sale
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 4322 4439 4602 5914 5762 == 2.71 3.67 28.51 (-) 2.57

Table - 10 : Imports of CR Sheets / Coils by India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 Imports Apparent Consumption (A/C) Imports as % of A/C Year
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 606 821 702 892 1126 4519 4730 4966 6344 6637 13.41 17.36 14.14 14.06 16.97

The high growth in production for sale in 2009-10 was due to low base in the previous year as well as increase in gross production of JSWSL of 788,000 tonnes over the previous year as well as higher output of SAIL and Tata Steel. The decline of 2.57 percent in 2010-11 may be attributed to the lower growth of the manufacturing sector at 8.1 percent over 11.0 percent in the previous year.

between 2006-07 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 10

Exports of CR Sheets / Coils by India

Exports of CR Sheets / Coils by India between 2006-07 and 2010-11 are shown in Table 11. After the meltdown of the global steel industry exports declined in

manufacturing sector, having a weightage of 75.5 percent in India's Index of Industrial Production (IIP), has been projected to grow by a low of 3.9 percent in 2011-12 as compared with 7.6 percent achieved in 2010-11. The construction sector, which has a share of about 50 percent in India's steel

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Table 11 : Exports of CR Sheets / Coils : 2006-07 to 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) Exports Production for Sale Exports as % of Production for Sale Year
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 386 510 327 345 283 4322 4439 4602 5914 5762 8.93 11.49 7.11 5.83 4.91 affected the consumption of carbon finished steel which rose by a meager 2.7 percent as against 7.9 percent during the same period of the previous year as per JPC's provisional data.

Consumption
The consumption of HR Coils / Skelp, after accounting for double counting rose to 10.455 Mt during April December, 2011 recording a marginal growth of 0.3 percent over the corresponding period of the previous year. The consumption of CR Sheets / Coils, after accounting for double counting, at 5.237 Mt rose by 6.0 percent during April December, 2011 over the same period of the previous year.

Table 12 : Apparent Consumption of CR Sheets / Coils in India : 2006-07 to 2010-11 ('000 tonnes) Apparent Year Consumption % Change
2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 (P) 4519 4730 4966 6344 6637 == 4.67 4.99 27.75 4.62

Performance of HR and CR Steel Industry : April December 2011 Production for Sale
Production for sale of HR Coils / Skelp at an estimated at 10.1 Mt rose by 16.0 percent during April December, 2011 over the same period of the previous year, according to the provisional figures of JPC. Production for sale of CR Sheets / Coils during the above period at 4.29 Mt rose marginally by 0.8 percent in the above comparative periods.

Technological Innovations in HR and CR Production

Many technological innovations in the production processes of HotRolled and Cold-Rolled products have taken place in the recent years. Some of these are mentioned below : Hot Skin Passing in Hot Strip Mill Modern demanding market is pushing steel strip processors to a new high. Customers are demanding hotrolled strips of consistent quality at competitive price. To minimize the overall cost of production for the end users, they would prefer to use hotrolled coils over cold-rolled coils. They demand production of hot-rolled coils with tighter tolerances and better surface finish. For example, the use of hot-rolled strip for pressed components and tube making demands requirement of good shape, yield point suppression and specific texture. In the hot-rolling process, it is not possible to control these parameters as the rolling takes place at higher temperature. However, the end products from hot skin passing are produced at ambient temperature where the properties of material are different than at an elevated temperature. Hot Skin Pass Mill reduces the rejection level of hot rolled coils as well as can be used as coil dividing lines to meet the specific requirement of the demanding customers. Hot skin passing is an operation performed on the strip at ambient temperat ure. In t h i s operatio n, hot

consumption will grow by a low of 4.8 percent in 2011-12 over 8.0 percent in the previous year as per the advance estimate of CSO.

Growth During December 2011

April

The Index of Industrial Production during the first three quarters of 201112 (April December, 2011) grew by 3.6 percent as against 8.3 percent during the same period of the previous year. The manufacturing sector, grew by a low of 3.9 percent during April December, 2011 as compared with a healthy 9.8 per in the corresponding period of the preceding year. The low growth of IIP during April December, 2011 has adversely

Imports
Imports of HR Coils during April December, 2011 declined by a hefty 43 percent at 1.106 Mt over during the same period of the previous year. However imports of CR Coils recorded a robust growth of 39 percent at 1.155 Mt over 0.831 Mt in the above comparative periods.

Exports
Exports of HR Coils at 0.743 Mt during April December, 2011 rose by 79 percent over 0.415 Mt in the same period of the previous year. Export of CR Coils at 0.21 MT rose marginally by 2.44 percent over 0.205 Mt in the above comparative periods.

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rolled strip is passed through a set of rolls to get one to three percent elongation. The input strip can be black HR or pickled and oiled depending upon the end products requirement. Most of the Skin Pass Mills are standalone. However, Hot Skin Pass Mill inline with pickling are also widely use for specific applications. The standalone mills are more flexible in operation as compared to the inline ones. The main purpose of the hot skinpassing operation are : l Developing appropriate mechanical properties l Improving strip flatness l Transferring roughness at strip surfaces for pickled materials l Improving the shape of Coil Winding l Recoiling and dividing the coil Siemens VAI. In the Siroll CISCM & PL product line, the first link of the production chain will be the tandem cold mill, coupled to a pickling line. For these products, all core equipment, critical for the lines performances, are fully engineered, manufactured and tested in Siemens VAI European plant located at Montbrison, France. The state-of-the-art PLTCM of 1.3 Mtpy capacity will be the first of its kind in India equipped with heavy gauge laser welder (LW21H); pickling section, SAIL has also invested in an Electrolytic Cleaning Line (ECL) to remove the remaining iron fines and oil residues from the tandem mill. Advanced ECL technology provides outstanding coil cleanliness before the coils reach the downstream batch annealing furnace. The Bokaro PLTCM will be operational during the year 2012. JSW Steel Ltd. has placed an order with SMS Siemag, Germany for the supply of a PLTCM at its Torangallu plant. The mill will have an annual capacity of 2.3 Mt of cold strips in widths up to 1890 mm and will be producing high grade steels particularly for the auto sector. The SMS Siemag supply scope includes entry section, equipped with two pay-off real groups with an SMS Siemag laser welder which enables even those strips of difficult weldability to be joined together. A tension leveler prepares the strip for the pickling process in the three downstream pickling tanks. The turbulence pickling technology allows optimum desealing with low consumption of energy and acid as well as reduced maintenance and operating costs. In addition, an integrated trimming shear sets the desired strip width and straightens the strip edges. Altogether, three horizontal strip accumulators are integrated into the line and ensure continuous strip travel. The 5 mill stands of tandem mill are designed as 6-High stand and are equipped with the new combined CVC plus / ESS technology (Continuous Variable Grown / Enhanced Shifting System). The roll-gap adjustment range made available by this

Pickling Line Coupled with Tandem Cold Mills (PLTCM)

Continuous pickling line coupled with tandem mill provides significant quality, productivity, yield and cost advantages, thereby e l i m i n a t i n g intermediate storages for pickled coils and the necessity of strip threading for each coil entering the tandem mill. The combination of these two lines is a mix of high efficient features and ensure excellent quality results in terms of flatness and thickness control. Continuous process eliminates the necessity to thread the strip head end between two consecutive coils resulting in higher line productivity, reduction of off-gauge materials and reduction of coil handling. SAIL's Bokaro Steel Plant is installing a PLTCM to be supplied by

horizontal loopers and side trimmer; 5stand 6-High Cold Mill; and a carousal coiler. The new PLTCM at Bokaro Steel Plant will meet the highest quality standards in terms of strip flatness, strip surface, strip cleanliness and dimensional tolerances. It has been designed to produce special highstrength and automotive grades including IF, HSLA, HSS and DP grades in addition to low carbon steel. Downstream of the Bokaro PLTCM,

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technology allows optimum results as regards strip gauge and flatness, even where the product range is extremely broad. In the exit section, the strips are coiled by a carrousel reel at minimum final gauge of 0.3 mm. A particularly compact design is achieved from the exit section of the tandem cold mill by combining the carrousel reel and the downstream in-line strip inspection system. The PLTCM of JSWSL will be operational by 2013.

section. Tata Steel has signed a joint venture agreement with Nippon Steel of Japan for setting up a Rs. 2,300 crore speciality steel making line the continuous annealing process line to produce 600,000 tonnes of automotive cold rolled steel annually. Tata Steel will hold 51 percent stake in the joint venture. The plant will be located at Jamshedpur and is expected to be operational in 2013. This will be the first Continuous Annealing Line to be setup in India.

Continuous (CAL)

Annealing

Lines

The continuous annealing process represents the ideal solution for processing cold rolled strip and black plate with high production rates, high yields and substantial energy savings as compared to batch annealing process. These lines ensure top material qualities and high process flexibility for the production of a broad range of steel grades and dimensions. Excellent annealing results, especially in the automotive sector, are achieved thanks to the fully automated temperature control, specific annealing cycles and rapid cooling system. The present generation Continuous Annealing lines for autobody quality strip production generally consist of coil receiving and entry, a double entry pass section, welder for strip and joining, vertical looper, electrolytic cleaning section, annealing furnace, exit vertical looper, skin pass and tension leveling section, horizontal and vertical inspection station, cooling section followed by coil delivery

Improved Coilers for HighStrength Strip in Large Thickness

The steel processing industry is presently demanding higher strength steel with larger thickness. Two important developments for hot-rolled steel strip that have taken place are : l Ultra high strength steel grades developed with strength levels of more than 1,300 MPa to be used for highly loaded structures or for components particularly resistant to wear. l The tube manufacturers demand for high strength tube graded is increasing. For example, API grades X70, X-80 and X-100 with large final thickness of upto 25.4 mm. For meeting these requirements, the product range in the hot strip mills are required to be extended. This leads to an increase of loads acting on the plants, which applies in particular to the COILING SYSTEM. In order to facilitate the coiling of these high-strength steels with very good quality, the proven Universal

Coiler was developed by SMS Siemag of Germany. Further development saw a new, reinforced coiler, the UNI plus coiler that was developed. Apart from the conventional materials and dimensions, the UNI plus coiler is able to coil both ultra high strength grades at low coiling temperatures and highstrength tube grades with large strip thicknesses. In March 2010, the first UNI plus coiler outside Europe started production at the new hot strip mill of Bhushan Steel of India. The down coiler group consists of two units with a universal coiler rated for strip up to 20mm and the UNI plus coiler for highstrength with 25.4 mm thickness. For producers of hot strip, the UNI plus coilers offer the possibility of considerably extending their product range to face the requirement of the future market.

Conclusion
The Indian hot-rolled steel and cold-rolled steel industries have recorded remarkable growths in terms of higher production which has helped in achieving increased consumption of these products in recent years as the domestic demand grew in India. The producers are continuously improving their production technologies and upgrading the process technologies with the help of world major. They are now capable of producing products that are comparable to those of the world class steelmakers. Due to the present slowdown of industrial growth of the country, these industries are not being able to maintain their earlier significant

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