BS reported that although SAIL has 5 integrated plants and also alloy steel units backed by extensive mining operation and power generation. But it is at Bhilai Steel Plant, which Mr SK Roongta chairman of SAIL describes as the jewel in the SAIL crown that the strategy to prepare the group to make the best of the next upturn in steel demand, whenever that happens is rolled out seamlessly.
As per report, BSP has earned for itself the flagship status in terms of performance indices, exclusive capacity to make rails and heavy plates of world standards and a work culture worthy of emulation by other group plants.
1. BSP’s labor productivity of 319 tonne per man a year during 2008-09 is ahead of the group productivity by as much as 104 tonne.
2. As for the coke rate, Bhilai 491.2 kilogram a tonne of hot metal was far better than the group rate.
3. Major improvements in techno-economic parameters like using less energy for steel making and injecting greater amount of coal dust in blast furnaces helped Bhilai to effect a saving of INR 293 crore in 2008-09 against a target of INR 205 crore.
4. BSP production of both crude and saleable steel scaled new highs.
Mr Ramaraju MD of BSP said market condition in the final Q2 of 2008-09 deteriorated so much that nobody expected Bhilai to maintain PBT of INR 5,366 crore of the previous years. But if Bhilai managed to restrict profit erosion to the minimum, it is because, the nearly 29% growth in production of special and value added steel to 2.79 million tonne.
