One of India’s leading steel producers, Bhushan Steel & Strips Ltd has ordered four hot metal ladle cranes from KCI Konecranes. The order strengthens KCI Konecranes’ position on the fast growing Indian crane market. The first crane will be delivered in January 2007 and the rest throughout the year. The value of the order is over 10 MEUR.
The Indian steel industry is growing rapidly and is expected to triple its annual steel production from 35 million tons to over 100 million tons over the next five years. Bhushan Steel & Strips is considered one of India’s foremost producers of cold-rolled, galvanised and special steel and is leading the technological development within the Indian cold-rolled steel industry. This recent order is part of Bhushan Steel & Strips’ expansion program and a response to the rapid growth in demand for steel products. The new cranes will be installed in the hot-rolled coil plant, as part of the backward integration at the green-field steel melting plant in Orissa, Eastern India.
“We have provided cranes to the Indian market since the early 1990’s. Bhushan Steel & Strips is a new customer to KCI Konecranes and will further add to our activities in India”, says Kari Wallgren, Director, Process Cranes. “Because of the vast reserves of iron ore and coal, India has the potential to become one of the leading steel producers in the world and this order strengthens our position as a supplier to the Indian steel industry.“
Mr. Neeraj Singal, Managing Director of Bhushan Steel & Strips Ltd comments on the recent investment: “We selected KCI Konecranes’ technology for our new plant because of their high performance solutions and a track record of high reliability in steel mill crane deliveries to leading players such as Nucor in the U.S. and Essar Steel in India.”
Other recent large steel mill crane orders for KCI Konecranes include orders from Mittal Steel in Poland, SeverCorr LLC in the U.S., Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works and West Siberian Iron & Steel Plant in Russia. These orders were made in 2005.
Technical features of the cranes
The new cranes, which are rated for 305 tons process duty and 375 tons for maintenance lift, are specified for the highest duty class and comply with the most stringent safety standards. The cranes span over 33 meters and are equipped with four girders and auxiliary trolleys with an 85/15-ton lifting capacity. The cranes have air-conditioned E-rooms and feature KCI Konecranes’ patented DynA common DC-bus inverter control technology with DynAReg Active Front End (AFE) and the DynAPilot anti sway system with positioning control. These features are electromechanical and provide the customer with safe and efficient handling operations.
Further information can be obtained from:
Kari Wallgren, Director, Process Cranes
Email: [email protected] or Phone: +358 20 427 2250
Teuvo Rintamäki, Chief Financial Officer
Email: [email protected] or Phone: +358 20 427 2040
This press release together with a downloadable picture is available at our web site www.konecranes.com.
The caption for the photograph reads:
“KCI Konecranes wins large order from steel mill in India”
Bhushan Steel & Strips Ltd is considered one of India’s foremost producers of cold-rolled, galvanised and special steel and is leading the technological development within the Indian cold-rolled steel industry. The company, committed to providing quality service and value for money, has established relationships both locally and internationally with clients around the world and across a range of industry sectors.
KCI Konecranes is a world leading crane technology and service-company. Maintenance services are provided for cranes of every make. The product range includes light crane systems, heavy-duty cranes for process industries and shipyards, special harbour cranes for bulk materials and containers as well as reach stackers and lift trucks. In 2005, Group sales totalled EUR 971 million. The Group has 5,900 employees in 38 countries. KCI Konecranes is listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange (symbol: KCI1V).
