Tata Steel, Nippon Steel in talks for automotive sheet venture
28 Jan 2010
With an eye on the expanding Indian car market, India's largest steel maker, Tata Steel said today that it is in talks with Nippon Steel, the world's second-largest steel producer by volume to form a joint venture (JV) for the production and sale of automotive cold-rolled steel sheets.
Through the JV, both steel makers intend to address the needs of Indian automotive manufacturers to locally procure high-grade, cold-rolled steel sheets and will contribute to further expansion of automobile production in India, said the Tokyo-based steel maker.
Tata Steel said that it has a long history of cooperation with Nippon Steel in the field of automotive flat products and other areas of mutual interest and the proposed JV aims to capture the growing demand for high-grade automotive cold-rolled flat products in India.
The plant, which will be owned 51-per cent by Tata Steel, with Nippon Steel holding the remaining 49 per cent, will have a capacity to produce 600,000 tonnes a year of cold rolled sheet steel.
The technology for production of high-grade cold-rolled steel sheets for automotive application, including outer panels and high-tensile steel will be Nippons, which will be licenced to the JV.
The plant will be located inside the Jamshedpur Works, employing 200 people and the JV will be signed by June 2010 with operation scheduled to start before March 2013.
The plant will have a capacity to produce 600,000 tonnes a year of cold rolled sheet steel.
Nippon said that both companies will also continue to discuss further possible collaborations in other fields such as automotive galvanized sheets and up-stream processes.