Steel is an essential material used in many industries – it’s the backbone to countless products, structures and services that shape the everyday lives of people throughout the world. The liberalization of industrial policy and other initiatives taken by the Government have given a definite impetus for entry, participation and growth of the private sector in the steel industry. While the existing units are being modernized/expanded, a large number of new/greenfield steel plants have also come up in different parts of the country based on modern, cost effective, state of-the-art technologies. India has to its credit, the capability to produce a variety of grades and that too, of international quality standards.

In 2007 the World Crude Steel output reached 1343 million metric tons and showed a growth of 7.5% over the previous year.China remained the world’s largest Crude Steel producer in 2007 also (489 million metric tons) followed by Japan (112. million metric tons) and USA (97 million metric tons). India occupied the 5 th position (53million metric tons) (Source: IISI). According to an estimate by Credit Suisse, India’s steel consumption will continue to grow at nearly 16% rate annually, till 2012, fuelled by demand for construction projects worth US$ 1 trillion. The scope for raising the total consumption of steel is huge, given that per capita steel consumption is only 40 kg – compared to 150 kg across the world and 250 kg in China.

List of Top Steel Companies

Essar Steel – A business division of the Essar group, founded in 1969, by brothers Mr Shashi Ruia and Mr Ravi Ruia. Essar Global Limited is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Oil and Gas, Power, Communications, Shipping ports and logistics, and Construction. Essar Steel is a global producer of steel with a footprint in India, Canada, USA, the Middle East and Asia. It is a fully integrated flat carbon steel manufacturer — from iron ore to ready-to-market products with a current capacity of 8.6 million tonnes pa. The company aims to achieve a capacity of 14 MTPA by 2011-12. Their productsare used in consumer sectors, such as automotive, white goods, construction, engineering and shipbuilding. Essar Steel is one of India’s largest exporters of flat products, exporting to the highly demanding US and European markets, and to the growing markets of South East Asia and the Middle East. The clientele of Essar Steel includes Caterpillar, Hyundai, Swaraj Mazda, the Konkan Railway, and Maruti Suzuki.

Ispat Steel – Ispat Industries Limited (IIL) is one of the leading integrated steel makers and the largest private sector producer of hot rolled coils in India. It was founded by Mr M L Mittal in 1984,  IIL has steadily grown into a Rs 9,400-crore company. A corporate powerhouse with operations in iron, steel, mining, energy and infrastructure, the Group today figures among the top 20 business houses in the country. In 2010 it was declared that JSW Steel will buy controlling interest in Ispat Industries at an enterprise value of $3 billion to emerge as India’s largest producer of the commodity with an annual capacity of 14.3 million tonnes. The company will now be called JSW Ispat Steel Ltd. It is the only steel maker in India and among a few in the world to have total flexibility in choice of steel making route, be it the conventional blast furnace route or the electric arc furnace route. Its dual technology allows Ispat the freedom to choose its raw material feed, be it pig iron, sponge iron, iron ore, scrap or any combination of various feeds. It also has total flexibility in choosing its energy source, be it electricity, coal or gas. Steel is normally produced to meet the specific application-oriented criteria, keeping in view its chemical composition and mechanical properties.

Steel Authority of India Ltd.(SAIL) –  is India’s largest steel producing company.With a turnover of Rs. 47,042 crore, the company is among the five Maharatnas of the country’s Central Public Sector Enterprises. The Government of India owns about 86% of SAIL’s equity and retains voting control of the Company. It is a fully integrated iron and steel maker, producing both basic and special steels for domestic construction, engineering, power, railway, automotive and defence industries and for sale in export markets. SAIL manufactures and sells a broad range of steel products, including hot and cold rolled sheets and coils, galvanised sheets, electrical sheets, structurals, railway products, plates, bars and rods, stainless steel and other alloy steels. The company has the distinction of being India’s second largest producer of iron ore and of having the country’s second largest mines network.SAIL’s wide range of long and flat steel products are much in demand in the domestic as well as the international market.

JSW Steel – JSW Group is one of the fastest growing business conglomerates with a strong presence in the core economic sector. JSW Steel, the flagship company of the JSW Group, is the largest integrated private steel manufacturer in India in terms of installed capacity. JSW Group has diversified interests in Steel, Energy, Minerals and Mining, Aluminium, Infrastructure and Logistics, Cement and Information Technology. JSW Steel Ltd. is one among the largest Indian Steel Companies in India today. India’s third largest steelmaker,  JSW Steel is one of the lowest cost steel producers in the world. JSW Steel offers the entire gamut of steel products – Hot Rolled, Cold Rolled, Galvanized, Galvalume, Pre-painted Galvanised, Pre-painted Galvalume, TMT Rebars, Wire Rods & Special Steel Bars, Rounds & BloomsIt has established a strong presence in the global value-added steel segment with the acquisition of steel mill in US and a service center in UK. JSW Steel has recently acquired a majority stake in Ispat Industries Ltd.

POSCO – POSCO India Private Limited is a subsidiary of POSCO, the world’s fourth largest steel producer and one of the most competitive steel companies. POSCO, the parent company operates two of the world’s premier steelworks at Pohang and Gwangyang, having a combined production capacity of 31 million tons pa. The Pohang steelworks produces 13.5 million tons of crude steel and specializes in the production of small lots in a broad range of products, including hot-rolled coil and cold-rolled sheets, plates, wire rods, electrical steel and stainless steel. The Gwangyang works focuses on mass production of limited high-demand products such as hot and cold rolled sheets, and produces 17.5 million tons of crude steel.

Tata Iron & Steel Company – now known as TATA Steel is the world’s seventh largest steel company, based in Jamshedpur, Jharkhand. It is a part of the TATA Group, India’s and the world’s most respected and successful business conglomerates. Tata Steel with its acquisition of Corus has secured a place among the top ten steel manufacturers in the world and it is the Tata Group’s flagship Company. Other Group Companies in the different sectors are – Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Communications, Tata Power, Indian Hotels, Tata Global Beverages and Tata Chemicals. Tata Steel serves customers in all the major market sectors globally, and recognises that each sector, such as automotive or construction or packaging, requires different solutions to meet its specific needs. Some of the key market sectors that TATA steel serves are automotives, construction, engineering, consumer goods & packaging, aerospace, ship building, railways, defence & security.

Summary

Some of the Steel Companies in India have faced harsh times in recent times due to corruption in the Mining Industry in India.The Supreme Court ordered the shutdown of Iron Mines in Karnataka due to massive environmental degradation due to illegal mining.This resulted in sharp losses to some companies like JSW Steel which were implicated in the Lokayukta report.However India’s Mining Companies have a bright future given the huge growth expected in the Indian economy which is already importing huge amounts of mining ore like coal etc.