ArcelorMittal arm in JV with Auerhammer, Shivalik

ArcelorMittal Stainless & Nickel Alloys, Auerhammer Metallwerk Gmbh and Shivalik Bimetals today joined hands to set up a joint venture company, which would set up a metal cladding unit at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore.

Innovative Clad Solutions, the JV company, will be set up at a special economic zone in Indore. All the three companies will have an equal stake in the venture.

Clad metals are produced by metallurgically joining two or more metal and alloys without the use of any adhesive element.

"The first phase will have a production capacity of 10,000 tonnes annually and we will continue to expand as per the market demand. Our first priority is to substitute import of clad metals," said S S Sandhu, chairman, Shivalik Bimetals.

This would pre-dominantly be an export-oriented unit, wherein about 65 per cent of the produce would be exported, Sandhu added. Globally, the size of metal cladding industry is estimated at Rs 2,000 crore and the JV is targeting a 20 per cent market share in the next 3-4 years.

The new unit is expected to become operational within next 15 months and the products manufactured here will be used in heat exchangers, cable shield, battery, coinage, building roofing materials and marine applications.

"We have full support for the JV. This is just a beginning and we hope that it will expand significantly in the coming years," said Sudhir Maheshwari, executive vice-president (finance and M&A), ArcelorMittal.