Maithan Steel committed to expand production capacity despite Covid crisis

Construction material producer

Maithan Steel Ltd remains steadfast in expanding the capacity of its manufacturing plant in West Bengal, despite the slowdown in the economy due to the COVID-19 crisis, an official said on Sunday.

The company is also focusing on an advertising campaign to promote its TMT bars, he said.

"We are going to double our capacity to manufacture billets and TMT bars. The lockdown has delayed completion of the project by about three months. Now, we expect to complete it by April 2021," Maithan Steel director Madhur Agarwalla told PTI.

After the completion of the expansion work, the billet making capacity in its plant in Burdwan district will be five lakh tonne and four lakh tonne for TMT bars, he said.

The company has another unit in Purulia, which produces sponge iron, he said.

Agarwalla said the steel maker produces 600-grade thermo mechanical treatment (TMT) bars which offer about 20 per cent saving to its customers compared to the 500-grade product.

"We have inducted wrestler Khali to propagate the benefits of strength and saving of our product and expect good acceptance of TMT bars in towns and rural markets," he said.

The construction steel manufacturer claimed it has a good market share in West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, eastern UP and the north-east region.

Currently, sales are back to about 90 per cent of the pre-COVID levels but the loss incurred due to the lockdown is not likely to be recovered, he said.

The company expects to end the current fiscal with about 90 per cent of its revenue in FY20, he added.